I came across an article this morning that reminded me that it really is the little things that make life great. The article discussed natural waking in nursing homes.

One resident who was interviewed summed up my thoughts on it well. She said “I worked all my adult life, and I’m due this.” Being able to choose when you get up and/or eat breakfast helps set your day off to the right course. A course decided by you.

While there are some hurdles to overcome when switching to a system of natural waking, it seems like the end results for the residents are positive. The author notes that some of the residents still wanted to remain on their old schedule but about 2/3 wanted to change to waking up on their own schedule.

Have you modified your wakeup procedures? What sorts of challenges and rewards have you gotten from changing it?