Mornings and Sleep in Fiction

A dragon's perfect morning.

There are few things more pleasing than passing a quiet morning by sitting in a sunny window with a cup of tea, a cat in the lap, and a book in the hand. Rare treats such as these are the things of weekends and retirement, and I'm nowhere near the latter yet, so I'm afraid most days it's more of a rush.

One thing that always amazes me in fiction is that the characters are usually morning people. They all have the lovely combination of genes that allows them to not feel weighed down and sluggish, still heavy under the weight of melatonin and circadian rhythms that demand the day not start for another hour, not until there's some real sunshine in the atmosphere. Of course, people in fiction are usually immune to sleepiness anyway, so perhaps there's no surprise there.

What it does mean is that when characters are tired, it usually has a purpose. In The Blue Sword, it's when she's half-drowsing that Harry has visions of Aerin. And that's not the only one--dreams, visions, prophecies all seem to swarm around sleep scenes.

Where does sleep fit into stories you read? What notable characters are not morning people? And what's your idea of the perfect morning?