Calling all insomniacs! So I’ve been an off-and-on insomniac for pretty much the past ten years – basically, ever since I started high school – and it’s something I really struggle with.
Because of this, I go out of my way to avoid caffeine in almost all forms (can’t cut the chocolate entirely, but I drink almost no coffee and very rare chai, sadly) and I try to go to bed at the same hour and get up at the same hour every day. I try to make sure basic tasks like laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. are taken care of so there’s nothing for me to worry about and keep me up at night – I avoid eating or exercise too close to bedtime, I only allow relaxing fragrances like lavender to enter my bedroom, I sleep on a comfy mattress, I meditate, I journal, I tape little bits of cardboard over any appliances that have a constant little light just to let me know they’re plugged in… I’m a freaking poster child for the National Sleep Foundation.
And yet, once or twice a month, I experience a completely sleepless night, or two, or three… often in clusters, sometimes sporadically, sometimes evenly spaced, but it almost always happens. Sometimes it’s the full moon, sometimes it’s a really fun/exciting night, sometimes I wake up because I have to pee and I can’t get back to sleep, sometimes my mind is on worries/troubles, sometimes it’s on a good book, sometimes hearing someone else wake up to pee and flush the toilet wakes me, sometimes our dog wakes me, sometimes my dreams wake me, sometimes I lie in bed for hours with my mind just RACING and I can’t shut it off. I’ve tried taking NyQuil, Tylenol PM, even codeine left over from my wisdom teeth extraction (I know that’s a bad idea, but that’s how desperate I get) and it never helps. And I’m wholly opposed to going on some sort of sleep aid because the very thought creeps me out to the bone so I???ve always considered that a non-option.
So every time I see an article on insomnia/sleep tips, I of course read it, but it just regurgitates the same old advice that I???ve always known and done but never found effective, and it just irks me. BUT, BUT, this past week I stumbled across one (on msn.com, no less) that actually had some new and helpful tips. Granted, it made me feel like a dipshit because a lot of it is really obvious and intuitive stuff, but it somehow helps to have it spelled out to you: so if you also have trouble sleeping, click here and hopefully it can help you out too.
I slept like a BABY this weekend (though I think it was more related to exhaustion and alcohol consumption than to this article in particular, as I went kayak caroling and had quite my fill of cider spiked with rum on Friday; then on Saturday it was my company Christmas party followed by a visit to Candy Cane Lane and then wintery cocktails chez moi with a bunch of pals, i.e. more alcohol; Sunday I just did a LOT of dishes and cooked for my stressed-out law school finals taking roommate and read a lot). But regardless of the cause, all in all, I slept great EACH NIGHT and it felt soooooooooo good! Yeehaw! I seriously haven’t felt this rested in years. Aaaah… sleep is one of my very favorite things. *stretch*