Early to bed and early to rise makes me very, very tired
and cranky.
Sure, there are times when I get up at the crack of dawn,
but it’s usually because we’re headed to the airport for a very early flight. And really, since I generally stay up all
night packing before a trip, “getting up” is really nothing more than ending
the little nap I take before heading to the plane, where I sleep through the
flight.
On a recent quick trip down the shore for our anniversary,
my husband woke me with great excitement, talking about the sun coming up and
the beautiful sunrise and all that. Our
room had a lovely balcony facing the ocean and I would have delighted in
sleeping in the sunshine streaming through the window.
Yes, the sun came up.
That’s exactly what it’s supposed to do.
If it doesn’t happen, go ahead and wake me up.
I’ve been a night owl all my life. Even as a baby I sat in the crib looking
around far into the wee hours. I did the
old cliché reading under the covers with a flashlight until I couldn’t see the
print anymore because my eyes were so tired.
I missed more school buses because I overslept than any kid
in history, but I can honestly tell my children I walked miles to school up
very steep hills. Truthfully, I ran most
of the way so I wouldn’t be late.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t change my biological
clock. I’ve managed to get up for work
in the morning for many years, but I can’t seem to manage the other end—going to
sleep at what most people would consider a reasonable hour. Thus, I fall asleep with my nose in the
newspaper or my head on the keyboard very often.
What I don’t understand is why it’s considered virtuous to
get up before the sun. My body can get
out of bed, but my brain doesn’t follow until much later in the day.
So many writing-advice books tell us to get up an hour
early to get our writing kickstarted for the day. I can’t even imagine what
sort of writing I’d produce under such a system. I’m sure it would make no sense at all.
Night own or morning lark.
Which are you? And have you been
forced to change your natural tendency because of some circumstance in your life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Hey, Hannah! We are sisters under the skin. I'm the same way. I can stay up all night without a problem. It's getting to sleep at night that's the problem which of course makes waking up the next day a big problem too. *g*
ReplyDeleteI am with you! Total night owl here! Even if I try and get in bed early, I'll lay awake for hours. My body just naturally adjusts so I get tired later and wake up later. Now that I'm retired, I can stay in my own natural rhythm and not force one upon me.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a morning lark. I love to get up and write when the house is quiet. It's the same as reading in the morning hours or the late night hours. But I have never been a person who can sleep in, and my body shuts off about 10, unless I'm feeling stubborn about going to bed. The older I get, the more I don't want to go to sleep because that just means I have to go to work. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteMy people! I can relate to this post so, so much. It's not unusual for me to be up at 2am in the morning, but making an appointment for 8am is a recipe for disaster. From one night owl to another - great post!
ReplyDeleteI have been fortunate to live most of my adult life with no alarm clock, other than hungry babies in the night. I'm happy to go to bed around 10. I seem to do best waking with my body rhythm after about 9 hours. I'd get a lot more done in a day if I didn't enjoy my sleep so much.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to stay up all night as I am definitely a night owl (born about 3am so I kept my Mom up, too). And I really hated when I got a job with hours of 8-5 rather than my preferred 9-5 (it was an East Coast vs. West Coast thing, I think). I make myself get to bed around midnight these days (well, sometimes closer to 12:30 if I'm close enough to the end of a book) but I wake up anytime between 8 and 10, since there are no more alarm clocks for me (yay!). The world is quieter when everybody else is also asleep and I read it's better for your body to have a routine, so I have "trained" myself this way. Karen H near Tampa (kesh307 at yahoo dot com)
ReplyDeleteHannah, reading your post sounded as if I had written it. My sweet husband is an early-to-bed and early-to-rise person. When he was still working (and I was), I got up early and prepared breakfast, yada, yada but my brain doesn't really click ON until about ten. Last night/this morning, I quit writing at four.
ReplyDeleteI get up early, but I always write in the late afternoon. Mostly because that's when I arrived home from work and I had a small window when the house was mine. Now, I still don't write early even though I can.
ReplyDeleteI sure am a night owl, my best reading time! Nothing like getting under the bed covers, with a cup of chia tea and a good book. I could read all night long and I have if the book holds my interest! Reading is my passion!
ReplyDeleteOh, I know! I keep reading until the words blur and I realize I don't even understand what I'm reading anymore.
DeleteI'm up late even when I have to get up at 4 am for work. I wonder who I inherited that trait from?😏
ReplyDeleteHmmm...probably the other side of the family.
DeleteI'm a lark, which came in handy when I got up at 3:30 to go to work at the post office. I don't do that anymore, but it I don't get stuff done before noon, chances are good it's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteMorning lark chiming in. But I have had chronic insomnia for decades so my sleep pattern is always a challenge.
ReplyDeleteNight owl all the way! it's nothing for me to still be awake at 2 a.m.! I try to get up around 7:30, but most of the time, I hit the snooze button several times!
ReplyDeletemarthalawson8 (at) gmail dot com
I'm a mid-morning person. I love a sleep in, but I also like going to bed fairly early. It really does sound like I sleep my life away.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I used to be a night owl, but recent years I have been more flexible. I tend to be early due to many factors. pores(at)live(dot)com
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the night owls are in the majority here. Maybe it's a writer thing. But then, as a reader also, even if I do get in bed early I always want to read "just one more chapter" before going to sleep. And another and another...
ReplyDeleteI am totally a nightowl myself, mostly Bcz I have such bad insomnia! I can't handle anything early morning at all and everyone that knows me knows this about me!
ReplyDeletemsredk at aol dot com
Cindi Knowles
For the past few years my insomnia has gone away. I fall asleep almost as soon as I get in bed. But my night owl habits hang on! Do you get critical comments from people about it?
DeleteYou and I could work in shifts, because I'm a TOTAL morning person! I couldn't sleep in if I tried. (Maybe I've been conditions by all these crazy dogs LOL) Most nights I'm in bed by 10pm (with a book, of course) then I'm up by 6am. Iced coffee as jet fuel, and off I go! :D
ReplyDeleteI use to be a morning lark..but after kids..now I am up late because I want time alone and time to read. thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteclarksuzannah at gmail dot com
Yes, after the kids and the hubby go to bed you can finally think!
DeleteHalloween is now closer, I was looking for fursuits for sale but now I think i change my mind i will definitely go for a different costume. Thanks for all the team.
ReplyDeleteI am early to wake usually, does take a bit to get brain moving normally.
ReplyDelete