What defines normal?

There is nothing normal about my regular sleep routine. I don't even follow a sleep cycle like most people. I usually sleep 3-4 hours at a time and only when I'm really sleepy. I can sleep during the night or during the day; the time of day doesn't seem to affect me. I can have as little as 8 hours between sleeps or as many as 30 hours. I don't have any place that I'm required to be, so I'm not constrained to a daily routine.

I'm constantly drinking fluids. It's humid here in the Philippines and I dehydrate quickly for some reason. This is probably the single most important reason I don't have longer sleep sessions. I always have to head to the bathroom as soon as I wake up and I think that pressing need is what wakes me up.

Last night was completely different. I'll preface that statement and then expound on it by saying that I didn't do anything special or different in my daily routine. Last night I slept the sleep of the dead. It was about 10:30 pm, and I and my son had just finished watching a movie on my laptop. My wife was already fast asleep. I felt weak, so I made a pit stop in the master bathroom before lying down. I fell asleep almost immediately and did not wake up until after 8 am this morning. I did not feel the pressing need to return to the bathroom when I awoke like I normally do. In fact, I never woke up during the entire sleep session.

Sleeping more than 9 hours did not make me feel any different than sleeping 3 or 4 hours. I have to emphasize the fact that when I sleep, I sleep the sleep of the dead. I have independent eyewitnesses to prove it. I do not move the entire time, tossing and turning as some people do. Sometimes I snore and sometimes I don't. I think it has something to do with whatever position I happen to be in while I'm sleeping. People have told me that it looks like I'm not even breathing sometimes.

I am not an insomniac. When I lay down, I sleep. I never, ever have a problem falling to sleep. I don't mean to make anyone envious; I'm just stating a fact. I know that one day, some day, I'll probably go to sleep and not have to worry about waking up. Hopefully, it will be quite a few years from now.