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?
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2021-04-13T04:29:19.487
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2021-04-13T04:45:24.180
2021-04-13T04:45:24.180
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question
verbs
Past-tense inflection used for a future action