Is waking up late really a bad habit?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the implications of waking up late, particularly during a gap year from university. Participants argue that while late waking hours may not be inherently harmful, they can lead to conflicts with family expectations and societal norms. Many contributors emphasize the importance of productivity and suggest that maintaining a clean living environment or engaging in meaningful activities could alleviate parental concerns. Ultimately, the conversation highlights the balance between personal habits and familial responsibilities.

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I'm taking a gap year out of university now and as I don't have much to do, I typically end up sleeping at 2 or 3 in the morning. So, naturally I wake up at late in the morning at 11 or 12. Now, my parents are quite disapproving of this, and I don't understand why. I don't see anything wrong with waking up late as I don't go to school now.

Do you think it's justified to make me wake up in the morning at 6 or 7?
 
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Probably your parents are upset because you are not doing anything productive. How are you supporting yourself - buying food, paying the rent, etc.? Are you living at your parents' house?
 
They probably don't understand the value in you staying up late. What are you doing that requires you keep odd hours?
 
Why do they want you up so early? Is there some reason for it? Some people just have patterns and they expect everyone to follow their patterns, even if there is no reason.
 
failexam said:
I'm taking a gap year out of university now and as I don't have much to do, I typically end up sleeping at 2 or 3 in the morning. So, naturally I wake up at late in the morning at 11 or 12. Now, my parents are quite disapproving of this, and I don't understand why. I don't see anything wrong with waking up late as I don't go to school now.

Do you think it's justified to make me wake up in the morning at 6 or 7?

As long as you're getting the sleep you require, there's no harm in shifting your sleep hours later than normal. Moving your sleep hours around isn't good for you, though.

So, I'm going to go out on thin ice here. How are you spending your gap year? Do you clean up after yourself (dishes, laundry, etc.)? Perhaps, if your parents woke up to a nice surprise, like a sparkling clean kitchen/bathroom, or maybe if they came home to dinner ready, they wouldn't mind your unusual sleep hours. Just sayin'.
 
You're not taking a gap year to shift your sleep time, are you? :biggrin:

Probably they want you to take advantage of your 'day'. Or they're afraid that you might become negatively affected by being alone most of your time. Or simply they want to spend more time with you [I know my family does the same, since I am a night owl myself and had to go to work early too, which doesn't leave me much time to spend with them]... Why don't you ask them? Try to convince them with your choices/reasons.
 
Evo said:
Some people just have patterns and they expect everyone to follow their patterns, even if there is no reason.
My grandparents always got up before sunrise as a necessity for their long, hard work days and daily chores. And my parents always got up at 6:30am so dad could make it to work. I think the reasoning for everyone getting up was because, "Breakfast is served"; a more efficient use of time.
 
Both of my girls took some time off to regroup and rethink what they wanted to do. They were free to do whatever they wanted in any way they wanted.

The result is that they returned to school with a drive and fervor they never had before, finally knowing what they really wanted to do. Too often kids get thrown into college right out of high school not really knowing what they really want to do for the rest of their lives. DUH!

Giving them time to relax, regroup and re-examine was what they needed.

Perhaps your parents need to back off. Unless, going by your user name, you have issues.
 
Evo said:
Perhaps your parents need to back off. Unless, going by your user name, you have issues.

His posts count is 200 something...
 
  • #10
Gad said:
His posts count is 200 something...
So, he spends too much time here?
 
  • #11
No, his decision to take a year off came 'way' after his name.

Edit: I just checked his profile, he registered in 2010.
 
  • #12
So, he doesn't spend enough time here.
 
  • #13
Evo said:
So, he doesn't spend enough time here.

Haha! Well, you can't really tell. Look at my post count for example, do you think I don't spend enough time here? :biggrin:
 
  • #14
Evo said:
So, he spends too much time here?

Evo said:
So, he doesn't spend enough time here.

:smile::smile::smile::smile:

Sorry. Couldn't help myself.
 
