Among Friends

[homedecor1]

My spouse is up every day by 4:30 AM (although he's been retired 10 years) and in bed by 9:00 PM.  That is his internal clock I guess! He worked shift work never late for 40 years old habits are hard to break I guess!

Me I'm a total "night owl" I get motivated about 10 pm & normally up til 2-3 AM. (I just wish QVC was still fun to watch instead of noise in background) guess I've never required a lot of sleep. I worked 6 am- 1pm and 11pm -7am (opposite shifts while kids were young). 

I sleep about 4-5 hours and I'm ready to go for the day!

[stevieb]

I've often wondered why it was decreed from on high long ago that everything must begin so early in the morning... Really, what is the point... Meetings can be scheduled and phone calls returned as easily at 10 as at 830... I think some of today's bosses who offer flex time and telecommuting have the right idea... Not everyone is cut out for the standard 8-4, 9-5 or whatever and they shouldn't be made to try to make it work unless there's no reasonable alternative, based on the nature of the work to be done... Let's face it, the more crowded the world becomes the worse traffic gets and trying to get anywhere during 'rush hour' is just a disaster... Workers who are less stressed and happier with their work sitautions are also probably more productive and a more positive influence on the job...

[aubnwa01]

For a year or so in the late 1970's, I worked 5am-12:30pm & I'm not by nature a person that can get to sleep when it's still light out.  I had to get up at 3:30am & throw on some clothes to make the 25 mile commute to downtown Seattle.  I was like a zombie inthe mornings, one morning I got all dressed & about to walk out the door to my car & realized I'd forgotten to put a bra on!  Another time, I could've sworn I heard my alarm go off, so i got up & got dressed & glanced at the clock & it was only 2am!   Plus, in the PNW, which is north enough that in the summers, the sun doesn't go down until 9:30-10pm at night & the neighbor kids would still be outdoors playing while I was laying there trying to go to sleep. 

Those were the years when I discovered that Nyquil could make me sleepy enough to get a few hours of sleep!  I think working those hours messed up my sleep patterns for years afterwards. 

[GRACIE]

As a young child living in the county, I always got up early around 4:00 in the morning. Now like clock work I wake up 2:00 a.m in the morning. My bed time can be 7:00 p.m  or 11:00 p.m, I still wake up before or at 2:00 a.m.Never  have I used a alarm clock.I am a morning person. When I worked in the hospital my job as a EKG technician started  @ 5:00 a.m. My current job also starts@ 5:00 a.m, but I am always early.When I am off work, I get a lot of chores done early, reading magazines, books, excising, crafting, relaxing, I  also sometimes take a afternoon nap. I do my shopping, Publix opens at 7:00 a.m ,Ross @ 8:00 a.m and TJmaxx @ 9:30 a.m. When "normal people" get up to do their thing, I usually back home before 1:00 p.m( if I stop for lunch).My chihuahua Sky and my bassethound Susie have my same hours( smile).I have a life, and do hang out with family and friends. My bedtime is when I am sleepy, this does not stop me from having a life. I love early morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ID2]

My dh worked overtime every chance he got. That meant him getting up at 3:30am every day getting to work by 5:00am. We went to bed around 9pm and he got plenty of sleep. We are now retired and occasionally joke now when 3:30am rolls around we are just rolling over for that final sleep. Retirement is good. 

[151949]

My family owned a bakery - the bakers started at 4AM because the shop opened at 6:30 and the baked goods had to be fresh made. During the depression my Grandfather worked as a baker there and he said he would get up at 3AM - work til noon and come home and go to bed until 4 Pm. Get up when the kids got home from school & go back to bed at 10Pm. So he slept in 2 stages.

[DecorDiva]

I am one of those people who gets up at 5 to be at work at 6:30.  Not my choice but dictated by the I-95 traffic commuting in northern VA.  Our local radio station jokingly calls it the "five oclock club".  The rush hour here starts at 0400 with people commuting to Washington DC. I couldn't imagine having to start work at 4 or 5.  I'm retiring in Jan, so I wonder how long it will take me to adjust to not waking up at 5:00.

[FrostyBabe1]

I got up between 4:45 & 5:15 AM on weekdays for most of my career. I either needed to be at the airport to catch the first flight out or wanted to be in the office by 6:00 AM to get things done before the phone started ringing. Doing so allowed me to either spend one less night in a hotel or leave the office by 5:30 PM (normal office hours were 8-4:30). Now I rarely sleep beyond 6:00 AM and I'm ready to go to sleep at 10:30 PM. I much prefer early mornings to late nights. 

[nyc1]

I don' have to be at work that early, but choose to get in around 4:40AM to get a lot done before most people arrive.  I'm up at 3:30AM Mon-Fri and go to bed around 11:30PM.  I sleep very soundly during that short period and have plenty of energy throughout the day (more than people HALF my age!).  During the weekend I get more sleep and that seems to work for me.  People tell me I never look tired and I don't feel tired.  I've been doing this schedule for most of my life.   Everyone is different.   I know people that need a full 8-9 hours of sleep or they are cranky and useless!  I worked with a woman who would not talk to people before 10AM.  Her job started at 9AM! 

[CalminHeart]

I arrived at work by 5:30 AM every day before I retired.  I'd get up at 4:15, take the dog out, get ready and go to work.  My standard 8 hours were 7-3:30 but I never got done in 8 hours. I was salaried so they didn't care that I worked 10-12 hours a day.   My son usually stopped by for lunch since he works close by and he'd let my dog out again.  I preferred to work early rather than later....my brain drain hit about 4:30 PM whether or not I went in early so it worked out.