Dazed and Confused

This is the first time in over 2 years that I've worked full-time. Now that I've returned to this status, I'm finding that readjusting to 8-hour work days has left me in a mental haze. While I look forward to my new work, I wonder how well I'll adjust to these hours. I've never been an early riser by nature; my natural clock insists on 8 or 9:00 a.m. for a waking time and about 11:00 p.m. for bedtime. I typically do not feel fully awake until 10 a.m. regardless of what time I wake up; I often feel addled and in a haze in the morning hours.

I find it interesting how different people are when it comes to their internal clocks. Most of my family members are early risers, with the exception of my uncle, who has medical reasons partly to blame for his sleep habits. How I wound up with an internal clock that prefers a time frame out of sync with the rest of the world is anyone's guess. I've had people tell me that after a while, a person adjusts and waking at a certain time is no longer a problem; however, the last time I worked day hours, I never had an easy time of waking early for the entire 7 years that I worked for my employer. My body never adjusted. Now, I must wake even earlier than I did previously, as the school day begins at 7 a.m. By 1 p.m., I find myself ready for a long nap, feeling Mr. Sandman's efforts to close my eyelids as I'm standing. Even as I type this entry, my brain is already turning to mush from the day's activities and is ready to turn in before everything is done.

With a completely new schedule, I'm interested to see how well I hold up and for how long.