Thanks for sharing that. It is amazing that so many people follow such a difficult ritual. For the Catholics here lent is hardly a sacrifice. They give up very little, on Fridays the go out and eat seafood to observe the practice of abstaining from meat.

My first impulse was to tell you that your idea that you were sleep deprived was silly. Gladly I resisted that impulse, it might have been divine intervention because I was on my cell phone and responses require loading the app which has not yet happened.

I guess sleep requirements vary by individual and circumstances. For most of the years between when I was 13 and 50 years old I got up a 5:30am every weekday went to bed around 11pm. 6 hours sleep was my normal. The only break was when I was in college. Some times when I had to work second or third shifts or 12 hour shifts 6 hours sleep would have felt like a luxury.

It started at 13 when I got up early to deliver newspapers, my customers wanted to read their paper before they went to work so the last delivery need to be done before 7:30am. Later is was up before dawn to work on a farm a half hour drive away. Then it was my career. Needed to be at my desk at work at 7:30. 6 hours sleep was my routine for 5 days a week for more than 30 years.

Thanks again for your story

TEK