Alarm Clocks in Retirement. Why???

I have an Oregon Scientific clock next to my bed.  I bought it years ago because it automatically has the correct time and date and doesn't die when the power goes out.  It is also handy when I wake up and do not know what day it is.

I never use it as an alarm clock.  Why would I do that?  I am retired.  Unless I have to be someplace very early in the morning, I will wake up and get up when my body feels rested.

Now, is it just me who feels this way?  A friend of mine said she always gets up with the alarm.  She said she is afraid that she will fall back asleep if she doesn't.  And this would be a problem why?

Admittedly, when I was working, using an alarm clock was sometimes necessary.  I mean, if you have to be someplace at 8:00 am, waking up at 7:30 might not work out too well.  But when you are retired, why force yourself to live by man made schedules when you don't have to?

I go to sleep anywhere between nine and midnight.  It depends on how tired I am.  I wake up anywhere between 5:30 and eight, maybe nine.  Who cares? 

The way I figure it, my body should be dictating how much sleep I need, not the clock or what is on the television.  If I continually wake up with an alarm clock and never complete a full sleep cycle, my body will suffer for it.  Or so I believe.

There was only one time in my life when I had trouble sleeping.  It was when I broke my leg in 2007.  I slept in a chair because it was impossible to sleep in the bed with the heavy cast.  Afterwards, I had a terrible time getting back into a good sleep schedule and had to use sleeping pills.  Fortunately, it didn't last long.

My head hits the pillow and I am out like a light.  After that happens, I don't want anything or anyone waking me up until my body is ready for a new day.  And hey, there is nothing wrong with an afternoon nap.  Wonder woman who does not need sleep is not who I am.