I’ve always had a bit of trouble with sleep patterns. When my brother and I were very little, my mother taught in a school that was more than an hour’s commute away from where we lived. Since her school started at about 7.30 a.m., she was dressed and out the door by 6 a.m., long before we would even be up. My father would then wake us up, dress us, make us breakfast, and send us off to school, before getting ready for work and going his own way.
But what I remember most about that time– and it’s a bit hazy– is my father waking me up. Delhi winters are pretty cold, so getting out of bed is not a very pleasant prospect. Especially to a four-year old. My father would pick me up, wrap me up in warm clothes and take me out to the terrace. He would walk, and I would sleep with my head on his shoulder. He would continue to walk around the terrace and talk to me for about ten to fifteen minutes in an effort to get me to wake up, and then, when I eventually would, he would take me back in and we’d start the day.
There are years and years of my life when I would start my day with a phone call from my best friend and the words, “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. It’s 11 a.m.!” And then she would continue to chatter and chatter until I really had no option but to get up and out of bed. When work took us to different cities, she still proved to be exceptionally wonderful. She would call me long-distance, and say, “Wakeupwakeupwakeup, nomoney can’ttalklong wantedtowakeyouup, gottago, pleasegetup. Bye.”
My mother always had primary responsibility. If I had an important class or meeting, she would call me during her lunch break or between her classes. She was also the only one who ever had permission to throw water on me, though she never availed of the opportunity.
And my phone alarm is famous for driving people insane. “Shut the goddamn thing off or I will throw it out, I swear!” roommates are known to scream. (I usually set three alarms, which go off one after the other, none of which is capable of waking me up.)
Between the last year and this year though, my sleep patterns have improved immensely. This is primarily because I’m having a very peaceful and happy time in my life, and I get up looking forward to the day instead of dreading what it will bring, but it’s also because I made a conscious effort to get back on track. Yes, I have issues that are not in my control, that affect my sleep patterns, and that need some sort of therapy. But I also found that a lot of it is habit.
I came across the following links recently, and the tips provided here are incredible. They have helped me immensely. If you have trouble getting up in the morning or sticking to a fixed sleeping schedule, check them out.
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