Okay, today I've noticed something with sleep cycles that appears to defy common sense. Last night, I got about 45 mins. less sleep than what I usually do. This morning, however, I noticed that I felt much more awake, alert, and energetic than normal. This appears to defy common sense; if you get less sleep, then you should feel more tired, and the opposite should be true: that if you get more sleep, you should feel less tired in the morning. Other people that I talk to have noticed that the second statement appears to be false in practice, and so have I.
This leads me to believe that many peoples' sleep cycles do not synch up with what the clock and their waking schedule dictates.

Has anybody else noticed this counter-intuitive effect?

(For reference purposes, my normal bed time on weekdays is c. 10:30 pm-5:30 am. Could it be possible that I'm waking up at an inopportune time in the sleep cycle? It may also explain my historically poor recall.)