Dark!

Walking hastily, Latika glanced at the watch on her wrist, it read 2:15 am Sunday morning. The streets wore a desolate look. She reassured herself " 500 metres more and Home sweet home". Her mind kept wandering off all the things that could go wrong. Her mother's words of warning " Don't pass by or look up the banyan tree near Salma's beauty parlour, you would attract unholy spirits". Her father's advice "Don't try to be a hero, scream, shout and run in case you're in trouble". Her friends shared knowledge " Never look back in the dark of the night, if anyone calls your name, just keep on walking"  Her personal phobia of the dark arising from the years of punishment " locked inside a dark restroom, weeping inconsolably". The 500 metres walk felt like a marathon.

Why are we so afraid of the dark?

Why do we shudder when we stand alone engulfed by the dark?

Black is the fabric of choice of the heavenly skies. The stars shine the brightest in the dark. For the first nine months of our lives, we evolved from darkness into the light. If you notice the kind of evolution in the 9 months is nothing short of miraculous as against the slow growth in the first 9 months post birth.

When you are in a hopeless situation and you feel helpless there is one last thing you do " close your eyes and pray to God it's a dream" Closing your eyes is a signal to the mind that you are ready to release control to the autopilot, and the mind takes over.

Sleep in the dark

Researchers always recommend that we sleep in pitch black room to ensure that we rejuvenate every night. There are two essential triggers to a good sleep. One we close our eyes and invite the dark, the second our skin senses the absence of light. The logic being, our skin is photo(light) sensitive. This is a natural age old trigger - darkness outside and darkness within. The pituitary gland situated deep within our heads ( also known as the eye of Shiva or third eye) releases the rejuvenation crew called free radicals. These free radicals in this period of darkness start repairing cell wear and tear. In the presence of a strong light, this process never initiates. Hence we feel lethargic once we wake up when this rejuvenation process is stopped or stalled due to disturbances in sleep.

Complete your sleep

The danger of sleeping light or waking up with a start (using an alarm) resulting in a jerk which wakes you up from a deep sleep, is harmful. The free radicals generally do the rejuvenation and replacement of damaged and dead cells when one is in deep sleep. On a break in this deep sleep pattern, the free radicals do not get time to return to the pituitary gland. That's when these free radicals start attacking and repairing healthy cells. This attack increases the chances of cancer (as per research).

Light and Night

Night and day have an effect on humans far more than we imagine. Night signals sleep across cultures and geographies. Our ancestors used to wake up at the break of dawn or at the crowing of the cock. Breaking this cycle causes havoc. Things like early to bed and early to rise were written to highlight this particular phenomenon. Now let's try to understand the impact of night shifts, overnight parties under neon lights and then staying awake the whole day. The body has no chance to recover, as you have dismissed the recovery crew for the day.

Afternoons

The body also has built-in switches that tell you when you need to sleep. Ignoring these results in a feeling called fatigue. A power nap, a quick rest in the noon does wonders to increase energy levels and concentration spans. The afternoon has such a profound effect on humans. In the noon the sun is at its brightest, the effect of light is at its highest. Our ancestors used to retreat to under the shade of a tree or a cave to reduce the impact of light and heat. Too much light can also drain you out. Hence afternoons are generally low action periods. We feel drowsy post lunch, a trigger by nature to ensure we wait out the noon and get back to activity in the evening.

Physical and Mental Recovery

Recovery is always in the dark or inaction. People who have suffered severe trauma (mental trauma, physical incapacitation etc.) slip into a temporary coma or darkness and have no recollection of the event post waking up. For the pituitary gland to work on overdrive shutting down photosensitive skin sensors is a must. So hence the body enters into a temporary coma, then it gets to repairing the damage.

Latika reaches home and closes the door behind her. She has a sip of water and then recalls the memories of the late evening. Her thoughts rambled to the one memory that made the late night walk in the dark totally worth it - Her first kiss with  Shantanu. She recalled the exact moment how when their lips met "She shut her eyes, her skin tingled at his touch and her breath froze"

Darkness is stronger, 
because light struggles to exist, it needs a source; 
but darkness exists, 
even though it requires nothing.