I am a night owl. I always have been. I get it from my dad. I tend to get a lot done in the morning if I can manage to wake myself up, but there is no denying my preference for staying up late versus getting up early.
I think re-realizing this fact will solve a couple problems:
1. I need to sleep less. Sounds crazy right? For the first (almost) year after having Zoey I got what sleep I could, when I could. Now that she is older and has her own routine (and sleeps all night, every night) I need to remember my own sleeping habits. I have a really hard time getting to sleep at night and then I wake up groggy and tired. I have concluded that I'm actually sleeping too much.
2. I need more hours in the day. This goes hand in hand with my first thought. I have all these things I want to do for myself (like read, write, scrapbook and blog for example.) However, when Zoey is awake, my focus is on her and sometimes chores. By the time Zoey goes to bed and I spend time with Stephen it's time for bed before I even get started. I've been trying to get up early and have time for myself for over two weeks now and it has been hugely unsuccessful. I'm having to face it--I'm so not a morning person.
It's time for a different approach. Embracing my night owl is working so far. I stay up a little later after everyone else has gone to bed and get all my thoughts down in the computer. Then I wind down before turning in for the night. I have been falling asleep easier because my mind isn't full and I sleep until Zoey wakes up (which, thankfully, is after the crack of dawn.) I still get about 6-7 hours of sleep, which I have found is all I need.
Everyone is different. The older I get the more I learn that you just have to figure out what works for you . There are millions of books and people telling you the "right" way to do things, but I don't think there is one way to live--in fact, that would be incredibly boring.
Yes! I am SO with you on #1...I am used to being up so late that when I have a chance to get to sleep early, I usually just find something else to do. I really need to take advantage of getting sleep...it's like a reward now, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI agree we need to be versatile in our sleep habits. I have been both a night owl and early bird. These days I am a night owl otherwise there would be no blog posts.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely right. Everyone is different. Don't expect people to conform to what you do and don't you conform to what they do. You have to do what is best for you.
ReplyDeleteMom