Anger
Issues
“What
irritates me most about these morning people is their horribly good temper, as
if they have been up for three hours and already conquered France.”
Timur
Vermes
I’ve
had many conversations about being a morning person—either people admire the trait,
or they can’t stand it. In my case, I simply can’t help it. I become unbearably
sleepy about ten o’clock at night and wake as though an alarm had gone off at
5:30 a.m. It’s not some cultivated discipline nor superhuman fortitude, nor is
it an ego trip. I just can’t stay asleep past that hour—no matter when I go to
bed. And once I’m up, I get dressed and get on with my day.
I know
people who cannot fall asleep until the wee hours. They get a burst of energy
around ten o’clock and are good to go until two, or three. They sleep late,
have coffee in their pj’s, and finally get dressed just before lunch. I envy
this, to tell you the truth. I would like to be able to do it sometimes, as a
sort of vacation from routine.
The bad
tempers I’ve seen are mostly among late-night people who are forced to get up unreasonably
early. I think folks should be able to negotiate their hours according to their
circadian rhythms. Night people ought to be able to go in later and work later.
And morning people, go in early and get off early. That way the workplace would
be much more serene.
One of
the injustices we do ourselves is to set arbitrary hours which do not take
human differences into account. Whether it’s the 8 to 5 business day, or the 8
to 3 school day, some of us require more sleep than others. Teenagers, we know,
need those early morning hours of sleep because they are in rapid growth, and even
more rapid hormonal change. And if you want to witness a truly nasty temper,
just wake one of them up before they’ve slept a good ten hours.
A
well-rested person has a better attitude and a longer fuse. Film-maker, Richard
Diaz reminds us, “If you lose your temper, you lose.” Perhaps you’re one
of those people, as I am, whose blood pressure rises exponentially when you
become angry. Being hopping mad is not healthy. Today, do whatever it takes to
keep yourself calm and even tempered. You’ll spend a more pleasurable day and
so will everyone around you.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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