Poll: Did you learn to sleep in after retiring?

[Midpack]

I’ll let you decide which answer best fits your expectations. I guess if pressed I’d say sleeping in is an hour or more later than your work alarm time.

For all my working years, I set an alarm and got up at somewhere between 4:45a to 5:30a, my work start time and morning routine changed some over 35 years.

I rarely set an alarm now, and I expected to learn to sleep in a little. But after more than 6 years retired, it’s rare I sleep past 6:00a and I’m usually up around 5a. DW sleeps until 7a Mon-Fri and later on weekends. Maybe I’ll still learn?

 

[NYEXPAT]

I can't vote! I slept till 8 am the majority of my life. For the past 3 years I have been getting up at 7:30 to let the housekeeper in and walk to school with my DS.

 

[Alan]

I needed to get up at 6 for most of my career, 5:30 for the last 2 years. Rarely sleep past 7:30 these days, wake up refreshed nearly every day. I love it.

 

[Walt34]

Before retiring one of my "dream fantasies" was to buy a huge wooden mallet about a foot in diameter and set the alarm for 4:30 AM, my normal wake-up time then. On the first day of retirement the dream was to set the alarm as usual, and set that mallet by the bed. When the alarm went off I wanted to use that mallet to smash the damn thing.

I didn't do it though, because I realized I'd probably have to buy a new nightstand because then DW would complain about the scratches it would make and the chances of finding a match for a 30-year-old nightstand were about zilch. That meant living out the dream would snowball into having to spring for a whole new set of bedroom furniture, and that just wasn't worth it.

Now it isn't uncommon for me to sleep in until 9:00 or even later. DW still gets up at 6:00 AM. I have no idea what for, she's always been an early riser.

 

[LOL!]

I had a job that was always flexible on when I had to show up, so I rarely set an alarm. And now that I am retired, I also rarely set an alarm. (I do want to make sure I get to the airport in time to catch my flight whenever I have one.)

I will say in the hot summers, I get up earlier to get in a great bike ride or a dog walk before it gets too hot. I've crossed paths with Alan (posted above) a couple of times when I've done that.

 

[RAE]

I said no, but I actually do get up a little later than when I was working.........but not a lot later. Basically, I wake up naturally as the sun starts to rise now, as opposed to having the alarm wake me up about an hour before sunrise. It feels great

 

[iloveyoga]

I still get up early, just not quite so early, and I can lay in bed as long as I want!

 

[Red Badger]

I relish early morning and the solitude. Here's my early AM daily punch list.
-up around 6
-walk the dog
-fire up the Kiuerig
-decide what I'm making for breakfast (DW & self)
-peruse the news, read blogs & forums (mostly this one)
-pay bills and any other financial "putzing"
-decide if and which chores to attend to for the day
-consider if any upcoming travel needs attending
-start breakfast
-greet DW around 8
-pinch myself to make sure the day isn't just a dream while at work.

 

[Dawg52]

I thought I would get up later, but dog doesn't let me. Might get an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

 

[foxfirev5]

So much more to do in ER I'll never sleep in.

 

[irishgal]

Great idea for a thread!! Like many others, I am so used to getting up early (5am) that I find it really hard to sleep much later than that. I go to the gym early, always have so I keep that routine.
But at least we can nap now!

 

[CardsFan]

I actually do get up a little later than when I was working.........but not a lot later. Basically, I wake up naturally as the sun starts to rise now, as opposed to having the alarm wake me up about an hour before sunrise. It feels great

This

 

[RobbieB]

Oh yeah, big time. Used to drive a long way to work and got up early.

Now I get up whenever usually between 7 and 8. I kinda follow the sunrise, so should be earlier as the days get longer.

 

[TrvlBug]

Pretty much the same hours. Unless I had an early morning meeting, the alarm, during working years, was set for 6am. I'm a morning person, so kept my 10pm or so bed time once I retired. I wake up some time between 5:30 and 6:00am.

