I'll Probably Be Asleep While You Are Reading This

Tonight I worked on my Valentines.

I am a delayed sleep phase sleeper.

I used to call myself a night owl but that label can be quite misleading.

Because calling myself a night owl suggests I have a choice in the matter. It implies that my sleeping habits are simply preferences and if I choose to stay up late and sleep late, then that's my choice and really, shame on me for not getting a jump on the day.

I've come to accept that the hours that my body craves sleep are non-negotiable and I can no more change them than I can change the number of fingers on each hand or the shape of my nose.

Believe me. I have spent a lifetime trying. 

Now science is proving that our sleeping behaviors are not preferences at all.

Here's a four-minute video with the latest research findings:

This research data is great, but it's nothing that we delayed sleep phasers don't already know.

We know what it's like to set an alarm to wake up in the morning with the rest of the world, and literally feel drugged and unable to stand up and function. Trust me, this is not a fun way to live. 

But here is the joy of being a delayed sleep phase sleeper. While the rest of the world is heading off to bed, we are just hitting our stride. 

And while all the night owls and so-called "normal sleepers" are lying asnooze in bed, our world comes alive. 

For me, I wrap up my daily duties around ten, when my early bird husband goes to sleep. 

Then I am free to 

write

create

deep clean

talk to my daughter in Asia

read

catch up on email and messages

contemplate

and prepare for the new day ahead.

I also have to eat another meal, because dinner at 7 p.m. isn't enough to get me through nine more hours. Which works out fine because my first meal of the day is around noon. Even if I force myself to get up early, my body is not ready to eat. 

So when I get into bed tonight around 3:30 or 4 a.m., I will close my eyes with the sweet satisfaction that although the rest of the world will soon be up and busy while I am fast asleep, I already accomplished my morning's work before I went to bed. 

Have a great Monday morning, world. I'll see you later on.