💬 I go to bed at 10:30 now and 5 years ago I'd have laughed

5 years ago I was awake at 3 in the morning on most days. I thought it made me cool. I'd watch cricket highlights, argue in a group chat with my college friends and eat Maggi. Then I'd go to work in Hitech City at 9 and drink 4 coffees before noon. Now I'm in bed by 10:30 with the fan on low. My friends think I've joined a cult. It didn't happen in one go. I had a bad week in 2022 where I fell asleep in a meeting. I woke up when my chin hit my chest and my manager was looking right at me. He didn't say anything. He just pushed a glass of water across the table, which was worse. That night I slept at 11. I woke up feeling like somebody had swapped my body. Now I skip plans if they start after 9. People say, come on, it's Friday. I say, I'll come at 6 and leave at 9. They say that's not a party, that's a visit. My friend Asif calls me uncle now, even though he's the same age as me and has more grey hair. He messaged at 3:40 last week asking if I was awake. I was asleep, obviously. The mornings are the real difference. I make tea at 6:30 and sit on the balcony. Nobody's up. The road is quiet except for the milk guy, a stray dog and one very loud crow. I never saw that side of the city when I was awake at 3 and asleep at 9. What's something you do completely differently now than you did 5 years ago?

Falling asleep in a meeting and waking when your chin hits your chest is how many of my 3 am years ended too. Now I read for 15 minutes with the fan on low and I am asleep by 10:45. My friends think I joined a cult as well. What do you do in the last half hour before bed? That is the part I am still working on.

For me it's cooking. 5 years ago I ate out or ordered in almost every night, and called it being busy. Now I cook 5 nights a week. Nothing fancy. Dal, rice, 1 vegetable, sometimes eggs. I didn't expect it to change much. But I sleep earlier, spend less, and my stomach is a lot happier. My mother is shocked. She keeps asking for photos as proof.