Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Are You a Morning Glory or a Night Owl?


Okay.  So I know most moms of little ones are awaken much earlier than they wish to be.  I also know that most moms of little ones stay up late, either catching up on the things they couldn't get done during the day or caring for little ones who would rather not sleep.  My youngest is 3 and the oldest is 10, but I still wake up at night to care for kids.  A few weeks ago, they went through a particularly wakeful spell and between the two youngest, I got up 6 times in the same night! 

Okay.  So forget the circumstances you can't control.  If you follow your natural tendencies, are you a morning glory or are you a night owl? 

I feel like I'm on the fence.  I have very little trouble getting up in the morning.  I'm one of those people who can begin a conversation within minutes of waking, much to my husband's chagrin.  I don't drink coffee, but as soon as my feet hit the floor, I'm ready for the new day. However, I also like to stay up late.  I love a quiet, peaceful house and I get my best blogging inspiration after 9 o'clock.  That's when I do most of my blog reading, too. I could easily stay up until 12 or 1 am if I let myself do it. It becomes a problem, though, if I get up early and try to burn the midnight oil so I've had to compromise. 

During the spring, summer, and fall, Brian has to leave early for his drive to work.  He has a physically demanding job so he is tired in the evenings.  Though, beyond a doubt, he will tell you that he is a night owl, he has to get to bed by no later than 11 to ensure enough rest.  I've adopted his schedule by default.  I wake up about an hour before he has to leave and slip out of the house for an early morning run.  It's the best way to kick-start my day because I always have more energy when I do.  It's hard to get lazy once I get a disciplined start to my day.  I like it so much, I've even chosen to get up early to run one day on the weekend instead of sleep in!   {Weird, huh?} By nighttime, my body is tired, I've accomplished much, and I'm ready to fall into bed for a few hours of earned rest! 

What category do you fall into? 




7 comments:

  1. I could easily go both ways. Even without the kids waking me up, I'm naturally up by 6 or 6:30. Of course, I can also stay up to 12 finishing projects and enjoying the quiet of the house :)

    Before having children I can remember waking up at 5 without an alarm clock, and I've never used the snooze button in my life, so I guess I'm more of a morning person by nature and a night owl by necessity :)

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  2. I'm a morning glory. And I'm regularly up at night still too...sigh. 8 kids with 3 UNDER age 3, so yeah, not much sleep going on. The 2yo is up once most nights with a soaked diaper. The 1yo is up to be catheterized (lots of medical needs going on with him), and the 2 month old is up because, well, he's 2 months old! Thank heaven for a Kindle. I get so much reading done at night. I read aloud to the 2 month old and the first thing we read each middle of the night is scripture, then whatever book I'm currently reading for me.

    I love mornings best so I'm up early. The hubs is up and gone even earlier though. His truck routes leave work between 3 and 5am most weeks.

    I don't use an alarm clock unless we have a medical appointment that morning (we average 6 a month, though some months we have 15+). I naturally wake between 5am-6am.

    My kids are a mix. Some are awake bright and early, while others sleep until you pull them from their beds. :)

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  3. @Tristan, I think my kids will be a mix, too, though since the 5 of them share 2 bedrooms and no one is quiet in the morning, even the night owls get up early by default. :-)

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  4. I am a Morning person! I can't think straight after 7pm. It's a good thing Brian does the bed time routine.

    This has been a difficulty in our marriage though because Brian is a night owl. I'm ready to crash no later than 10 and I love to be up by 6. He prefers to stay up until some weird hour of the early morning and sleep until 8. It works well with my running though because then I can be done and showered without getting in his way.

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  5. I'm a morning glory. Early to bed & early to rise. I suspect I used to be a night owl but those days before kids feel so long ago that it's hard to remember. :/

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  6. I am usually in bed by 10:00 at the latest, unless there is something out of the norm going on. I also wake up by 6:30 or 7:00. I like to have my quiet time before I get Abi up. This is my normal self. Before my pain issue was solved, I didn't sleep through most nights and didn't fall into really restful sleep until around 6:30 AM so I would sleep a bit later. My dh is totally opposite. His nature is to stay up until weird hours and sleep in but his job has him leaving the house before 7am so he's had to become a Morning Glory by default.
    Great topic.

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  7. Hands down, I am a night owl. I've tried so hard to be a morning person, but I function best unwinding when the day is through. I used to get so frustrated that I couldn't be an early riser, but it was through scripture that I found peace when I read the reference of days beginning at sun"set" -- sweet relief for my spirit to begin my days as the sunsets.

    I love reading my Bible at night when the house is quiet with sleeping children down for the night.

    I am usually in bed by 11:30 and awake by 8-8:30ish.

    Great topic!

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