In this sentence
早く寝た方がいいですよ。
which is translated as
You should go to sleep early.
I am confused about the reason in which the past tense inflection for 寝る is used. Is this a similar construct used in English where:
It's better if you slept early
and
It's better if you go to sleep early
virtually convey the same thing? I'm not sure if the first is correct English, but I often catch myself using it in colloquial situations. It seems to me here that both are equivalent ideas. Is my Japanese example similar to this? If so, would
早く寝る方がいいですよ。
be both correct and convey the same idea?
