–Friedrich Nietzsche
Sleep and I are old nemeses {had to Google the plural of nemesis. What would I do without Google
?}. Most nights I lay awake for hours, my body completely exhausted but my mind racing, unable to sleep. When my body finally finds rest {in the wee hours of the morning} it really just wants to stay at rest. Usually about the time I am really comfortable and sleeping well, I need to get up and help the Little Bugs get off to school. My body fights the transition though, and I spend the day craving sleep and fighting off the urge to lay down and have a nap. Ironically, it seems that on the days when I do give in and sneak a little shut-eye {which does not help the laying-awake-at-night-when-I'm-supposed-to-be-sleeping situation}, I am able to go to sleep quickly and get more restful sleep than I do at night. After fantasizing about different places I'd like to nap all day long, about 8:00 pm I perk right up and I'm ready to conquer the world. I have to force myself to quit for the day earlier than I want to in the hopes of getting more sleep at night. And then the laying awake in bed starts again.Last night was one of my nights laying awake. I wasn't particularly distressed about it because this is my usual routine. It has been raining quite a bit lately, so it was soothing to listen to the rain beating on the roof while I tried to relax and not think about all the projects I would like to have been working on. About 2:15 {am
} the rain subsided and I started to drift off. And then the rain became a torrential downpour and the wind picked up. I was a little bit startled by it {not to mention awake. Again.} and Mr. Bug was woken up by it too. We were just discussing why it seemed to suddenly get lighter outside {the motion sensor light on the back of the neighbor's house was tripped by all the commotion outside} and whether we had a back-up alarm clock if the power went out {we did}, when Grasshopper climbed into bed with us because he'd been woken up by all the noise outside. I was just telling him that he could stay for about three minutes before he had to go back to his own bed when LadyBug was climbing in the bed too and asking, how long can I stay?There was nothing for it but to cuddle up all warm and snuggly under the covers {good thing we got the king size bed} and listen to the rain beating down around us. Then the storm changed pitch and we worried about what we were hearing, so Mr. Bug went to investigate. It turned out it was just the wind. We went to tuck the Little Bugs back in bed but we were waylaid. Mr. Bug mused that he was going to have some hot chocolate and asked the Little Bugs if they needed anything before going back to sleep. We were all pretty wide awake, so we convened in the kitchen for an impromptu 'tea' party, complete with fancy accents, giggles and toast. Drinking with the pinkie-finger extended was not optional.
I did not find sleep until after 3:00 am. And so this morning I am once again defying my old nemesis, sleep.
You're just one of those made upside down, Elizabeth. Too bad you have to adhere to a schedule that requires everyone to be awake in the daytime.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, the impromptu tea party in the middle of the night sounds kind of fun. :-)
I dont need a lot of sleep, and used to be a complete night owl. It feels weird when you march to a different sleeping pattern to most of the rest of the world doesnt it?
ReplyDeleteTake heart Dear E - while you're prowling round at 3 am , it's lunchtime here . Perhaps your body works on Aussie time.
Elizabeth I regularly have that problem, although at the moment, fingers crossed,my sleeping pattern is much better.
ReplyDeleteOur house has a metal roof, and we regularly have very heavy rain, and at this time of year thunderstorms, if that happens at night I am awake instantly, as I am a very light sleeper.
I can relate totally to your dilemma, but I don't have any answers.
There have been recent studies that have shown having a short nap in the middle of the day is very beneficial. I think it has to be under 20 mins though as otherwise it plays havoc with night time sleep as you have found.
The impromptu tea party sounds like lots of fun.
As for the P&F song....LOVE THAT SONG! I get it stuck in my head for days once that episode comes on!
ReplyDeleteAs for the not sleeping. I used to be the same way (that was before I married a man that wouldn't let me stay up all night and work but instead expects me tucked in neatly next to him by 9:30). I found that if I keep a note pad by the bed and make my 'tomorrow list' of all the things that are stuck in my head, complete with crafting projects, they don't bounce around in there anymore. I sleep much better once I have made a list. For a while I would keep waking up and adding things to it but after a while my brain got used to the routine of 'the list is done so don't worry about anything else'. Don't know if that would help...but it wouldn't hurt. ;)