Early to Bed What?

What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

I have always railed against that old saying, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” What a load of sleepsand!

I’ve always been a night person. Oh, yes, I did get up early for grade school and high school. Luckily grade school was a 3 minute walk so I didn’t have to get up at some ungodly hour for a bus. For high school, it was about a 15 minute drive, depending on the lights and who was driving; either I got a ride or drove myself, and that didn’t take long either.

During that first year after high school, I became a truly vampiric night person. I would stay up till 3am and get up at 11am. My doctor at the time found this out and looked at me as if I was indeed a vampire; he said, “Well, I think you need regular hours.” I did have regular hours, just not in the way he thought they should be arranged.

For my first real full-time job after high school—janitor—well, that was a bit of a drag. My hours were 8:30am to 5:30pm (no paid lunch, you see), and being there at that time required forcing myself up and out.

Since that time my hours have varied, but one of the perks of being a college professor is that you can (mostly) set your own schedule. In the last years of teaching, abandoned that 10am Intro to Theatre time (due to declining enrollments) and just taught one section at 1pm. I may have had to teach an extra class, but I didn’t need to get up early.

Now in retirement it’s up around 10:30am and to bed around 2:30am. There’s a lot I can get done during the day, with some relaxation at night. Unless there’s a doctor’s appointment I generally don’t set the alarm, and just wake spontaneously. I hear that’s the way to go!

Morning people vs. night people is another one of those false conflicts. What works for your body and rhythms? That’s probably what’s right for you. So if you’re a morning person, no need to get that insulting “slugabed” mug for those who aren’t. And I won’t go into why the whole 9-5 schedule thing is just a part of wage slavery to control people.

Please like and follow when you’ve had enough rest!