Something I've noticed about myself that has become more pronounced in recent years: I feel far more sleepy-headed during holiday periods than when working. This week, for example, it's been a real struggle for me to get going before 10.00 am. I've had to force myself to start marking, and since I've had a fair number of examination scripts to deal with on a daily basis the forcing has been a grim necessity. Yet on an ordinary work day I'm fine getting on with stuff from 6.30 am onwards, with no sense at all of having to force things.
Is it the case that somehow my body 'knows' that, technically speaking, it should be on holiday and is making a less than subtle protest at being made to do stuff it fundamentally doesn't want to?
And another odd thing. I've been sleeping early and deeply these last few days, but I don't wake up refreshed. I wake up wanting to sleep some more. Yesterday I felt particularly thick-headed and had to deal with a very distinct ache running along the jaw-line on the right side of my face. I suspect I'd somehow slept awkwardly face-wise and strained myself somehow. Fortunately the ache has eased considerably today, but getting my quota of marking done was a challenge.
All this has made me think a little more circumspectly about retirement than I was wont to do. When the day arrives that I don't absolutely need to get out of bed I'd better find good reasons for doing so.
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