Sleep debt – it’s real, and it must be paid

It would be easier to pay off sleep debt in beds like these.

When I was younger, I thought nothing of staying up late on Friday and Saturday nights – sometimes up to one or two in the morning – and I also expected that life would go on as normal on Sunday and beyond. I enjoyed my sleep, but I was careless with it.

Now, I usually go to bed at 10 p.m. no matter what day it is. I have found that 10 p.m. is the bedtime that gets the best result the following morning. 

Usually.

Sometimes, external forces keep me up later. (Sometimes, these external forces walk on two feet and have an uncontrollable urge to listen to Led Zeppelin.) 

If that happens, it affects me for days.

I don’t have enough energy to do the things I need to do and the things I want to do.

Ideas are slow in rising. Important e-mails get delayed, as well as blog posts. Creativity doesn’t sparkle as it should.

I am too tired to go out and walk. Take a ride to nearby cities and visit antique stores and coffee shops. Heck, I don’t have the energy to read!

That is not good.