The Absent Uncle: My sleep history

A few days ago, I was sitting in my living room at 4:45 a.m. sipping my first cup of freshly-brewed coffee and thinking how familiar this felt. 

For years and years, I woke up sometime between 4:15 and 4:30, seven days a week regardless of the time zone, what time I went to bed the night before, or the upcoming days schedule of events. 

While I used to set an alarm just to make sure I woke up for whatever commitment might exist that day, the alarm was turned off prior to going off. 

It wasn’t always that way. When I was a youngster and into my 20’s and early 30’s, I was an eight-hour-a-night guy. I was asleep almost as my head would hit the pillow and would awake refreshed eight hours later. I never woke up tossing and turning, had no trouble going to sleep, and I took this wonderful gift for granted. 

In those late 30’s, I began to get reports that I was snoring; at first a “cute” snore and not really bothering anyone. Then I progressed into the realm of being a legendary snoring machine, capable of making it impossible for anyone in the same room (and some would say in the next room over as well) to sleep. This went on for a number of years until my long-suffering wife got me to finally listen to her concerns about the snoring and my frequent stopping of breathing and subsequent shaking when the breathing restarted. 

I made a trip to a sleep center and was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea, was issued a c-pap machine, and a new chapter of my sleep history was beginning. 

I adapted to the c-pap machine with very little difficulty; my snoring mercilessly was gone (totally!), and I became a five-hour sleeper.   

At this stage of my work career I felt I needed to be among the earliest to arrive at the office; to make sure any problems that developed could be addressed, to fill in for any unexpected absences in the office, and just generally to cheerlead a successful morning.   

Thus the 4:15 to 4:30 wake-up time became a habit for me. I enjoyed the cool mornings, the first cup of coffee, watching the sunrise, and generally being up and active. That feeling extended to the weekend as well when I could just be around the house and enjoy the quiet.

Now in retirement, I occasionally sleep past that early wake up time (and I do enjoy that, too!) but there is just something about that cup of coffee, sitting in the quiet house, and looking forward to the sunrise.

Dave Schultz is the maternal uncle of BV Journal editor Jill Meier, and shares her passion for the written word. Now retired from a career in school bus management, he lives in Texas, which is wife Sherrill.