 

[MichaelB]

I sleep much more in retirement than I did while working - at least 2 hours additional, more restful sleep.

Decades of training, mother nature, and rheumatoid arthritis all make sure I'm up early, so I have a hard time sleeping past 6 or 6:30. Still, my morning (usually) starts off relaxed and not stressed, and it is without doubt my favorite part of retirement.

 

[Nightcap]

In my last year of w*rk, we were getting up at 4:00 a.m. to be on the road at 4:45 to drive 100 miles to our offices. You'd better believe I sleep in now! I'm usually up between 6:50 and 7:30.

 

[Meadbh]

I unplugged the alarm after RE. (Maybe I should donate it one of these days). I usually wake spontaneously by 6 am or so, but most mornings I enjoy the luxury of being able to relax until I feel like getting up.

 

[Philliefan33]

I can’t see polls on my iPad.

I definitely sleep longer & later than when I was employed. When w*orking, I usually got seven hours of sleep a night (up at 5:00 am). Now I sleep 8-9 hours a night, naturally waking up sometime between 7 and 8 am.

I’ve decided I went through at least 20 years of sleep deprivation.

 

[street]

I’ll let you decide which answer best fits your expectations. I guess if pressed I’d say sleeping in is an hour or more later than your work alarm time.

For all my working years, I set an alarm and got up at somewhere between 4:45a to 5:30a, my work start time and morning routine changed some over 35 years.

I rarely set an alarm now, and I expected to learn to sleep in a little. But after more than 6 years retired, it’s rare I sleep past 6:00a and I’m usually up around 5a. DW sleeps until 7a Mon-Fri and later on weekends. Maybe I’ll still learn?

^ that is me to a T after 20 months into retirement. I don't think I have yet stayed in bed till after 6. I have way to much to do don't want to waste my time in bed. LOL

People die in beds. LOL

 

[Danmar]

Depends on a number of factors. Where we are (tend to go to bed earlier and get up earlier in the west, Alberta or Arizona). Time of year (get up with the sun to some extent). What is planned for the day, if anything. How “exciting” the night before was.

Having said that, I have actually forgotten when I used to get up for work. I think it was 6-630am? I now get up from 6-8am depending on the factors I listed. So maybe a little later?

Only use an alarm when we have an early morning flight. Even then don’t really need it.

 

[mystang52]

My situation is a tad more detailed. I never sleep late as I've always been an early riser.
In my commuting-w*rk days, 3 days a week I got up at 4:45 AM to get in my morning swim before heading off to the train. I sleep later than that, now.
DW still w*rks, so a couple of days a week she makes enough noise that it wakes me, mostly though I sleep right through,
All that said and done, my normal wake up time is about 6 to 6:15, no different than my pre-ER days.

 

[LauAnn]

I stay up 3+ hours later in the evening than when I worked. Consequently I get up much later; plus tack on an hour for 'sleeping in'. This equates to getting out of bed around around 10:00-11:00 a.m. (sometimes later). This is true except two days every week in the summer when I get up earlier to make it to golf on time.

Did not have to "learn" this. If I could have kept my job and shown up late every morning, I would have done so. I hated having to roll out of bed every morning, when all I really wanted to do was snuggle under the covers.

 

[Amethyst]

I did so much rotating shiftwork that I learned to sleep pretty much any time of the day or night.

Still get up early for the gym and shopping. The roads are just too crazy around here; have to time everything carefully so as not to hit the morning/afternoon 4-hour-long "Rush Hours." Saturdays, we don't do anything or go anywhere - that's the day to sleep late (0730).

 

[38Chevy454]

Used to get up 5:30 for work. Also went to bed earlier because of that. Now I stay up later and sleep in until around 8:00. I always thought I was more of an early bird, but in retirement I have changed to more of a night owl, staying up couple hours later than I used to.

We have dogs, but they are about as lazy as we are in the morning. They will sleep as long as we are. But once we get up they are ready to go.

 

[zedd]

Nah. Can't seem to sleep-in past 6am