Becoming an Early Riser 015
I'd say by now, in spite of the occasional sleep-ins, that I am officially "trained" in the brain to wake before dawn...wake, not rise. I can go back to sleep, especially if I was awake until midnight. Even when I manage to sleep beyond that, I still wake and rise with the light of day, almost regardless of what time I went to bed....lamps not so much, though I have the timer on one to pop on at 5:30, except on holidays and weekends. Thus, my sleep-in days are still early by some standards, rising between 7 and 8 a.m. depending on the season and when the sun rises.
As I've stated in previous posts, I am not by nature a "pre-dawn" early riser, but I would say I am now at middle-age, an early riser. I no longer sleep until noon. My body won't let me and my ocular nerves sense the light of the sun beaming against the back of my light blue curtains covering my Northeast facing bedroom windows as it makes its way up and over the horizon. Were I in an inside lower level cabin of a cruise ship my senses might be fooled into sleeping longer but I think my brain would know and wake me anyway. On the extremely rare occasions when I am up until 2:00 - 4:00 a.m., I can sleep until 10:00, but those occasions are few and far between, usually fueled by fun and frivolity when all three of my adult children are home keeping me up and out eating, drinking, watching movies or playing games...totally worth it!
When I'm rested, I'm rested and these days 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours of sleep is sufficient for me to wake feeling rested, and 8 1/2 hours is gloriously refreshing.
So, for now...this will be the last post on this topic. It is my plan after I retire to have a job that affords me the flexibility to stick with my inherent circadian rhythms...bed before midnight, wake with the sunrise. I like this timeless quote by the French poet, Paul Valery; timeless in the sense that he does specify one.
"The best way to make your dreams come true, is to wake up." ~ Paul Valery (French poet)
As I've stated in previous posts, I am not by nature a "pre-dawn" early riser, but I would say I am now at middle-age, an early riser. I no longer sleep until noon. My body won't let me and my ocular nerves sense the light of the sun beaming against the back of my light blue curtains covering my Northeast facing bedroom windows as it makes its way up and over the horizon. Were I in an inside lower level cabin of a cruise ship my senses might be fooled into sleeping longer but I think my brain would know and wake me anyway. On the extremely rare occasions when I am up until 2:00 - 4:00 a.m., I can sleep until 10:00, but those occasions are few and far between, usually fueled by fun and frivolity when all three of my adult children are home keeping me up and out eating, drinking, watching movies or playing games...totally worth it!
When I'm rested, I'm rested and these days 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours of sleep is sufficient for me to wake feeling rested, and 8 1/2 hours is gloriously refreshing.
So, for now...this will be the last post on this topic. It is my plan after I retire to have a job that affords me the flexibility to stick with my inherent circadian rhythms...bed before midnight, wake with the sunrise. I like this timeless quote by the French poet, Paul Valery; timeless in the sense that he does specify one.
"The best way to make your dreams come true, is to wake up." ~ Paul Valery (French poet)
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