I was fortunate enough to spend most of my life needing around 5 hours sleep a night. It meant that I could go to bed late and get up early and maximise my day. If one takes the years from, say 16 to 56 ie 40 years and adds up all those extra hours - say 3 per night over the average 8 hours/night sleep most people seem to require - I have possibly gained somewhere in the region of 5 years extra waking time. That's quite a thought.
Of course there is a school of thought that says having less sleep shortens your life. If that is true then, as Billy Connolly has pointed out, it will be knocked off the end where I'm least likely to be able to use it to the full. Did I use those 5 years to the full? We will never know.
This last week when I was less than on top of the world with a bout (thanks Carol in Cairns) of bronchitis I slept and I slept. I cannot recall when I last had so much sleep. Even last night now that the bout is, hopefully, coming to an end I slept for 9 hours.
So tonight now that we are in Dannevirke for the Veterans Croquet Tournament I am anticipating a really good night's sleep too. It's 9.30pm and two of the girls (a rather loose term) who are proper Kiwis have gone off to bed. Self-respecting Kiwis go to bed early and get up early. That's why coffee bars are open at 0630 and close at 1530 (as a generalisation) and why you never ring a Kiwi after 9pm.
So tonight now that we are in Dannevirke for the Veterans Croquet Tournament I am anticipating a really good night's sleep too. It's 9.30pm and two of the girls (a rather loose term) who are proper Kiwis have gone off to bed. Self-respecting Kiwis go to bed early and get up early. That's why coffee bars are open at 0630 and close at 1530 (as a generalisation) and why you never ring a Kiwi after 9pm.
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ja ik denk dat we gewoon goed naar ons lichaam moeten luisteren.
ReplyDeleteStiefbeen wij doen het niet vaak genoeg
DeleteNighty-night.
ReplyDeleteThanky thank Katherine.
DeleteMaybe deep deep down I'm a Kiwi because I go to bed by 9.30pm and I don't like persons calling me after 9pm (except emergencies).
ReplyDeleteAs for adding 5 extra years to my life, I'll have to create my own formula.
The one thing Virginia is that we can't add them once we've lost them.
DeleteSleep well, Graham, and win that tournament!
ReplyDeleteUnless I expect a specific call, it is rare for anyone to ring me after 9.00 pm, too. But that is not because I or all my friends are asleep by then (we are not), but because most people I know will either be out on the town or in front of the telly.
I love to sleep and always have done. I am a confessing sleepoholic. 5 hours is the minimum I require to be functional, but I can only do that two or three nights in a row before I turn into a zombie. 7 hours work very well for me, 8 to 9 are perfect but rarely had (entirely due to my own fault).
Thanks Meike. I won the first event which was a good start. Today it's the golf croquet doubles. My partner and I won that a few years ago so we'll see what happens today. I've never been a sleepaholic, in fact quite the reverse although these days bed has a greater attraction than it used to.
DeleteIt's not advisable to ring me after 9 pm either (unless I'm expecting it). Nor before 9 am, come to think of it... ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll not be surprised if you live to be 105, Graham. (If I'll still be around to be unsurprised is another matter!)
I don't think I really want to live that long Monica. My family is very long lived. In fact when my maternal grandmother died at the age of 93 it was considered rather a disgrace to the family to have died so young.
DeleteWell, I hope you get better soon. I don't want to see you sleeping your life away! I find a short nap in the day increases my day and makes me more productive.
ReplyDeleteThanks Red. I feel a lot better. I know that power napping is very good for one but I've never been able to do do it.
DeleteI would definitely say you are using your 5 years to the fullest! Look at your life!
ReplyDeleteWe go to bed early, compared to most, around 9:30. When we get up certainly depends on the kind of night's sleep we've had. When it's good...it's really good! Good luck with your tournament!
Thanks Lisa. When I'm at home my getting up time depends on when I wake. In the Hebridean summers I'm usually up very early because it's usually light all night. It's different in the winter though.
DeleteI suppose I could be envious of your extra time in life but there's no way I regret the hours I sleep. Sleep is one thing from which I would hate to be parted. Have fun in Dannevirke.
ReplyDeleteHi Pauline. Still having fun in Dannevirke even though several of the games today were less exciting than watching paint dry. I'd hate to be parted from sleep too so long as I can have lots of non-sleep time too.
DeleteI think I need less sleep as I get older, but T seems to need more. I never quite understand whether there is any significance to needing or not needing sleep, but surely there is something thought provoking in the idea that Thatcher reportedly only needed 3 hours. I too find it quite helpful to be able to get through more things, just because of having more hours in the day to play with!
ReplyDeleteI always understood this to be the case Jenny but with me it seems to be the other way around. I'm just happy, though, that we have the luxury of being able to have the sleep we need - whatever length it is.
DeleteGlad you are feeling better. I tend to bed early myself these days, not so much in my youth, but now it's a must.
ReplyDeleteI don't bed early Cat but I do need a bit more sleep.
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