On Waking and Staying Awake

I've always been blessed with being able to to wake from sleep early. In fact I've been able to set an imaginary alarm clock in my mind that would allow me to target the actual time I want to wake up and more often than not I would be within five or 10 minutes of the time that I wanted. However as I age them again to find out my inner alarm clock is just not what it used to be. Or maybe it is but I've become reliant on technology. I'm kind of forced to sleep with my cell phone just in case I have an emergency, like falling out of my bed. I hope, when that happens I will be able to call 911. Actually, the last time that kind of emergency did happen I ended up contacting support through my tablet using messenger but instead of a saving device I'm begin to use my cell phone as my alarm clock.

It's not that I have so many places to go and things to do in my retirement that I need an alarm clock as much wanting to be up and ready for my shower and bathroom routine when my staff gets here three times a week. So three times a week when I could sleep in I've set my cell phone to wake me at 6 AM. What's really cool about my technology is that I no longer have to awaken to a brash, shrill of the standard clock radio alarm. I've actually programmed a gentle waking sound which begins inaudible and progresses to a sound loud enough to wake the sleeper… Me. Fortunately because of the history I have had waking I rarely need the alarm clock. I wake with more than enough time to reach over and turn off the cell phone alarm clock..

So now on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays the days that I have my staff, 6:30 AM I'm lucky if I can sleep past 5 AM. Somewhere around 5 AM on these days I wake. The trick now, when I wake this way, is to stay awake. I tend to fall back into what I call micro sleep. Little snatches of sleep like 3 to 5 minutes in length that I used to eat up the hour before 6 AM when I like to get up on staff days. It's kind of funny is that my inner self sort of makes me feel like “okay buddy I woke you up up with more than enough time, now it's up to you to get your lazy butt out of bed to get your morning ADLs out-of-the-way. On those nights that I stay up way too late reading or Watching the tube I feel sleeps tendrils pulling me back to the mattress or the covers. By 6 AM my body has been totally compromised by the heat of several blankets and comforters and by great white jacket that I pull over my head to sleep. It's warm, comfortable and safe. It feels like I am going against natural law to leave this cocoon of comfort but only once or twice has my staff actually woken me up. I don't want that to happen again.

It's one of those adult things, I guess. This waking and staying awake is kind of a whole new game for me to play. Maybe it's an aging thing. Maybe it's what seniors do. Those who can roll over and go back to sleep until they do that one day too often the never wake up. Not me, I want to be here for a long time so I wake every morning and then try to stay awake as best that I can.