In what many are calling an “ill-advised” move, 26-year-old Wayland Arthur of Detroit, MI regularly risks everything she has ever worked for just to squeeze in 15 more minutes of sleepy time.
“Logically, I understand that 15 more minutes of sleep isn’t worth jeopardizing everything I’ve worked so hard for in my career,” she says, while still rubbing her eyes. “But emotionally, when I first wake up, I’m unable to resist the temptation. It’s like I’m under a spell.”
A self-described “career woman,” Wayland says her professional reputation and overall employment are on the line almost every morning she wakes up.
“Before I go to bed, of course I’m thinking about how productive I’ll be tomorrow, and how much I’ll get done before work in the morning,” she says. “But then my alarm goes off and it’s just like, ‘I’m warm and curled up right now’ and that always takes precedence.”
“It’s like I have completely different priorities when I wake up than I do during the rest of the day. Upon waking up, my first thought is always, ‘what if my eyes were closed right now?’ and it’s hard not to give in to that natural curiosity, despite how it might affect my career.”
While Wayland says she spends her evenings carefully crafting the perfect plan for her morning – allotting time for tasks that would be both mentally, physically, and spiritually enriching – when her alarm goes off at 7 a.m., none of her plans, no matter how well-intentioned, hold a torch to snoozing that alarm and curling up in a ball for the next 14 minutes and 59 seconds.
Her boyfriend, the sole witness to Wayland’s regular display of brazen self-sabotage, explains that this behavior goes beyond just waking up in the morning.
“It even extends to naps,” he adds. “We all take the odd ill-timed nap in the middle of the day from time to time, but most of us are able to get up and continue with our day once our alarm goes off. The same cannot be said for my girlfriend. An afternoon nap could be her downfall. It could mean the difference between making rent and not making rent.”
However, Wayland remarked that her dedication to squeezing in those last few minutes of shut-eye is something she holds dear.
“It’s the most consistent thing in my life,” she admits to reporters. “Every day I try to get myself to stick to some routine, to build habits that will help me in my career and in my personal life, and yet the only thing I do with regularity is inevitably sleep 15 minutes past when I told myself I’d get up.”
At press time, when asked if those extra moments of shut eye were worth the risk, Wayland said, “Right now, I’d say absolutely not. But if you asked me at 7 a.m., I would not answer because I would be sleeping.”
