On not being a morning person....

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

I was never a morning person.

I'm so not a morning person, that I often find myself late in going to work. Of course, I'm not late that often, or otherwise I'd probably find myself the recipient of disciplinary action because of a habitual tardiness. The point of the matter is, I'm definitely not a morning person, no matter how hard I try to be one.

Some people may think that I'm lazy or something, but the simple truth is I just find it hard to function during early mornings. This difficulty manifests itself right after I wake up in the morning. I don't know why, but more often than not I wake up feeling all sluggish, hoarse, and stuffy. I find it somewhat difficult to breathe because my nose is all stuffed up. My throat is dry, probably from breathing through my mouth while asleep. My voice is all raspy. I can't think straight. And my body aches, probably from sleeping in a wrong position. Eventually these unpleasant sensations subside, but it usually takes a couple of hours after I wake up.

It has always been like this for me, as far back as I can remember. When I was just a kid going to elementary school, I often found it difficult to wake up early, and I remember feeling awful in the morning even then. I never did find the time to have breakfast even as a kid. I was always too sleepy. Eventually, I ended up growing with that unhealthy habit. I was often carsick too, and compounded with traffic fumes while being driven to school in an open air owner-type jeep, I always felt nauseous on the trip to school. I filled up my fair share of tardiness slips then as a result.

This went away by high school...by then I was attending the afternoon instead of morning sessions, and it gave me the luxury of waking up in my own sweet time instead of being woken up by my mother or an alarm clock.

In college, I rarely experienced this, since I made it a point to avoid early morning classes in my schedule. Oh, I still got morning sickness from time to time, because of ROTC. After college I went to law school. Mostly afternoon and evening classes as well. For the most part it seemed like I forgot how miserable I used to feel in the mornings.

Then I had to work. After a gap of about nine years it seems my bouts of early morning sickness were back, this time with a vengeance. I used to try and manage it with various painkillers, lozenges, and decongestants. Nowadays, I avoid popping pills as much as I can, and just resort to dealing with it the old-fashioned way - a strong, hot, cup of coffee. I still resort to a nasal inhaler at times to clear up my nasal passages, but that's about it.

Is this my lot in life? To be miserable in the mornings? Perhaps. It's not that big a deal anyway, I just got used to the fact that my body was never meant to function at 100% efficiency in the mornings. Is that so bad? Not really I guess. But then again I have the afternoons and early evenings to even things up. :-)

If I had my way, would I turn things around and be a morning person instead of being the type that reaches his physical peak in the afternoon? Nah. Afternoons...and early and late evenings for that matter...are just more fun. :-)

I'm sure a lot of you will agree with me. :-)

Comments

TK said…
or maybe you just need to get laid in the morning pre instead of taking Cold showers (they do give headaches and nasal stuffiness y'know)
Ronald Allan said…
Snglyguy: I guess we're opposites in that regard. :-)

TK: Nice bit of advice there, I only wish I could follow it...:-)
rain said…
TK's comment was hilarious!hahaha why not???! well, I'm not a morning person either...If you want to meet the best 'me', try doing it during afternoons and evenings...because in mornings, I'm simply the grouchy & irritable biyatch!hahaha
Ronald Allan said…
Know someone who can help me out in carrying out TK's advice? :-)

Sorry Rain, I have to disagree. I have seen you in the afternoons and evenings, and you're still a biyatch. Hahahaha...:-)
Anonymous said…
My biological clock seems to be consistent since grade school – 6:00am-6:30am with or without the help of the alarm clock. The credit is due to Dad’s military way of conducting his children’s routines for the day. The aroma of coffee brewing in the kitchen is an indication that hubby or son has prepared for everyone a good dose of stimulant, 10 minutes to sweat on the threadmill has become a mandatory routine for me to jumpstart the entire system following 15 minutes of Tai-chi (Yang style) to ensure that I am in tuned with my chi. Of course a nice warm shower to remove unwanted impurities and a healthy breakfast – Oatmeal and any seasonal fruits. So being a morning person is a necessity in life in which I function more effectively -- “I’ve got [to do] lists and early retirement is not an option”.

A 20 minutes siesta is a mandatory. I prefer the snooze over lunch to recharge. I have to set my alarm clock on this one hahahha.

Being nocturnal for several years is a result of a special interest (a side job) that requires moments of solitude and silence. It is perhaps my most desired part of the 24 hours where there are no strings attached to meet deadlines or working under pressure.

My only complain, why is 24 hour short?
Ronald Allan said…
CL: I envy you. :-) You sure have a healthy morning routine. :-)

Other than ask why does a day only have 24 hours, I can also ask, what quirk of evolution made it necessary for us to waste a third of our day, and consequently, a third of our entire lives, just sleeping?

Think of all the stuff you can do with an extra eight hours. :-)

Popular posts from this blog

Commonwealth Ave. lot for Lease

Is aspartame safe?

Peddling Snake Oil - The Khaos Super Turbo Charger