h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For as long as I can remember 7am has been my ideal time to wake up, even as far back as when I was at school. It just feels right. It's not so early that I feel I haven't had enough sleep, and it's not so late that I feel like I've wasted part of the day sleeping and suddenly it's lunchtime and I've hardly done anything. It's also light by 7am for most of the year, and I think it should be light by the time you wake.

Not any more. Now I feel the same way about 6am. I suspect this is for at least two reasons, leastways that I can think of.

Firstly, since I got off the night shifts at work I've been clocking in at 8am, which means getting up at around 5.45 if I'm going to have a shower, get a cuppa and do a little surfing (which years ago would have been browsing the newspaper) in time to get out of the door and catch the bus, so waking up at 6am almost feels like a lie in.

Secondly, if I go to bed any time before midnight these days I know I'm likely to wake up before 6.00. There's just no point in having an early night.

What I'd like to know though is why do I wake up *earlier* on my days off? Yesterday and today I've been awake soon after 5am, even though I went to bed around midnight and spent about 20 minutes reading.

It was actually quite useful yesterday - I'd made a pre-ferment the night before so I was able to have my bread baked and cooling down before 11am - always a good thing at this time of the year with the a/c running full blast in the afternoon.

I too think that 7am is perfect.

As it is I have to get up at 5 am to make the bus at 6:09. Which leaves no time for surfing or anything (and I refuse to get up when the clock says 4:something, even if that something is 59)

But 6am is ok too

Don't talk to me about sleep. We have a mutually abusive relationship.

The guy who sleeps in my bed has issues with sleep. They are weird mates. Sleep joins him as soon as head hits pillow (lights, books, noise - all irrelevant) but leaves at 3 am, 5 am, any weird time after 2 in the morning. So, lately he's been at work before six in the morning. Only upside is I get a bit of kip after he's left...