The best hours for sleep are between sunset and dawn. The best hours for outdoor activity, such as work, exercise or play, are the first few hours after sunrise. The remainder of the day can be spent with indoor activities, such as study, meditation, work or social gatherings.

A little "siesta" in the middle of the day is not a sign of laziness. In fact, it is almost a necessity for anyone who has to keep alert and sharp of mind long into the evening. After all, sleep is the best revitalizer and recuperative practice in all of Nature. But, human beings have a tendency to either abuse it or ignore it. They either get far too much, becoming creatures of lethargy and sloth, or they go without it for prolonged periods of time, thinking that they can just "catch up" on it when the weekend comes.

The human being does not need more than six (6) to eight (8) hours of sleep for every twenty-four (24), never less and definitely not more. If you sleep less than this, your body will not get a chance to regenerate itself, removing built-up toxins from the blood stream and rebuilding muscle tissue. On the other hand, more than eight hours of sleep will rob you of energy and vitality. We are, remember, creatures of habit and anything that is established as a routine, even long hours of sleep, will only create the desire for more of the same. So, the more you sleep, the more you will want to continue sleeping. But, the more active you become, the more your body will crave activity.

I will not go into detail on how to induce sleep... for those of you who suffer from sleeplessness. I believe that if one will simply follow as many of the healthful practices for natural living as his or her daily schedule (and lifestyle) will allow, he or she will sleep deeply and naturally, without the need for any further instruction.

Millions of people use some kind of sleep medication. Most sleeping pills, however, merely depress the central nervous system and adversely affect the quality of sleep, with undesirable side-effects. These medications create a state of dependency and eventually become ineffective in their prescribed doses. Increasingly larger amounts are needed to achieve the same results, until overdosing becomes a very real danger.

There is no sure way to cause sleep to come. We can only increase or decrease its probability. Such factors as diet, stress, drugs, and so on, may interfere with one’s natural tendencies for sleep. If these factors are controlled, all that is necessary for sleep is that you have been awake for at least sixteen (16) to eighteen (18) hours, you are tired, and that you lay down. It is just as simple as that. Insomnia is not a sleeping disorder; it is a disorder of the waking life that creates it.