Choose to snooze

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.
– William James

I am a night owl. It’s part of my genetic make-up. I may live in Mountain Time, but my internal clock is set to Australia (some day I’d like to visit my clock). It has always been this way. I can make myself live on a normal person’s clock, but it is never a permanent change, no matter how long I do it for.

I saw an article a few weeks back about ten things you could do to turn yourself into a morning person, to reset your internal clock. As I read the list I kept thinking, “this list was written by someone who does not understand body chemistry.” I also thought, “this list was written by a morning person who doesn’t understand night owls.”

One of the suggestions was to wash your hair at night and put it in a loose braid so you don’t have to wash it in the morning. For years I showered at night, and it never turned me into a morning person. I showered at night so that my hair would be dry in the morning and I could style it. I also showered at night because it was easier to stay up and do it than to get up and do it (a life philosophy of mine that applies to a lot more than showers). If I shower at night that’s ten minutes I can sleep in when morning comes.

Another suggestion was to turn off all electronics in the evening. I’ve done that too. And I really like it. I fall asleep faster, but I don’t necessarily get to bed earlier. Because there are books, or long showers, that I can do free of electronics.

I do get to bed earlier now than I ever have in the past, but that’s because I feel guilty when I stay up late now. Brett sleeps a whole lot better when he can feel me next to him than when he can’t. And I’ve done several informal experiments on this principle. So I feel like if I stay up I’m denying him a good night’s sleep, and that’s just not nice.

But it still doesn’t make me hop out of bed bright-eyed and ready to go at 6 in the morning.

If the choice is ever to hit snooze or get up, I’ll pretty much always hit snooze.