I’m odd about my sleep. It doesn’t really matter to me when I have to go to bed – I just must (absolutely must) have enough sleep. Which means ten hours.
To prove this, I’ll give you a few facts:
- During college, I went to bed at 9pm every night because I had to get up at 7am. 9:30pm was staying up late. (My husband can back me up.)
- During my semester overseas, I elected to go to bed when everyone else went out. I became so notorious for going to bed early that I got the sweetest of the girls’ rooms and really nice (terrific) roommates when room assignments were given out. I called my room The Cubby, because it was a little nook (almost a room in itself) in a really big room meant for 5 that I shared with two other girls.
- The summer before I went overseas, I had to adjust my sleeping schedule to fit London time. Instead of getting up an hour earlier every day, like my parents suggested, I decided to get up an hour later every day until I was getting up at 3AM. I was sleeping 13 hours a night. And I definitely met my goal.
- If I get 9 hours of sleep too many nights in a row, I become a monster. A fire-breathing, man-eating dragon.
- I can stay awake as long as I want by sheer willpower, but I never do it.
- I never take naps because they make me feel groggy and dizzy. No matter how tired I am, I wait until bedtime. I NEVER take naps. If I take a nap, Alex worries. Usually with good reason.
These days, I’m getting to bed around 12-2am, and I’m still maintaining my 10 hours. And, honestly, I don’t think I could change back that easily. I like not having to get up at a certain time – it’s a luxury I’d give up if I had to get a job or something, but . . .
You say, what does this have to do with your writing?
Well, a lot, actually. You see, there’s something else about my sleep that I love: after I go to bed every night, and before I go to sleep, I work on plot. And when I wake up in the morning, I lounge for an hour just working on scenes in my head, shifting things around until something fits.
Daydreaming, really. (Doesn’t my job rock?)
Except when I don’t get enough sleep, I can’t. Which is why my sleep schedule has become that much more important to me – despite the fact that I become a bear when I’m tired, getting up early just breaks into my writing time. And I know that to people who don’t know me very well, it looks like I just want to sleep in and be lazy. But really, I want to be a good wife and a good writer and a good friend. And my sleep is important to me because it helps those endeavors. It is a tool I use to make myself more patient, industrious, and kind. It prevents stress.
It is a tool I refuse to compromise if I don’t have to.
*laughter* I guess some people will still think I’m lazy. That’s okay. I’d rather have enough sleep and be thought lazy than be exhausted and a grouch.
