Sleep is for the Old

When I was in my teens, I used to stay up for extended periods and I could function perfectly well. I went 24, 36, 48 hours without sleep, sometimes to play Chinese RPG on my computer or to draw or to write. Mom hardly ever noticed because she was asleep before I was and I didn't turn on the overhead light. And then the next morning, I'd blithely head to school to sit through another day of lessons and perhaps extracurricular activities.

Sometimes the outcome of me pushing the limits of my sleep debt is me passing out for 15 hours straight on the weekends, but that didn't often happen. I did once sleep for a solid 24 hours, but that was after a week of consecutive class gatherings at chalets in which my head barely touched a pillow for more than two hours in total.

Three decades later, I get cranky if I don't get my afternoon nap. And that nap has to be at least thirty minutes.

I don't miss being young, because youth has its own struggles that I am happy to be done with, but I do miss having that much energy. If I don't get sufficient sleep, my body hurts. Maybe it's due to the abuse I put it through as a teenager, but frankly I think it's just age. My body is a temple, and it needs restoration.

Emphasis on REST.

Do you miss being young?