Oh yes. The infamous title of "night owl". I have been dubbed a night owl for as far back as I could remember. I have never liked getting up early in the morning, nor have I ever enjoyed getting less than eight hours of sleep in one evening.

After having my son, I had tried and tried to become a morning lover but I had failed miserably. I've tried the coffee method which to me was, 'finish this whole pot before getting the go'. I've tried the 'quickly get into the shower and wake up before I get tired again' method. And, I have tried the 'early morning walks', and the 'eat a healthy breakfast and start exercising immediately' idea. None of which worked or helped my body in any way.

Unfortunately, my body still wanted to go to bed at three AM and awake at noon the next day. You see, I'm what they call bipolar or manic depressive. I had been on so many medications in my life that I believe my brain has completely snuffed out any reasoning of becoming a so-called "morning acheiver" or any kind of acheiver for that matter. And my body just followed.

I found myself getting up with my son in the mornings then going back to bed after feeding him and seeing him off to school. I would sleep until the afternoon hours and get up hoping to have enough energy to clean the house and take care of myself hygenically. I would then start struggling to find any reason to keep myself awake wether it'd be starting a craft project, or placing more and more flowers in my garden so I had to take care of the mess I'd created before it got out of hand.

Keeping my mind busy wasn't the struggle, it was keeping my body going along with my mind that I always had problems with. Always feeling tired made me more and more depressed as days went on and I had always felt a void within my life that I couldn't explain. The medication I was trusting to make me feel better always seemed to fail and I couldn't get myself to be the wonderful, energetic mother I'd always wished to be. Overweight and completely out of shape mentally and physically, I found myself becoming lost more and more each day.

One day at a counseling session with a group, I had met a strange, yet completely strong-minded individual who I found very interesting. He had told me he'd been looking for a hiking partner to go along with him on an excursion along the Appalachian Trail.

Of course at first, I believed him to be someone who just needed to run away from things in his life and disappear for a time. I even thought to myself, "is this guy a psycho?" I didn't think much of it. Then, after talking with him for 2 weeks at the group sessions, I found myself completely taking on his idea and disappearing along with him. I said, "I'll go!" And that was it.

I packed my things, had my son taken care of and staying with family, then off I went into the wonderful, wild world of nature with a complete stranger I hadn't known much about. Talk about spontaneous and dangerous activity!

I knew nothing of hiking, nor did I know much about what I needed to survive out there for however long it would be. After a little research I had gotten a backpack and durable hiking boots along with a tent and a supply of food for myself. I took a bus to downtown Bangor,ME to meet my stranger, then we got a ride to what's called the beginning ( or end to Northbounders ) of the Appalachian Trail.

I guess you were supposed to sign up for this adventure which we hadn't. And the park was closed to the public for two more weeks. He insisted we sneak in and start our journey. I had no objections and went along.

As we entered the park I felt myself becoming tired already and needing a rest. Afterall, I'm also a smoker and I hadn't eaten yet. I fought my body's feeling and comtinued on. Then it came into sight. A mountain? Hey, I knew we'd be hikers, but mountain climbers? That was a whole other level beyond what I thought I could acheive.

The Appalachian Trail extends from Mount Katahdin, ME where we were, to Springer Mountain, Georgia and is approximately 2175 miles. I didn't know this until he explained everthing to me as we aproached the path up Mt. Katahdin.

I was feeling anxious and felt like changing my mind about this whole hiking idea until we reached half way up the mountain. I figured, I came this far. I continued on completely fighting fatigue and nicotine fits. Next thing I knew, I was summiting the highest peak in Maine. The feeling was incredible! I thought to myself, "if I can do this, I can do anything!"

Well, to make a long story short, we climbed back down the mountain and carried on through the wilderness of Maine. After all was said and done, three weeks later we had hiked the whole state of Maine and climbed about 12 mountains covering around 320 miles. I had lost weight and gained energy. I had a feeling of excitement every time I woke up in the morning, yes, I said morning! And I was feeling invincible. Oh, and I had forgotten to pack my meds for the trip so I had been off them the whole time.

After fourteen blisturs on my feet and miles of exhaustion, I needed to go home and be with my son. So, we turned around at the border of NH and started a journey back up to Katahdin.

Three weeks later, I had felt the best I had since I didn't know how long and my energy was unlimited. I had become a "morning person" and this adventure completely changed my life. And please believe me, it wasn't easy at all! It was very hard and put a lot of strain on me but as I pushed myself more and more, my mind became clearer and my body had become a strong vessel full of hope and solice.

I have not been on medication since and had lost 40 pounds in the end so I was looking good as well as feeling wonderful.

