I do relate to the sleep thing. I have always slept wonderfully well. Eight hours solid at night, and a nap in the afternoon, even when young. (Got home from teaching at the school around 4pm, fell into bed and slept profoundly for an hour!) If deprived of sleep, a rare thing such as during these blooming storms recently, I find my brain is not so sharp, a bit muddled and 'fuzzy'. This isn't just old age, it's always been so.
And finding an inspirational teacher - oh yes! I was so lucky to have had several of these. Mr Shearn, who taught us English Literature, acted out the Shakespeare plays himself in front of the class, and his 'presence' was magical. I think he may have been gay, and rather 'camp', so he had huge talents in the drama field. We were mesmerised, never bored, and Shakespeare's words stayed in our heads, to be quoted freely in exams.