The pleasures of 'senile Bettflucht'

I first came across the phrase 'senile Bettflucht' (age-related insomnia; literally 'senile bed flight') a couple of years ago when I was complaining to my long-standing friend Dagmar about how I was waking up much too early. Sure, I had 6 to 7 hours of sleep, but was waking up at 4.30 or 5.30 in the morning normal? I'd never done it before in the past.

Now, I am far from being senile and rather than fleeing from my bed, I stay put in it until I've had at least one cup of coffee. 

In the past, I used to try and get to sleep again, but generally gave up after half an hour. I'd try taking sleeping tablets the night before, all sorts of things. But then I realised that I was getting enough sleep after all. If I fall asleep at 10 these days, then it's no wonder I'm awake at 4.30. When I was teaching full-time, I would fall asleep at 11.30 and would have to be up by 5.30 or 6.00 at the latest so I could start teaching in some company at 8 in the morning. Basically, I'm getting the same amount of sleep as before.

Nowadays, when I wake up at 4.30, as I did today, I rejoice. As my 80-year-old friend Peter says, when he wakes up that early, he just thinks, "Great - more reading time." So I put the coffee machine on and sit there in bed until about 6.30, with one of the curtains open and enjoy reading, sipping on the first coffee of the day (the best coffee of all) and watching the sky lighten. 

I managed to fit in studying for a BSc by simply waking up half an hour earlier on a working day and reading what I had to get through that day in bed with coffee before getting washed, dressed and leaving the house at 7 in the morning. I'd re-read it all on the Tube and when I got to work at 8.15, I'd have breakfast, read the papers and start work 15 minutes early at 8.45. This is why I like to called the Tube 'my study'. 

The Germans say "Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund" (the morning hour has gold in its mouth). Which is very much along the lines of former US president Benjamin Franklin: Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise'.

I'm not sure whether its making me wealthy and wise, but it does mean I can still fit in a couple of hours of reading every day. And since reading has always given me the greatest pleasure in life, then this 'senile Bettflucht' is rather pleasurable. Right?