I guess the whole point of me writing this is, I learned that sometimes if you need to push yourself to do things ( like getting up in the morning ), at the same time you need to have it in your heart that there is something for you to get up for so you don't have to push yourself.

Don't get me wrong, my son was enough for me to get up for, but my life was lacking excitement and was really old! The same routine had put me in a trance and left my body to disintegrate along with it.

Life in my eyes is more exciting these days and it's worth it more to me to be awake as early as my body allows and asleep at a decent hour so I can be the person my son needs. And so I can be the person I'd always wanted to become.

Instead of boring and routine, I try to be more spontaneous and outgoing. That is what makes me feel better all around and helps me maintain my decent sleeping pattern.

Now, I'm not saying go out, find a stranger and go hiking with him/her and all your problems will go away! I admit, it could have been dangerous and I was careless at the time so I'm not saying you go do it too. Find a friend if anything!

I'm saying, if you get off the same old routine in your life, you will be able to change your routine as far as sleep is concerned. Atleast, that's what I truly believe now! This hiking adventure had MADE me sleep at night and get up in the morning.

Waking up in the morning is beautiful to me now because my life is fuller. I no longer drag my butt to stay awake and I always find the excitement exhausting, hence the 'earlier to bed, earlier to rise' concept.

I really don't know if it would help you at all but it's always worth the shot. Try changing your old, boring routine into something more and maybe you'll find what you've been looking for.

I am now a "morning person" who is bipolar, off medication and happier than I have ever been since childhood.

~Anyone interested in hiking the A.T., there are many websites you can go to for research. . Please do your research and go with a friend or group. Try whiteblaze.net for information, stories, and adventures from past and currently planning hikers.

Just some food for thought.

I personally thank you for your response. My wife is also bipolar and is on medication, thus part of the reason she sleeps in, but I do try to give her ideas to keep herself busy and I always support her 100% on whatever she wants to do, as mentioned in my response, she is going to college to get her 4 year degree in business and she is almost done with that and she is now considering going on to get her masters and etc...It is true that a person needs to change their routine and keep a good attitude about things and push themselves. If a person TRUELY wants it, it will be done. Once again, thank you for your response, I enjoyed it.

Ervin (hernarius)

No, thank YOU hernarius! It's great to see that you support your wife. Some people can't handle the emotional dilemnas that accompany bipolar disorder and they end up giving up on their friends, wives, husbands, etc. I have much respect for you. It's wonderful to see your wife doing so well. I wish you both all the best.

I do believe changing routine does have significant, possitive affects on people suffering from bipolar disorder, depression, etc. It has worked for me ever since I started changing my boring routine/lifestyle, but what works for me may not work for others. It is definitely worth shot though. I find that keeping myself busy with planning exciting things for myself and family that we've never done before gives me a sense of happiness and purpose and my depression subsides.

Knowing that my disorder makes me lose interest in things quickly, I push myself to do them anyway and become proud of myself with the finished results. Wether it be writing, crafts, walking, etc., I always become a happier person afterwards which makes life much more enjoyable for myself and everyone around me. It's tough to keep the same outlook with the depression, but it seems to work out for the best in the end. The more support your wife has, the easier it will be for her to do things she and you can be proud of.

Thanks so much for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.

Always,

SaphireLee

I just saw your post. I am an extreme night owl. but I am able to get up early when I'm required to. Of course. But I did a similar thing as you; I backpacked through Europe for six weeks last summer, and shocked myself with my ability to get up and moving with the light, that as soon as I opened my eyes I no longer felt like staying in bed: there was a wonderful world to discover! I lost weight, felt healthy and alive, and wondered about my life back home that I could spend so much time on the internet and go to bed so very very late and wake up after the sun has set. Well, I'm back to that. I'm a graduate student, for the most part left to my own devices.

What I'm saying, I guess, is that the change I underwent is not permanent. My lifestyle has to completely change as well in order for me to keep up my healthy morning behavior; without external pressure I just can't work up the motivation for it.

I do wish there were less societal pressure against night-owls, though. Who says you can't work productively at night, go golfing with your business partners at night, etc? A CEO network of all night-owls would do just fine, I think.

Thank you for your post, it was great to read! I suffer from depression (which sometimes makes it difficult to motivate myself) but I've found that hiking, even for just a day, is really invigorating and can improve my whole week. Staying active is so important for mental disorders....it can't be understated...humans aren't meant to sit around indoors all day.

in fact, sometimes i think mental disorders are just fancy ways of marking people who don't function well in our sedentary, office- and computer-oriented, 9-5 society, due to genetics or other reasons. I'm not cut out to get up at 5am every morning and sit at a desk 8 hrs a day, but that's what this world demands, so I give it my all. As a result, I have to get what my body needs during my spare time...not always easy, but really necessary if I'm going to be a happy person.