It’s smart to understand the day/night cycles in Minecraft, because getting caught out in the darkness is dangerous. Let’s deal with time for a moment.
There are 20 minutes in each day/night cycle in Minecraft. You get ten minutes of sunshine and ten minutes of shadow (including dawn and dusk). Many of the dangerous creatures are limited to nighttime, so you’re much, much safer playing outside during the day.
You can track the progress of the day by watching the sun—as long as you’re outside! Watch as the sun travels through the sky, eventually setting and bringing on dusk. Before you have the resources to make a Clock, the sun is your best way to tell time.
That said, you can also use your own watch or clock in real life. Look at the time when dawn breaks and remember that the evening will come in ten minutes.
During the Day
Your first day begins at dawn. That’s a good thing, because you have plenty to do in those short ten minutes. Make the most of them so Zombies don’t eat your character when night falls.
Daylight prevents most monsters from spawning, helps crops to grow quickly, and is brighter than a Torch even when it’s up close. In fact, it’s so bright that some monsters aren’t merely driven into hiding. Zombies and Skeletons are killed by direct sunlight. Endermen teleport to a safe, dark area. Spiders don’t leave, but they become docile and don’t attack until they are attacked or placed in shadow.
As the Moon Rises
Enjoy the pretty view while you can. Sunset is lovely, but danger grows with each passing second. When the light starts to dim, sprint back toward your home or dig an emergency shelter and lock yourself into a makeshift cave. The moon rises in the evening, and dusk lasts for a short time. Light levels diminish during the next minute and a half.
It’s quite possible to stay outside all night, working as you wish. Fighting Creepers, Zombies, and Skeletons is dangerous work, but someone with a Sword, armor, and experience fighting these monsters should be okay. This doesn’t mean that you should do it; using resources, risking your life, and killing enemies is fun but not always productive.
The best reason to stay outside and fight is if you’re gathering specific resources: Bone, String, and Arrows from Skeletons; Gunpowder from Creepers; Ender Pearls from Endermen; and Carrots or Potatoes from Zombies. Once you get enough of these items, nighttime becomes even less appealing.
Telling Time
If you aren’t using a real-world clock to tell time, make a Clock inside Minecraft. They are quite helpful when you’re deciding whether to risk a long-range scouting expedition. They let you know how much daylight remains. They’re even better underground, when you want to figure out whether it’s a good time to return to the surface.
Getting Some Sleep
Night passes instantly if your character rests in a Bed. This does not advance time—at least, not exactly. Crops don’t grow, your Furnaces won’t cook any faster, and so forth. Beds simply advance your character to morning. Rain or snow that’s falling can end thanks to “skipping ahead,” but this is the only effect aside from getting you quickly through the night.
Beds save your position when you rest. If your character dies (anywhere, in any world), you return to the last place where your character slept. Always put your Bed somewhere safe, so you don’t get attacked while you’re trying to get your bearings. Keep a Bed inside your base, where you have resources to arm yourself. If you die, grab new tools, weapons, armor, food, and Torches, and then head out to retrieve any items that fell. You don’t want to run back out there empty-handed!
Beds are handy to bring with you on long-distance exploration expeditions. If you want to see the Overworld, take a Bed in your inventory and use it as night falls. You get to sleep through the nighttime monster spawns and pick up your journey where you left off. If you die, you wake up where you last slept instead of back at home. It’s a good way to save time and stay safe, while getting the most out of your exploration. It’s also a potential lifesaver if you’re the type who gets lost easily whenever you step outside your house.