Sleep: I'm probably not an early bird
Am I a night owl or early bird? I don't put any more stock in the 4 different sleep types than I do other unscientific personality tests like Meyer-Briggs. But I wonder if trying to force myself into what I think is the ideal sleep pattern is unhealthy.
I hate getting up early, but have plenty of experience.
- In high school, I'd have to get up at 6am. There was a longer-than-average commute due to early rush hour traffic. And my parents were teachers at the school, meaning I had to be there earlier than the other students.
- In university, I worked part-time at a Super Target, and got up at 3am to unload trucks and stock shelves before the store opened. Whenever I stayed out late with friends and had work the next day, I would feel terrible from lack of sleep.
- In Japan, I worked in an after-school English school in the afternoons. So I didn't have to get up early. But reading self-help stuff, I was convinced to try joining the "5am club". It didn't last long.
- For the past half a year, I hosted a daily morning writing group. This meant I had to be up before 8am. I set my alarm for 7am, but usually snoozed.
Now that I'm taking a break from the writing group, I feel a lot less pressure in getting up. I did feel productive getting up that early, but I actually wasn't being productive. I would still stay up late procrastinating on daily habits that are on my list. Which made it harder to get up the next morning. I can't say my sleep schedule is normalized right now, and sleeping in late makes me feel rebellious/guilty. But being able to get up whenever I feel like it is nice.
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