But for most of the industry, asceticism for asceticism's sake is a thing of the past--good news for those who exercise when they want to, sleep late, lounge around their luxury suites and eat whatever they feel like--as long as it's not soup with sunflower seeds.

FORBES: Who's The Boss?

Ekirch found that references to the first and second sleep started to disappear during the late 17th Century.

BBC: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

This is a city where visitors who choose to stay in hotels in more bustling neighborhoods often don't get very much sleep, thanks to late-night revelers on motor scooters.

FORBES: The Suite Life

Unemployed, Jed liked to stay out late, sleep until noon, and wander around in his boxers.

NEWYORKER: Spoiled Rotten

Three cheers for Professor John Zimmerman, who's finally doing some research to benefit Joe Public, and who has invented a device that lets parents sleep in late and put the kids to bed early on those long summer days.

ENGADGET: 'Reverse Alarm Clock' keeps the kids in bed so you can party

Late one night, unable to sleep, I started thinking about the cupboard again.

NEWYORKER: Sweetheart Sorrow

Sleep therapists correct the syndrome by forcing the advanced phase patients to stay up late and exposing them to bright light around 0230 AM - helping to "manually" reset the clock.

BBC: 'Sleepyhead gene' discovered

Reporters jokingly have started betting on whether Bush -- who wakes up early and hits the pillow early, too -- will be able to fight off sleep at the 9 p.m. meeting with Abdullah, who wakes up late and works into the wee hours.

CNN: Traveling with Bush: Bling, strawberry juice and goat brains?

There is no worse feeling than waking up in the morning, rested from good night's sleep, and glancing at the clock, only to do a double-take: You're late!

CNN: Twelve amusing excuses for being late to work

More than a day late, many coffees, and very little sleep later, the third time finally proved to be the charm -- more than 24 hours after our scheduled departure.

CNN: A week Boeing would like to forget