Sleep

I used to be quite a good "morning person".

I'd be quite happy to get up at some ridiculous hour and get on with the day as any other person would. I'd also be quite happy going to bed at a reasonable time and getting enough sleep.

Over the past few months, though, I've become less of a "morning person" and more of a "waking-up-at-a-stupid-hour-and-not-being-able-to-get-back-to-sleep-so-ending-up-being-grumpy-for-the-rest-of-the-morning person".

I don't know what's happened. I still go to bed at a reasonable hour (22:00 on average) and feel like I'm getting enough sleep. However, I'm waking up at around 05:30 with that horrible feeling of wanting to go back to sleep but cannot get comfortable. I toss and turn and eventually give up because it's too close to my waking up time. Then, by around midday, I'm shattered again.

Why 05:30??

Why can't I sleep that extra hour and a half??

It could be several things.

Cats - as lovely as they are and as much as I probably couldn't live without the two lovely things, they have a habit of cuddling up to us from the crack of dawn. It never used to wake me up but maybe it is now?

Dawn - It seems to be really early. As summer ends, will my sleep pattern get better?

Enough sleep? - Maybe I am getting enough sleep but having that sleep at the wrong time. I go to bed at 22:00 and wait up, on average, about 05:30. Seven and a half hours. That's reasonable. Maybe I should go to bed later. But I'm tired at 10. Do I force myself to stay up later?

I've been awake since 06:30 today and I'm not tired now. It's now 07:19.

I might try staying awake later. That might risk waking at the usual time and being ridiculously tired tomorrow but at least I'll have some sort of idea.

I expect, after reading this post, you'll also be ready for sleep.

Apologies.