Sleep vs. the Internet

The title of this post may lead you to believe this is about my nocturnal activities. But, in fact, my problem is the mornings. But again, it's not what you expect. I don't have an issue with consistently sleeping in. I have problem getting up early, every day. (By early, I mean early for somebody without a job or class. Just so those of you with early jobs and long commutes don't misunderstand. It's relative.)

My ability to wake up "early" reared its ugly head this morning. I'd stayed up until 1:30 last night (no, not on the internet -- out doing things with people), and stirred to life at 7 this morning. Despite being fresh and awake at the time, I knew the day would hit me hard later for getting so less than my usual 7-8 hours of sleep. So, I had to force myself to stay in bed until nearly 9.

Then, after getting up again, I began my usual morning routine reading certain websites. Of course, my usual routine also involves getting sidetracked onto reading and watching things on the internet that I hadn't planned on viewing, and before I know it, hours have passed. ("My name is Hot Cup, and I'm an internet addict.")

Well, today I read something interesting, stating that the bodies of young people operate on a daily clock a little (around an hour) longer than 24 hours. What this means is that, in the absence of any indication of the time (such as clocks or the sun), they would tend to go to sleep and wake up later and later with each passing day. Well, that explains a few things. But then I read the next line: as people age, this trend reverses.

And I was faced with the cold, hard, scientific fact that I am, in fact, a geezer. What a dismal realization! Then another one came; I noticed that it was nearly noon, and I had yet to do anything productive.