Just when is the ‘official’ start of the next day?

Tomorrow. What does this word mean? Sure, there’s a definition and an origin, but that’s not what we are here to discuss. What we are looking for here is an answer to the question of when the next day actually begins

Some say midnight, others say 7 a.m. and many say its when you wake up after a sleep, but what truly defines tomorrow.

Let me give you an example of the confusion. Let’s say I have been up till 5 a.m., partying, writing, watching infomercials… whatever it is I have been doing, I am still up at 5 a.m. doing it. Now technically it is after midnight and therefore by definition, it is already the next day ( I mean the time machine inside this computer already has changed the date.) But at midnight, it doesn’t necessarily feel like the next day, unless of course its new year’s eve 1999 and it feels like the next millenia. But the clock reads Jan.1 2000 so technically, it is tomorrow.

But I continue to stay up until 5 a.m. When I awake once again at 11, I begin my routine for the next day and it is therefore at that moment that I can say for myself it is tomorrow. But the dilema worsens when I stay up until 11 and begin my day without ever going to sleep. Now of course by definition, it was already tomorrow at midnight, but using the “it is a new day after you wake up theory,” then tomorrow is still today… but since the date has changed in the computer, then technically this tomorrow is actually still yesterday, right? Do you follow me with this?

Many people would say that the next day begins with a new sunrise, but what if the sun rises around 8:30 somewhere, and you are already well slept, and awake by 6 a.m. For you, the past day is already behind you, and you have begun your next day even before there is light to illuminate your day… but is that tomorrow?

I raise this question, today, as I have gotten into the habbit of defining the next day as 7 a.m. I am not sure how this got started, but I think I can refer to the film GROUNDHOGS DAY starring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell when everyday in Bill Murray’s world, when the clock reached 7 a.m., he would wake up in the same day he just fell asleep on. But the one time he moved forward into the next day, was when he stayed up past that 7 a.m. time.

But today, I awoke just before 6 a.m. and created this blog. Now by my standards that I have grown accustomed to, it hasn’t even become the next day yet… it is still yesterday because its before 7 a.m., but I have already slept and its past the sunrise so last night has come and gone. Man am I confused. Its like PURGATORY FOR TIME.

Perhaps tomorrow, I will have a better understanding of today, or maybe later today, I ill better understand tomorrow. Either way, enjoy your tomorrow today!