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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think a 10pm bedtime and 6am start is relatively normal in your 40s?

213 replies

Alwayschillyatnight · 23/08/2026 09:28

A recent ex found it a real issue that i would go to bed between 9.30 and 10.30 (this is going upstairs to bed, not going to sleep. That takes a while longer!) and then regularly get up around 6-7am.
Twice a week i had to commute into London, about 90 minutes, so i would have to be up by 6 on that days immaterial. The rest of the week it just suited me to keep to that routine. I like being up early and going to bed a bit earlier stops me late night snacking.

The ex, a man in his mid 40s, without children stated categorically (and dont get me started on his always thinking he was right) that "most people our age wouldn't go to bed that early and get up early".

I believe he is skewed by his own - responsibility-free life and his ex wife who was also nocturnal in tendencies.

Personally everybody else i know my age generally keeps similar hours to me , except on rare occasions when you might stay up late to socialise and then regret it the next day!

So who is being unreasonable? This has been bugging me for weeks, despite the fact he is now an ex!

YABU - you live like a nun, he is right. Lighten up and stay up late.
YANBU - you are right and he is living like a teenager because he can and assuming its normal.

OP posts:
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dreamiesformolly · 03/09/2026 13:27

dibleydob · 02/09/2026 21:11

Absolutely- rest is very important - as is good sleep. Thats the entire point -research has shown over and over again that going to sleep prior to 11pm reduces your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. So actually- going to bed early and getting up early is far better for your health than going to bed late and getting up late.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/sleep-time-and-heart-disease

https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/sleep/sleep-before-midnight

https://leicesterbrc.nihr.ac.uk/early-risers-better-health/

True. Which is unfortunate for those of us with sleep disorders who are hardwired to sleep and wake late, like me!

Timeforachange26 · 03/09/2026 13:21

maddiemookins16mum · 03/09/2026 12:56

But it’s ‘normal’ if you have to get up at 5.45am to leave the house at 7.15am to start work at 8am. You’re getting approx 7.5 hrs sleep with your timings and so am I by being in bed at 10pm.

Whereas I'm more likely to be midnight till 1am and up.by 7

If I tried to go any earlier ( on a non working day) I toss and turn for ages and end up sleeping later that I normally do

Balloonhearts · 03/09/2026 13:06

For me that would be too early. I wouldn't sleep at that time and would struggle to wake up the early. 7.30 is the absolute earliest I will wake up and even then, not regularly. Bed at 11 - 12 and up at 8 is my work pattern. When off its about 1am to bed and up at 9 or 10. 6 am is the middle of the night to me.

maddiemookins16mum · 03/09/2026 12:56

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 24/08/2026 17:57

I usually go to bed between 11pm and midnight and get up around 7.30 so I don’t think going to bed at 9.30-10 is normal at all.

But it’s ‘normal’ if you have to get up at 5.45am to leave the house at 7.15am to start work at 8am. You’re getting approx 7.5 hrs sleep with your timings and so am I by being in bed at 10pm.

Sartre · 03/09/2026 07:35

I’m in my early 30s and I do this… Bed by 10.30, can push to 11 on a weekend but I start falling asleep on the sofa usually! Up between 5-7 every day including weekends.

dibleydob · 03/09/2026 07:08

Timeforachange26 · 02/09/2026 21:28

Oh well those of us working till then have had it

Its definitely something to consider when looking at job options, I agree.

Lots of research also showing that night shift workers have more chronic illness too.

Timeforachange26 · 02/09/2026 21:28

dibleydob · 02/09/2026 21:11

Absolutely- rest is very important - as is good sleep. Thats the entire point -research has shown over and over again that going to sleep prior to 11pm reduces your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. So actually- going to bed early and getting up early is far better for your health than going to bed late and getting up late.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/sleep-time-and-heart-disease

https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/sleep/sleep-before-midnight

https://leicesterbrc.nihr.ac.uk/early-risers-better-health/

Oh well those of us working till then have had it

dibleydob · 02/09/2026 21:11

dreamiesformolly · 30/08/2026 09:23

But surely you'd agree it's not necessary for a person to be busy and productive every waking moment? Giving the body enough rest is so important too.

Absolutely- rest is very important - as is good sleep. Thats the entire point -research has shown over and over again that going to sleep prior to 11pm reduces your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. So actually- going to bed early and getting up early is far better for your health than going to bed late and getting up late.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/sleep-time-and-heart-disease

https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/sleep/sleep-before-midnight

https://leicesterbrc.nihr.ac.uk/early-risers-better-health/

Is there a “golden hour” to go to sleep that reduces your risk of heart disease?

New research has suggested that going to sleep between 10pm and 11pm could be best for your heart. What does this mean for you? Our experts explain. 

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/sleep-time-and-heart-disease

Zanatdy · 30/08/2026 09:32

God yeah, and i’m up long before 6. Some of my same age friends (all turning 50 this year) do stay up late and get up later, but they are big drinkers who like to stay up until 1-2am drinking. Early to bed and early to rise for me, i’m at my desk for 8am.

dreamiesformolly · 30/08/2026 09:23

dibleydob · 24/08/2026 17:20

I do agree with this- I find people who lay in give me the "ick" too - it feels lazy and unproductive for a grown adult to be laying in until 10am to me so definitely wouldnt be compatible

Edited

But surely you'd agree it's not necessary for a person to be busy and productive every waking moment? Giving the body enough rest is so important too.

AbsintheMakesTheHeartGrowFonder · 24/08/2026 23:27

Shaynac · 24/08/2026 17:25

Why do partners need to go to bed at the same time?

