the term for morning
grogginess grouchiness is
sleep inertia

Grogginess.

Grouchiness.

That’s me.

I have never ever been a morning person.

I can’t say I am an anytime of the day person to be honest.

But waking up?

Forget about it.

Of late, I have been noticing how much longer it takes for the caffeine to make a difference.

I am on a ‘hybrid’ schedule and I work from home and I work in the office on different days so getting into a daily rhythm is proving to be a bit difficult.

As I think about how long it takes to wake it seems to make it all the harder to wake up.

Then I read the article, “The Art of Being a Morning Person (Even if You’re Actually Not One)” By Catherine Pearson a reporter for the Well section of The Times, covering families and relationships.

Ms. Pearson writes: Even if you are a naturally early riser, you may not wake up ready to start the day — or even in a particularly good mood. The clinical term for the grogginess and grouchiness many of us experience after waking up is “sleep inertia.” It tends to last 30 to 60 minutes, though the length and intensity depend on the person and circumstances.

I like that.

Inertia.

Sleep Inertia.

Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states that, “a body at rest remains at rest“.

Mr. Newton’s first law is also known as the law of ‘Intertia.’

A body at rest stays at rest.

Yup, that’s it all right!

Ms. Pearson writes: Simply acknowledging that reality can help bring a feeling of peace and acceptance to the morning, she said. Find ways to protect that quiet time: Maybe sit in bed and take a few deep breaths. Couple it with a strategy known to increase wakefulness, such as soaking up some sunlight (or bright artificial light) or moving your body …

So if your goal is to wake up earlier — or to mitigate early morning grouchiness — it is essential to build in immediate rewards … Consider what would feel good in the moments after you wake up. Maybe it’s a delicious breakfast, she said, or cranking up some music that you love.

Be patient with yourself. “Habits are very persistent, and you shouldn’t expect them to change immediately … If you set in place ways to reduce friction, and ways to increase rewards, you’re more likely to be able to change.”

I like it.

I will have to work on other essential, immediate rewards.

But my first choice for a reward is to crawl back under the covers.

And over come a general reluctance to face my day.

On the other hand maybe I will embrace grogginess and grouchiness.

It is who I am and I am what I am.

Though I will feel some empathy with those other drivers out there who have to share the road with me.

sun rises from ocean
joggers are out in numbers
island comes awake

In season, tourist traffic makes the morning commute an issue.

Not like out of season.

Out of season, with school in session, enough teachers, students and buses have to be at schools located out on the island, rather than on the mainland, that car traffic slows way down and I leave early in the morning to avoid it.

In season, there is no school traffic to speak of and car travel is a little bit faster but there is the tourist traffic to worry about.

I don’t mean cars.

I mean bikes.

I mean joggers.

Joggers and bikers line the roads early in the morning.

Joggers on the sidewalks and foot paths, ignoring the crosswalk signs.

You need an eye for cars.

An eye for traffic lights.

And an eye to watch out for those joggers.

Those people who sweat and strain, body all aching and wracked with pain all the work year long, waiting for vacation and once they get here to the island, the get out of bed at the crack of dawn … to go running.

The island is quiet in the morning.

The sun rises silently, without noise.

I make my way to work and park.

I walk through the hotel complex to my office.

The only sound is the early morning birds and the housekeeping staff with their vacuums getting started on their day.

That and the low sound of feet, padding in running shoes, hitting the pavement.

The sound of tourists enjoying their vacation.

when the first person
I see when I get to work
is me, what a start …

The building where I work on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, used to be a restaurant.

It is something we try not to think about when we think about what might be on the other side of lowered ceilings or under carpets or behind doors that are sealed shut.

A building that 30 years ago was occupied by food service in a sub tropical climate …

Besides what may or may not be lurking in the walls of the building, we deal with the design of the building, the layout of the rooms and hallways and the way my company wedged offices and office furniture into a restaurant.

Believe me, it is … interesting.

I once walked my wife through this place and she is still laughing.

I enter the building through what was the old main entrance of the restaurant.

The double door opens onto a landing of a broad wooden stair case.

To go downstairs is to go down to the basement where the bar and restaurant kitchens were located.

There are spooky narrow hallways that go back and around and old service stairs that are now blocked off.

It was down here that the corporate server room was located until a couple a years ago when a company did a disaster assessment, they recommended that having computer servers below sea level in a building five blocks from the sea was not the best idea.

To go upstairs is to go where most of the offices are located.

The stairs lead right up into a door that opens out without benefit of a landing which can be an adventure during the work day.

Opening the door and stepping into the hallway, the first person you see is yourself.

At the end of this hallway, facing the door, is a massive framed mirror.

I understand it is a relic from the restaurant days and as the basement was also the location for the restaurant restrooms, the mirror allowed you to make any last moment wardrobe corrections before you returned to your table.

It is kind of surprise.

I get up in the morning and start the process of coming awake.

Shower and cups of coffee help.

Driving out to the coast, over the bridges to the island with the sunrise in my face helps.

Navigating the quiet streets of a resort town in the early morning, watching out for those healthy joggers and bikers, helps.

But nothing wakes you up like a cold slap in the face (or the could fingers of death) then to be confronted with a head to toe reflection of how the world sees you to start your day.

I can form an image of myself all on my own.

I don’t spend a lot of time on my clothes, on what I wear to work, but I do try to make sure I am presentable.

I have a beard, now gray, then blond, so it is a kind person that says I have a beard and I will admit it is more for the sake of not having to shave than any other reason.

I don’t worry much about how my hair looks except to say when I start worrying about how my hair looks, I get it all cut off so there isn’t much hair to worry about in the morning.

But I DO have a certain image of myself.

I DO, in my mind, think it is about 1990 in the age of my body.

I DO, in my mind, think it is about 1990 in the age of my face.

I DO have a certain image of myself.

I get to work and step inside my building.

I walk up the stairs and I open the door and step into that hallway.

I look and the first person I see is myself.

And I say to myself, “Who is that guy?”

What a start!

sugar cinnamon
cayenne red pepper on toast
mistake this morning

According to quoteinvestigator.com, The 1662 edition of “The history of the worthies of England” by Thomas Fuller attributed King James as saying, “he was a very valiant man, who first adventured on eating of Oysters; most probably meer hunger put men first on that tryal.”

I had something new for breakfast today.

Not oysters.

And not by choice.

My coffee and two as in two slices of toast was new by mistake.

And when I say mistake, I truly mean mis take as I mis took the wrong spice from the kitchen cupboard to spinkle on my toast.

I know what you are saying.

And if you aren’t saying it, you are thinking it.

Didn’t I notice the color?

Didn’t I notice the smell?

CAN’T YOU READ for cry’n out loud?

All good questions and all suppose a level of awareness in the morning that I rarely achieve nowadays until about noon or later.

I think I was a very valiant man if maybe not the first to try cayenne red pepper on toast.

I may not be the last.

But it was the only time for me.

At least, so I hope.