The Occupation of Sleep

A couple of weeks ago one of my professors gave us the following instructions for a discussion post.

Share something about yourself, your family or friends that to the outside world would look unusual. It might be a ritual, routine, a saying or "way to do something". How do you think what you describe could be interpreted by someone assessing you or your family? 

Since I think I'm rather normal I asked my housemate what I do that is unusual. Her immediate response was, “You go to bed at 8:00.” I can protest that I go to bed that early because I get up a little after 4 so I can get to work by 5, but in reality I’ve always valued my sleep. I come from a family where we often say, “It’s after 8:00 so we can go to bed now.” Some friends in college tried to get me to pull an all-nighter. They soon gave up realizing that sleep was far too important to me to do something so foolish. A few years back a New Year’s Eve party with some extended family ended at 11. We were all tired and figured it was the New Year on the east coast so that was good enough for us. More recently my brother set up a time to chat with his girlfriend online one evening while he was at my parents for Christmas. His girlfriend told him he should be spending time with his family to which my brother replied, “Don’t worry, they’ll all be in bed.”

Hopefully someone assessing me (or my family) would realize that we are just morning people. However, some people think I need to loosen up a bit, have some fun and realize that life won’t come to an end if I don’t get 8 hours of sleep. Others might assume that I lead a rather boring life. My early morning work schedule definitely has cut into my social life, but that is temporary. I do look forward to the day when 10 pm is bedtime instead of 8.

This week we read about the importance of sleep. We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping which may seem like an incredible waste of time. But if we don't get enough sleep or good quality sleep, it affects everything else we do. My housemate may think it odd that my family goes to bed so early and takes naps if we need them but I am thankful that I sleep well.

And now it's time to get to bed so tomorrow my brain is ready to study for a Tuesday morning test on the brain.