Dateline Boston — I am a morning person. I always have been. I wake up early, immediately, and happy. Before I met my husband, I didn’t use an alarm. I got up naturally at 6:30, with the birds. Now I wake up with my husband’s alarm, asking him questions and planning my day. Husband needs coffee when he wakes up. I’ve learned to save questions until after his first cup.
In college, I never pulled an all-nighter. In my freshman year, I went to frat parties and stayed up past midnight, but I always felt horrible the next day. (And not because of the alcohol. I discovered early on that the beat of good music was better than lukewarm beer.). If I go to bed past 11:30, I can’t function the next day. I feel nauseous and light headed. I start to fade around 8:30. I need between eight and 10 hours of sleep, and get it, every night. I can count on one hand the times I’ve had insomnia. Every Friday night I look forward to my favorite true crime show, and every Friday night I miss it, because it starts at 10 o’clock. Thank goodness for OnDemand. I can watch it on Saturday afternoon.
I’ve always felt good about being a morning person. Last night, I felt sleepy and thought it would be a good time to get into my PJs and settle down with my meditation (i.e. sleep aid) CD. I looked at the clock, and it read 8 o’clock! That was early even for me. I started to wonder if there was something wrong with me. I’ll be 50 in three years—was my age catching up to me? Did other people go to bed at 8? What is normal?
I decided to get some answers quickly by using a method I use whenever I have a burning need for information. I did a Facebook poll. The results were interesting. I asked people how old they were and what time they went to bed. Twenty-six people responded. Of those, 19 of them were in their 40s, with the range being 35-80. Exactly half of the people went to bed at 10:30 or earlier. (Only one person went to bed at 8. Oh, well.) The other half, of course, went to bed at 10:30 or later. Of those, six went to bed at midnight or later, which surprised me. Seventeen people also reported when they woke up. Turns out I’m friends with a lot of early birds! Well, maybe they’re not happy to be up at 5 or 6, but they were up. Out of 17 people, 12 of them got seven hours of sleep or more, which also surprised me. I always see headlines about how many people don’t get enough sleep. Among my friends, looks like we get plenty.
My takeaway is this: I get enough sleep for me. It’s not weird to go to bed at 9 o’clock or 10. If I want to go to bed at 8, I will, and won’t feel guilty about it. I also won’t feel guilty about declining that invite to go out dancing or to go hear live music. Have a good time, friends. I’ll read about it tomorrow. On Facebook.
Ms. Vaillancourt may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
