Why can’t I get out of bed in the morning? Every night, my alarm is set on my phone and placed in the kitchen. I have chosen the most ear-piercing, shrill sound that I fear wakes my entire neighbourhood, but I still manage to roll over and go back to sleep. I have tried going to bed earlier, setting the alarm for as late as possible, setting it earlier to give myself more time, having a thermos of tea at my bedside, all to no avail.
The strange thing is that I’m not even comfortable in bed once I wake up. My hips ache, my bladder protests and still I lie there, convincing myself that ‘out there’ is not only less desirable but downright ghastly. It will be too cold and much too unpleasant. Yet when I finally get up, it is quite agreeable out there. The shower is warm, the world seems benign and when I take the dog for her walk, I can’t help but feel jubilant. The frost and silent fog are achingly beautiful. I wonder why I can’t return to this feeling to get me out of bed earlier. It would be so much more enjoyable to have an extra twenty minutes out in the park instead of lying in bed.
I never thought I’d say this, but I wish I were a morning person: someone who wakes up, jumps out of bed fully awake and ready to tackle the day. The type of person who is bright and chirpy, finds the first is hours of the day invigorating and gets things done before others are awake. It seems to make no difference whether I have six hours or ten hours sleep. I wake up bleary eyed, slightly grumpy and always at least a little more tired than when I went to bed. Luckily, my dog doesn’t mind me being monosyllabic for the first hour.
I have read ‘Miracle Morning’, ‘The Five Second Rule’ and various other books of the same ilk, trying to convince me that it is a merely a question of putting my mind to it. Lord knows, I have tried. I have even succeeded for a week or two at a time, but it was always a struggle, and I never felt full of energy. My rocket booster kicks in about 30 minutes before bedtime, which would be perfect timing if my job were midnight space travel, but not so great for a 6am start in the real world.
Many years ago, I taught English to Chinese students at a private college. It wasn’t a great job and for the most part I was deeply unhappy there. But there was one moment that has become a favourite of mine, an anecdote that resonates with every fibre of my being. A young man handed me his journal to be marked. The first sentence read, ‘I was alarmed at 7am.’ I simply couldn’t bring myself to mark it as incorrect.
From Quill to Quote 
I am always alarmed at 7 am ….. a few other a.m’s as well. I so appreciate anyone who declares their inability to wake without tiredness and declares the minor irritability to the world. It doesn’t bother me personally one iota. It has bothered every bloke I’ve lived with 😂
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I agree, I too am alarmed at many other times as well. It has stuck with me all these years and every time I remember this pearl of wisdom, I have a little chuckle.
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What a lovely piece of writing! You are right. It is not mind over matter. There is a rhythm to each life. We can either embrace it or manipulate it. It’s cold and wet here today and, yes, I stayed in bed much too long. It was a deliberate choice, and I embraced it.
I am generally a morning person; to keep that ticking along tidily, I deliberately dull the lights on my phone and around my house in the evening. Then, just to be sure, I blast my eyeballs with bright light in the morning. Apparently, sunlight is best for this but not always available.
‘They’ say we are wired for mornings or evenings. I recalled a period of unemployment where my awake hours gradually shifted later and later. This tells me, and ‘they’ agree, that rewiring is possible. So, even though I’m generally a morning person, I will ensure I use all the tricks science can give me to keep my focus where I want it to be. Unless my next job is shiftwork!
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Thank you, Cherrie. I will try leaving my shutters open tonight to see if that helps. I too have heard of people who have been able to rewire their brains but up to now my brain has stubbornly refused.
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Very funny ending Vickie!
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Thank you, although it isn’t a laughing matter going through it in the morning…
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It still makes me chuckle, even after all these years.
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I am with you about cold morning starts.
I do not often laugh out loud but I just did, at the end of you piece!
Thank you
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Thanks, Shelagh. I had another one of those mornings today. Just couldn’t do it on a Sunday. Oh well, back to work tomorrow and the alarm will be set for 6.
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Thanks, Shelagh. I’m sure you’ve read a few wonderful clangers students come up with in your time!
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Even dogs seem to struggle with this. I’m lying in bed gritting my teeth to face thé chill of a Sydney morning. No heating till I reach the kitchen. Lil still curled in a tight ball doesn’t move a muscle – except for a sudden bolt for the end of the bed, so long as I don’t wriggle a single toe. Wherever we are however she hunkers down for as long as possible. Maybe she likes sleeping as her switch off button is very quick acting once her dinner kicks in. I’m going to put on her warm coat tonight for she does lack Hoolie’s bear rug covering and industriously digs apart any bed. No use giving her a covering rug. Cats are so much more cluey about warmth being very quick to spot something they can crawl under or even into. Hope you can keep cosy today. My favourite ginko has finally turned golden yellow. It grows in a neighbours garden but can be seen so well from our place. May they never cut it down.
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