Neither I nor @Timeforachange26 has suggested that all partners have to go to bed at the same time, or even that our own partners have to go to bed at the same time as us. We’re merely saying that for us, having a partner who had to be in bed by 10pm wouldn’t work.

My partner and I don’t always go to bed at the same time. But neither of us would ever go to bed as early as 10pm - if we go to bed at different times it’s more likely one going up at midnight and the other going up at 1am or something. If one of us routinely had to be in bed by 10pm, it would mean we wouldn’t actually spend much quality time together. It’s not about right or wrong - just about compatibility. People can have their preferences.

Fizbosshoes · 24/08/2026 21:06

11pm.is an early night for me. I go to bed around 11-11.30 and wake at 7-7.30am.

Id like to be better at getting up earlier, but I definitely couldnt go to bed at 9.30.

It just depends how your day/schedule works. Most days here, at least one person is doing sport until 8.30pm.so we eat around 8.45pm which is fairly late, and doesnt work with early bedtime.

Odditea · 24/08/2026 20:53

FWIW I would love to have the discipline to go to bed at 9.30 in order to get a full 8 hours but inevitably I’m still faffing around at 10.30-11

Odditea · 24/08/2026 20:51

Alwayschillyatnight · 23/08/2026 09:40

Lots of people don't need mumsnet to tell them stuff, but they ask anyway.

And im sitting on my sofa with 2 anti social cats, on a Sunday, the kids are with their dad, I'm still recovering from a horrible virus and I have bugger all to do (well this isn't strictly true. I have lots to do but I'm not well enough)except watch gruesome murder dramas and ruminate.

So I thought I'd annoy you, and the rest of mumsnet. You're welcome.

Edited

Annoy away! I don’t get the snooty replies on here. Just scroll past if you’re not interested.

Alwayschillyatnight · 24/08/2026 18:36

WildFatball · 24/08/2026 18:01

Anyone who says 'most people are [insert speaker's preference]' is an arse.

Agreed. I fully accept there are night owls out there who keep very different hours from me. It was being painted as an anomaly for my age for keeping the hours I do that pissed me off. My hours may not be what everybody does, but they are by no means abnormal, either.

OP posts:
WildFatball · 24/08/2026 18:01

Anyone who says 'most people are [insert speaker's preference]' is an arse.

Sashya · 24/08/2026 18:01

@Alwayschillyatnight
I don't think it's about what others do, or what is "normal". It's more about compatibility.

I'd struggle with your schedule. My teens don't go to bed as early as you do, and certainly don't wake up at 6. But again - if that works for you - then it's what you need to do. And you can find a partner who is on the same schedule.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 24/08/2026 17:57

I usually go to bed between 11pm and midnight and get up around 7.30 so I don’t think going to bed at 9.30-10 is normal at all.

Timeforachange26 · 24/08/2026 17:40

Shaynac · 24/08/2026 17:25

Why do partners need to go to bed at the same time?

They don't but if you never see them because they are in bed what's the point

Morepositivemum · 24/08/2026 17:28

At a table of around ten of us everyone who had a partner said they’d argued with them about this! All of our dps or dhs went to bed much later and got up later. I think it’s a man vs woman thing (before that I thought it was a morning person/ night person thing!!)

Shaynac · 24/08/2026 17:25

Timeforachange26 · 24/08/2026 16:40

So true. If I had a partner who was tucked up in bed at 10pm I'd never spend any time with them. And don't people ever go out socially? Like meet at 8pm but run home at 9.30 for a 10pm bedtime

Why do partners need to go to bed at the same time?

Shaynac · 24/08/2026 17:24

Sound perfectly normal. I’m not sure what his problem with it actually is. DH and I have different sleep patterns; I go at about 10pm, and he stays up later. We both get up at roughly the same time, around 6:30-7am. It’s fine, a non-issue.

dibleydob · 24/08/2026 17:20

AbsintheMakesTheHeartGrowFonder · 24/08/2026 11:45

I don’t think it’s hugely weird for someone to go to bed at 10pm in their 40s, but I also don’t think it’s some kind of default standard.

I certainly don’t think wanting to go to bed later than 10pm is ‘living like a teenager’.

Personally, at the age of 50, I could never in a million years have a relationship with someone who wanted to be in bed by 10pm every night. It’s an instant ‘ick’ for me, to use a Mumsnet term.

That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it, or with that person. It does mean we wouldn’t be at all compatible.

It’s really just an ‘each to their own’ thing.

I do agree with this- I find people who lay in give me the "ick" too - it feels lazy and unproductive for a grown adult to be laying in until 10am to me so definitely wouldnt be compatible

Timeforachange26 · 24/08/2026 16:40

AbsintheMakesTheHeartGrowFonder · 24/08/2026 11:45

I don’t think it’s hugely weird for someone to go to bed at 10pm in their 40s, but I also don’t think it’s some kind of default standard.

I certainly don’t think wanting to go to bed later than 10pm is ‘living like a teenager’.

Personally, at the age of 50, I could never in a million years have a relationship with someone who wanted to be in bed by 10pm every night. It’s an instant ‘ick’ for me, to use a Mumsnet term.

That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it, or with that person. It does mean we wouldn’t be at all compatible.

It’s really just an ‘each to their own’ thing.

So true. If I had a partner who was tucked up in bed at 10pm I'd never spend any time with them. And don't people ever go out socially? Like meet at 8pm but run home at 9.30 for a 10pm bedtime

sweetpickle2 · 24/08/2026 13:54

Not normal no, in as much as human beings are all very different. Whilst lots of people probably do have that routine, many won't, and it'll all fine.

Personally I go to bed between 10-11 and sleep in till about 10-11. I like a lot of sleep!

But what this guy thinks should really be neither here nor there as a) he's an ex and b) he sounds like an idiot.