If you are a regular commenter on this blog, then you might have noticed that it has taken me a bit longer to respond to you this past week. Normally, I like to respond to people as soon as possible, but your kind words have really piled up in the "in box" since last week, and for that I apologize.
Please know that it is not that I don't value what you have to say. And it is certainly not that I do not enjoy visiting your blogs...because I do ~ immensely. There are so many bright, funny people in this crazy little bloggy world! And for those of you that have literally been with me since the beginning, I can assure you that it is not another lung obstruction!
Any and all delays in blogging and comment returns are caused by my little friend. Her name is "Insomnia". Have you met her? She can be a bit pesky. She often comes to visit uninvited. She also hangs around long after you've asked her to leave. She jumps into the middle of any given situation, insisting to be a part of it...whether you want her there or not.
Oh, yes, little Insomnia. She barged in for a visit two weeks ago when Twister was ill with a severe earache. It was partly my fault. I invited her in for coffee that first night, needing to be awake to hold the heating pad on Twister's ear. We had a nice visit. I welcomed her in with open arms since I could not invite over her sister "Sleep". Sleep doesn't care for coffee anyway. The second night, I really wanted Insomnia to leave; but with Twister still in pain, I didn't force her. She was trying to be so helpful...I didn't want to hurt her feelings...BIG mistake. She doesn't really understand the concept of boundaries ~ she's an "open door policy" kind of girl. She has been hanging around for TWO weeks!! I've asked her to leave. I've BEGGED her to leave. I've even tried to FORCE her to leave. Yet, she's brought a suitcase or two with her. I'm beginning to seriously question our friendship.
And for the record, she and her sister Sleep must not get along because Sleep leaves the room the minute Insomnia pokes in her head.
Needless to say, I have acquired some sleep debt. Not. Fun. It is taking more time to catch up than it did to fall behind in the first place. According to Wikipedia, "The National Sleep Foundation in the United States maintains that eight to nine hours of sleep for adult humans is optimal and that sufficient sleep benefits alertness, memory and problem solving, and overall health, as well as reducing the risk of accidents." It also says that "cognitive performance declines with fewer than eight hours of sleep."
So there you have it. My cognitive performance has declined. My alert level is down. I cannot problem solve and have poor memory about the most basic things. My health is declining, and I'm at risk of an accident. YIKES! These are not good things. Insomnia is really not turning out to be as good of a friend as I thought.
Now that you know what is NOT working-for-me, you can only assume what would be...what should be...working-for-me. If I could just get the pesky sister out the door!
For some really great tips on sleep, click HERE. These folks have made a really great list of thirty-three secrets to a good night's sleep. Some of them are obvious ~ like avoid caffeine ~ and some of them not so obvious ~ like learn how to use the Emotional Freedom Technique. (I had not heard of it either!)
Sleep...
and every other day, too!
To see what is working for other people, be sure and visit Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer. Her Works-For-Me Wednesday carnival...well, it rocks!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
ONE SHEEP...TWO SHEEP...THREE SHEEP...
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10 comments:
As I sit here at 3:16AM trying to get all of the things I have to do and wish I knew how to do out of my head so I can go to sleep, I can totally and completely understand.
I don't think I have typical insomnia because when I do fall asleep I sleep soundly for that 8 hours. Just getting to that point is maddening.
I have over active thinking brain that won't shut off.
I wish you well and hope that you are sound asleep.
Kristin
I am sorry to hear about this. I struggle with insomnia on too close a basis.
While I am up tonight, I will pray for you to get some consistent and restorative shut eye.
Darn ... I came over here from WFMW hoping you'd be sharing some ideas about how to get more sleep.
Still, I enjoyed your post. Very creative.
I hope things get better for you soon.
Thanks!
Don't laugh but I banished Insomnia by welcoming her in and deciding it was time to write new scenes in my head. Once I looked forward to her visits, she left.
Unfortunately, my nighttime productivity dropped, too. It's a worthwhile exchange, I think.
Hang in there!
LOL u are so silly! But um, me and Insomnia have been arch-enemies for a long time. I shudder to think of what will happen when we set a date and I have to share my bed with someone. Because if someone is sleeping with me, I'm not sleeping AT ALL.
Ewww, insomnia. I often have trouble falling & staying asleep too. That's why I knocked myself out with Tylenol PM last night & didn't even hear the storm that blew down all of our big trees!
I hope you get sleep soon!
I struggle with insomnia too. I have a tough time getting to sleep, and once I get to sleep, if I wake up to go to the bathroom (which I do), I can't get back to sleep.
My doctor told me to try taking 2 or 3 benadryl to get to sleep. It works, but I would still wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep.
I mentioned this to a friend who has a degree in homeopathic stuff (not sure what it is), but whe recommended trying Valerian.
It works like a charm at keeping me asleep, and it is all natural!
I get mine at Vitacost, and it is called "Relax & Sleep
" -- I take two at bed time along with my 2 Benadryl, and voila. I sleep through the night. Thank the Lord!
If you try this, I hope it works for you, too. I should do a WFMW on this!! I didn't realize so many people suffered from Insomnia, too!
My sleep schedule is a rollercoaster. I work weekend night shift so that I can stay home with my Little Miss Monday thru Friday. You can imagine that I am a bit tired and have a hard time readjusting most days. Either I want to sleep all day or I can't sleep at night as I regroup during the week. This last week I bought a sleep mask though through dreamessentials.com and it's been helpful to drift off into slumberland. It's also helpful to have a prescription for Ambien on the nights I just can't unwind.
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