Andrea Wilson Woods' Blog

I’m sure you’ve heard the proverbs “The early bird gets the worm” or “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” (Supposedly, Ben Franklin said the latter one.) My entire life I’ve been told I should go to sleep early, but I’ve wanted to stay up late for as long as I can remember.

When I was nine years old, I would “go to bed” around 8:30/9:00. My mother worked graveyard shift at the hospital, and my father (before the divorce) never bothered to check on me so I stayed up and read. Two hours later, I would walk into the living room and give my father a complete review of the book. He usually grumbled about me staying up too late, but I don’t think he cared too much since I spent the entire time reading. Plus, those late hours were our only time together. No mother, no brother (this was many years before my sister Adrienne). After listening to me discuss my book and then quizzing me on random world history facts that I couldn’t possibly know, my father and I would watch TV shows like Soap and Barney Miller. I may have gone to school with dark circles under my eyes, but nothing can replace what would become some of my happiest childhood memories.

Now I’m adult who has spent years struggling to wake up early with the rest of the world. I remember staying up all night once in college just to see the sun rise (definitely not my idea), and all I could think was This is it? A couple of streaks of yellow in the sky? Give me a smog-infused LA sunset any day over this morning crap. I promptly went to sleep afterward and have done my best to avoid sunrises ever since. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve woken up before dawn to go skiing, to catch a plane, and even to drive to work, but I HATE IT. No amount of coffee will ever make me love or even appreciate what the morning has to offer. The only time I’ve woken up at 6am without an alarm clock was on my honeymoon in Australia (my husband, a morning person, was thrilled), but the jet lag quickly wore off in three days.

However, I found myself in the most unusual situation last month. After many months of unemployment, I managed to get two jobs that allow me to work from home. I make my own schedule. Suddenly, it occurred to me. What if I just allowed my body to do what it wants? What if I just see what happens? I don’t sleep well anyway—especially when I force myself to go to bed early. Guess what happened? I’m sleeping approximately seven hours a night from 2am – 9am, and I LOVE IT. Sometimes I have restless nights that cause me to wake up every 2.5 hours, but that’s typical for me. But usually, I’m sleeping almost seven hours without the use of sleep aids, and that’s a miracle for an insomniac like me. I believe it’s because I’m going with my body’s natural rhythm instead of against it.

So while I admire those of you who are able to get up early in the morning, I also challenge you. How is my seven hours of sleep different from yours? (If you go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 5am for instance.) I accomplish many things late at night (grading, blogging, critiquing resumes (i.e. job stuff), etc.). I’m also able to spend time with our weird cat Marinol who is extremely nocturnal; he wakes up around midnight and plays all night long. I love not feeling guilty about the time I go to bed. I love curling up with a good book the way I used to when I was a kid. I love not forcing sleep. The best part about my new regimen is that I don’t take naps anymore. I used to take them all the time because I was so tired, but now that I sleep when my body wants to I don’t seem to need them.

So … if the early bird catches the worm … then the night owl eats it while sipping a glass of red wine and reading a good book.

AWW — XoXo

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