Bedsocks and sparrow fart

I am puzzled.  Puzzled and a little bit perturbed about recent changes in me.  For a good many years, I would be up and out of bed at five o'clock (that's ante meridian, not post) , well, say quarter past five anyway, and off out of the house at six.  I was always at my best in the morning.  At the other end of the day I would get to bed at about eleven and six hours sleep was sufficient.

Now I find that I am changing from a lark to an owl.  It takes quite an effort to get me from under the duvet before half part seven and I would quite happily stay longer were it not for the dog needing to be let out.  On the other hand, I have to drag myself out of the armchair and away from my book at or even after eleven thirty at night.

I always thought that older people need less sleep.  Or at least, that is what a lot of older people told me when I wasn't an older person.  So how is it that I now need more than I ever have, at least since I was a babe in arms?

And back in the day, I would very rarely fail to complete the cryptic crossword, with 15 or 20 minutes being about the average time to complete.  Nowadays I often find that there are two or three clues that defeat me.  I even have trouble completing sudoku puzzles!  Maybe my brain is finally giving up on me.  What a ghastly thought.