10 hours of deep sleep, then waking up at 3 AM the next day. A 39-year-old physical therapist's day of being swept away by a big wave of sleep and seeing the '40-year-old wall'.

After giving my all to family time during the long weekend, I was knocked out by 7 PM.
I slept like I was unconscious until 5 AM, a full 10 hours of deep sleep.

The next day, thinking I had perfectly recovered—
I went to bed at 10 PM, and woke up wide awake at 3 AM!

Waking up way too early.
But I wasn't happy at all, and my productivity was zero.
I just entered a torture mode of 'spending a long morning while still sleepy'.

At 39, I feel like my recovery power is dropping more than my physical strength.
This is a story about how I might finally be starting to experience the '40-year-old wall'.

[1] The day after sleeping for 10 hours is the hardest

I took the kids to the aquarium, went shopping on the way back, and spent the next day running around in the scorching heat for their lessons.
Before I knew it, I was dizzy and reached my limit by 7 PM.

I slept soundly for 10 hours until morning, completely reset!

…or so I thought, but the next day I was wide awake after only 5 hours of sleep.
I woke up at 3 AM.

[2] Waking up at 3 AM doesn't bring any benefits

They say 'the early bird catches the worm,' but 3 AM is definitely too early.

・My head isn't clear
・It's pitch black outside
・I did the laundry, used the lint roller, and watched the NHK news twice
・By 5 AM, I was already a bit bored

I had no focus and started the day feeling dazed.
As a result, it was just a sleepy day...

[3] It seems like your rhythm gets easier to disrupt with age

From the perspective of a physical therapist,
these things tend to happen around the age of 40.

• Sleep hormones (melatonin) decrease

• Deep sleep becomes shallower

• Autonomic nerves become easier to disrupt

• In other words, it's easy to end up in a state where 'sleeping doesn't help you recover'

So this is what it means to have declining recovery power.

[4] You can't create a life rhythm based on your own convenience

・I can't stay up late at night anymore.
・But if I go to bed too early, I can't fall asleep.
・The kids are on summer vacation, so it's noisy morning and night.
・I have work, and I have to keep up with my family's rhythm.

Before I knew it, I felt like, "Where is my own pace?"
There's no way I can live a 'me-first' lifestyle.

[5] Even so, I have no choice but to deal with it.

The ideal is to maintain a consistent rhythm while getting the best quality sleep possible.
But in reality, I'm constantly being swept up in a chaotic daily rhythm.

In that case,maybe I just have to accept it.

・If I wake up too early, I'll try to go back to sleep.
・If I realize it's a "sleepy day," I won't push myself.
・I'll go with the flow of life and take it easy.

Being able to think that way might mean I've finally become an adult in a sense.