I fell asleep last night around 10:45. Now for most normal 26 year olds, I’d say that’s a fairly responsible bedtime, but I’ve never claimed to be normal. My 5:15 to 5:30 am wake-up necessitates that I need to be asleep by 10:15 if I want seven hours of sleep. For me, seven hours doesn’t quite cut it.

I’ve always been a big sleeper. Unlike Jesse, who’s an incredibly light sleeper, needing about seven hours of sleep to function properly, I sleep deeply and for as long as my alarm allows. Noise and light pollution doesn’t bother me much, and nine hours of sleep is my sweet spot. Eight hours of sleep makes me drowsy, and too many nights on seven hours of sleep will leave me exhausted by Friday. More often than not, I sleep for about seven to seven-and-a-half hours during the work week and find myself awake on Saturday morning having slept for 10 to 12 hours. I have a theory that treating my body well (90% of the time) makes it demand more sleep.

The key to my sleeping early (but not too early, as I’d like to have a semblance of a life) is relaxing and unwinding sufficiently before bedtime. I know better, but I stayed up late (for me) watching the Season One finale of Scandal (it’s so melodramatic but I kind of love it). I started the sleep process a bit too late (9:45), especially given how amped I felt after the show ended.

As a result, I ended up sleeping in this morning instead of working out. I try to take my rest day of the week during the work week, when I actually feel like sleeping in, rather than the weekend, when I generally have ample time and energy to exercise to my heart’s desire. I don’t have a problem with taking rest days, but I do feel frustrated when my plans change due to being tired.

I don’t foresee my sleep habits changing. I’m not going to revert to post-workday workouts because I love starting the day with some movement. I’m not going to try to sleep any early because I’m 26, not a card carrying AARP member quite yet. For now, I’ll continue to sleep in late on the weekends and enjoy my youth living on the edge with seven hours of sleep.