Let us now explore the psychological influence of how much sleep we think we need on how we actually sleep.
It is an age-old exercise to classify people into different groups; for example, tall and short, intelligent and not intelligent, hardworking and lazy, and so on. When we try to classify people on the basis of different behaviours we are in fact dealing with characteristics that may overlap between groups. There are two common types of sleep pattern:
* The lark type, who wakes up very early in the morning
* The owl type, who goes to sleep late at night but stays in bed all day
Of course, these two represent the extremes and there is a continuum of behaviour in between. In other words, there is a giant lark and a giant owl on opposite ends of the spectrum and many smaller larks and smaller owls in between. Most of us are a bit of a lark and a bit of an owl, depending on the circumstances.
The lark is a North American singing bird that sings very early in the morning. Lark types are normally short sleepers, believing sleep to be a waste of time. Thomas Edison, the great inventor, was certainly a lark. He slept only a few hours each night, so that he could have more time for his study and research. He probably wished that there was no such thing as sleep and that there were 25 hours on the clock.
The owl is the big eyed, round faced bird that we see sitting on the branches of a tree with the moon behind. Owl types hate to wake up in the morning. They enjoy sleeping and being in bed, even if they are already awake. They like to stay in their beds as long as possible.
Carl Jung (1875-1961), the famous psychologist, identified two types of personality: the extrovert and and introvert. Larks belong to the extroverts. They are ambitious, full of energy, perfectionists, and unable to tolerate laziness. They dislike being alone, and are attracted to the outside world rather than to their immediate surroundings, such as their bedrooms. There is a tendency to superficiality, and their happiness may depend on making a good impression on others. They are absolutely essential to any party.
Owls belong to the introverts. They enjoy being alone in their own world and are lost in large gatherings. They are tolerant and reserved, sensitive and not outspoken. They may be over-conscientious, pessimistic, and critical, always keeping their best quality to themselves. They may often possess unusual knowledge or great talent. They love to stay in their houses and their beds.
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