As wrong as it may seem to some, I just have always felt that there are "morning" people and "night" people, and since I was a little girl, still awake while Johnny Carson was on in the background, I have been entirely a "night" person. So when I had a visit with my naturopath earlier this week, and she told me I need to be going to bed earlier (between 9-11pm) and getting up earlier (at 7am), I felt confused, befuddled, perhaps a little disbelief. But how, I asked, will I be able to get out of bed, if I don't have somewhere to be? She seemed confused, "Can't you just be in your house?" she asked... "No, I mean physically, how will I be able to get out of bed, if I'm not expected anywhere?"... Just do it, you'll get used to it, she tells me. She wasn't that harsh, I could just tell, she must be a morning person. Also she has kids, and when you have kids, you kind of have to get up when they do...
Now I'm not saying I'm a lazy layabout. I don't sleep til all hours of the afternoon. But I do work different shifts on different days so I don't always have to be somewhere in the mornings, and I certainly have trouble being in bed before midnight. But I didn't think I was doing all that badly. So I decided to just listen to her. And see what happens. It takes twenty-one days to form a habit, so maybe it's about having the habit of early waking. Although I have to say the only time I've woken up naturally early in the morn is either when I'm having a lot of anxiety, or when I'm in pain. And don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of jobs that required an early waking time, but honestly that just made me feel like neither a morning or night person, a nothing person. Tired all the time.
So today is day two. And I have twelve minutes before I have to be in bed, asleep. I think today I felt even worse than yesterday. It's actually still kind of dark at 7am, and it's been so cold. Cold fall, turning in the winter might be the worse time to start such a regimen, but here I am. Granted some of this "feeling glued to the bed in the morning feeling" might be symptomatic of my larger health picture/problems, so maybe someday I will figure all of that out. Or maybe it will always be a struggle. I will say that I'm surprised I've been able to do it two days in a row. I haven't jumped out of bed, I have pressed the snooze, but I haven't fallen back to sleep either.
Day 1 (yesterday) I woke up at 7, physically got out of bed at about 7:30. Went for a walk to the mailbox, and felt ok for some of the day, but really wanted to go to bed at 7pm, sadly realizing that I had only been up for 12hours. Went to bed for real just a little after 11pm.
Day 2 (today) woke up at 7, stayed awake but did not actually rise out of bed until 7:45. Did my pilates for posture dvd and even managed to shower, though it was freezing out. And I suppose I'll be in bed a little after 11 again this eve. But I was really tired today, especially after lunch it just hits and I want to curl up in a little ball.
So yes, I want to hear your thoughts, morning person or night? Has it changed over the years? What are the contributing factors if it has changed. Do you feel changed for the better? More productive, more energy, etc??
I'm still skeptical about this sticking, but I figure I need to swallow my pride, because if I can't take my health care practitioner's advice, how can I expect anyone to take mine?
3 comments:
GO MERNS! I agree about the morning person stuff. I too have to pry myself out of bed EVERY morning not matter what time it is. When I was starting doing my "love lamp" (light therapy) it suggested how to work on getting up earlier. I think it is 30 min increments?
http://www.golite.philips.com/
Has a good test to see what time you should be getting up and where your circadian rhythm is now. Good luck!
When I was a kid I was a morning person. My natural alarm clock wants me to wake up with the sun. anywhere from 5:00-6:30am. I was pretty consistent with that until high school and then I kind of became a night owl. I do need about nine hours of sleep to function at my best though. I now generally, if given the choice, wake up around 9 am and go to sleep around 12.
This is pretty much what I'm comfortable with now, but I will say, I still wake up most mornings as the sun starts to rise and I typically am ready for bed by about 10:30 or 11. Or at least that's what I think my body wants.. but then there's this part of me that's like "waking up early= bad. sleep=good" My later schedule I really feel over all is unproductive and my energy levels are really all over the place different times of the day.
I've been meaning to try this experiment of waking early daily but I seriously, lack the willpower.
Thanks for the input, ladies. Yeah, it's just hard all around. Sometimes I think a buddy would help, but I also hate to be held that accountable in the mornings. And I like the idea of being the only one up that early too (at least in my close vicinity). It somehow makes it more bearable to know I won't really have to interact with other humans.
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