  • #15
I live with my folks as well!

I must wake up early for school, but during weeks when I don't have school (or months) my parents wake me up early as well. I asked them why they do such things when I don't have school, and they stated that I will have to wake up early once I begin my career and that I should get used to waking up early.
 
  • #16
Mentalist said:
I live with my folks as well!

I must wake up early for school, but during weeks when I don't have school (or months) my parents wake me up early as well. I asked them why they do such things when I don't have school, and they stated that I will have to wake up early once I begin my career and that I should get used to waking up early.
Well, I got a 6 digit income job working out of my home with AT&T, making my own hours.

And maybe you will have to get a job that requires waking at the crack of dawn. Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks to completely re-acclime to the different hours. It did for me when I had to do early hours. What are you going to do when you have jobs that require you to be up until 3 am cranking out proposals? Tell your boss you've got to get up early and you can't help him?
 
  • #17
I would more than likely go to sleep for 2 hours before the proposal making session begins, wake-up, and then stay up until 3 am.
 
  • #18
Actually, I just do a couple of private tutoring jobs in the evening, and that’s about it. I live in my parent’s house, because I mean, where else would I be living? I can’t support myself with a couple of part-time tutoring jobs.

Night-time is when I happen to work best, but they feel that you can only be productive in the morning and that waking up in the morning is supposed to be a life-long habit, that if I don’t make this my habit, I will eventually only be able to fall asleep late at night and it won’t do well for my working life at that point in my life, which is exactly the issue that Mentalist brought up.
 
  • #19
failexam said:
Actually, I just do a couple of private tutoring jobs in the evening, and that’s about it. I live in my parent’s house, because I mean, where else would I be living? I can’t support myself with a couple of part-time tutoring jobs.

Night-time is when I happen to work best, but they feel that you can only be productive in the morning and that waking up in the morning is supposed to be a life-long habit, that if I don’t make this my habit, I will eventually only be able to fall asleep late at night and it won’t do well for my working life at that point in my life, which is exactly the issue that Mentalist brought up.

So probably your parents have to get up early and go to work, or, if they are retired, they had to get up early when they were your age. Can you blame them if they resent you sleeping all day while they have to work to support you?
 
  • #20
failexam said:
... I live in my parent’s house, because I mean, where else would I be living?

Umm... In your own place? How old are you?
 
  • #21
gmax137 said:
Umm... In your own place? How old are you?

He just said he does a "couple of private tutoring jobs".. How was he going to buy a place for himself? Well, he could always try and live in a dumpster and call it his "own place"
 
  • #22
LMFAO, if I may use that expression in a site like physicsforums! ha ha ha!

No offence gmax137, but where I come from (in a third world indian subcontinental country), it's common to live with your parents, even when you are married and have kids!
 
  • #23
failexam said:
No offence gmax137, but where I come from (in a third world indian subcontinental country), it's common to live with your parents, even when you are married and have kids!
Good point! My ex-fiance lived in Sicily, and they are very traditional there. It's very common for three generations to live together. The parents take care of the children until the time comes when the children take care of the parents. It's been a successful way of life for thousands of years. I don't understand where the belief comes from that once a child reaches 18 they suddenly become worthless if they live at home, especially between school semesters. My kids are welcome to live with me at any age. I think at this point they'd rather die than give up their freedom though. They're established and supporting themselves while attending school, but it wasn't always that way. The first few years were back and forth, and being able to "come home" and re-group allowed them to become successful. I never tried to impose my lifestyle on them. Who cares what time they go to bed and wake up if they don't have to be somewhere?
 
  • #24
As long as you contribute in some way to your parents (and thus take care of your duty), I think they shouldn't complain about your habit.

My boyfriend often goes to sleep around 6 am and wakes up after 2 pm, he has his own enterprise and his clients are happy that he's fully available after business hours. I don't complain, as long as he's productive (and gets up when it's necessary).
 

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