She Almost Made Breakfast at Midnight
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45628)
Philippines
May 4, 2017 10:30pm CST
Last weekend, my mother woke up early and went to the wet market with my niece to buy fresh ingredients for the potluck lunch with relatives. When they came home, she cooked several dishes, then finally sat down to rest her legs.
It wasn't that long because before noon, she and my brother left to bring those dishes to the get-together with relatives. They came back late afternoon.
Because she woke up early, could not have her afternoon siesta (nap), and all the activities in between, she fell asleep by early evening and missed dinner. Several hours later, she woke up and went to the kitchen.
She was about to make her morning coffee when she noticed from the clock that, although it was dark outside, it was not 6am, which is the usual time she wakes up, but 12 midnight. So she cancelled making coffee, and ate dinner at midnight instead.
She's quite sensitive to caffeine, so would have had a harder time going back to sleep if she didn't notice the time and actually had coffee at midnight.
Have you (or someone that you know) ever mistook day and night, night and day?
How do you adjust to meal times and sleep times when you change workshifts, or when you're in a different timezone?
27 people like this
29 responses
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
6 May 17
yes, she only drinks coffee again around 3 or 4 pm during merienda (afternoon snack) but if she drinks around 5pm, she will have problems falling asleep later.
some people take a few days to adjust to a new timezone. you're lucky. i guess you were born to travel.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
6 May 17
@LadyDuck i remember people here getting confused why when they go to the us, they arrive the same date they left the phillipines, but when they return to the philipines they lose 2 days. i guess that's when they realize how big the world really is and the many differences.
breakfast here is almusal, while coffee is kape.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502187)
• Italy
6 May 17
@hereandthere Going west you adjust better than going east. In fact when I came back from the United States it was hard to wake up in the morning. We call the afternoon snack "merenda" in Italian.
2 people like this
@Nawsheen (28761)
• Mauritius
5 May 17
Fortunately this never happened to me. I know about my uncle waking up very early and got ready for work. He didn't take a good look at the time when waking up. When he saw he was ready 3 hours before going to work he used the time to do some reading
3 people like this
@Nawsheen (28761)
• Mauritius
6 May 17
@hereandthere The problem was that my aunty was not at home those days. And uncle is very dependent on her. I guess he learnt a lesson 
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
he woke up too early, but it would be awkward to sleep again since he's already had breakfast and dressed for work. i would probably catch up on sleep on the way to work (if on public transportation) so i don't feel sleepy while working.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
5 May 17
I'm a little bit different, I do not care about time, I work when I like to work even at 2am and sleep when sleepy, and tired, no exact time.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
as long as you're not noisy and disturbing others (i've heard of people cleaning their house at 3am), or the opposite, a deep sleeper while everyone's awake and about.
@prashu228 (37518)
• India
5 May 17
Yes it happened with me , we forget about time when we are very tired and cannot recognise ,our body won't be in state to do that, we come to senses only after few minutes
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
good thing she noticed the actual time on the kitchen clock.
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
8 May 17
i've always felt that afternoon naps should not exceed 2 hours. i hope all your afternoon dreams are pleasant!
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
8 May 17
@Shiva49 but are you sensitive to caffeine? does it affect your sleep?
also, do you easily adjust to shifting schedules and timezones when you were still working?
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
8 May 17
@hereandthere Mine last an hour.
My dreams are varied and I forget them when I wake up - siva
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
i learned to drink coffee when i was already working. i usually have one for breakfast, another in the afternoon, but they're both instant coffee, not brewed.
1 person likes this
@EMuhungi (1712)
• Nairobi, Kenya
5 May 17
@hereandthere It is good to take it when working, it keep you active.
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
14 May 17
The kids will do that sometimes when they are sick . . . they will sleep during the day and into the early evening - and be totally thrown off when they wake up after it gets dark. We have never traveled that far to ever be in a different time zone!1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
15 May 17
@hereandthere I wish I knew . . . I rarely nap . . . I think that's why I have no problem getting to sleep at night (I'm exhausted out of my mind by then ).
).1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
15 May 17
@much2say i allow my niece and nephew to nap on the weekends, but i make sure to wake them up so they don't stay up until 12, 1, 2am later.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
15 May 17
that's why i believe an afternoon nap should be at most 2 hours, so you won't have problems sleeping again at night.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (36791)
• Philippines
9 May 17
Good that she did not make that coffee that will make her awake.
I experienced something like this. I was too tired at work, when I got home, ate small meal then went to bed early in the afternoon. I had a nice sleep. When I woke up, I rushed immediately to the bathroom to take a bath. Then I remember to check the time. Well, it's 11 pm. I thought it was time to go to work.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
9 May 17
it messes up your sense of time, doesn't it?
so what did you do, stay up all night or went back to sleep?
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
10 May 17
she said she was still full from the potluck lunch and would rather sleep early. she probably thought she slept through the night, but it was only midnight.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99367)
• Atlanta, Georgia
13 May 17
@hereandthere I can see how that could happen.
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45155)
• Philippines
5 May 17
when we are so busy, we don't look at clock, this happen
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
@ilocosboy but it's not good for the health if it happens regularly. we could end up with stomach/digestion problems.
@ilocosboy (45155)
• Philippines
5 May 17
@hereandthere this... I have experienced many times.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
6 May 17
and it's even harder when you have to stay awake to do errands or process paperwork because most places are open for business during the day.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
8 May 17
I too don't drink coffee late in the night.Havent had to adjust to any time zone as yet
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
8 May 17
sounds like you're sensitive to caffeine, too. india is a big country and the climate differs from north to sound, but it seems you only have one time zone.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
8 May 17
@hereandthere we have just one zone...That's why we miss out on a lot of time as we are in the east and day breaks early
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
13 May 17
i guess if we had 4 seasons, it would be even more confusing because there will be longer daylight in summer and longer darkness in winter
1 person likes this
@ShifaLk (17811)
• India
13 May 17
@hereandthere yeah we have actually Four Seasons
1 person likes this
@manasamanu (3797)
• Bangalore, India
5 May 17
Poor your mother she worked so hard the entire day and mistook night for day. Yeah this has happened with me too. Once I had slept for a long time and woke up in the evening asking everyone why they didn't wake me up and I was about to cry thinking I had missed my classes. Very silly of me
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
6 May 17
i think when our bodies have reached their limits, it will lock down and sleep and sleep until it's fully recovered, and only then do we wake up.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
true. that happens to both students and workers.
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (38847)
• Philippines
5 May 17
I didn't happen to me. I go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time everyday. That was a tiring day for your mother
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
it was, considering her age and legs, but then, when she wants something, you can't make her stop.
i wish i could have your body clock.
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
5 May 17
yeah, some people have no problems waking up when they have to, like my father, regardless of what time he went to bed
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (52665)
• Philippines
10 May 17
I used to work in a call center and it was hard sleeping in the afternoon because it was too darn hot. It's like your world became upside down.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
10 May 17
hot and noisy because people at home and the neighbors are awake and busy.
@Gita17112016 (3611)
• Trinidad And Tobago
7 May 17
Yes, on many occasions because my schedule was interrupted and I became disoriented about time and days and weeks. However, since I am not a slave to Time, I would have gladly made my breakfast and eat it too...even if it was not morning. Actually, I do that. I eat when my body is hungry and I sleep when my body is tired. Since I am retired I do not have to hold to a rigid practice.So the coffee would not have bothered me much.But that's just me.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
7 May 17
sometimes i can drink a 3rd cup of coffee at 5pm but not my mother because she is sensitive to caffeine.
when i lived briefly in a boarding house, sometimes i would have cereal and milk for dinner.
