Well, not being twenty something anymore or for that matter thirty something, sleep is among my list of essentials for feeling energized and well being able to think. This week, I experienced not one but two nights of insomnia. Oh, I'm not gonna whine and go on about lack of sleep but man I will say I was toast and not crisp perfectly toasted toast either more like a piece of toast that fell in the sink and got wet. I've been able to function fairly well actually, but thinking, coming up with any sort of rational answer or finishing a thought yeah perhaps there I could do better. So here's to trying to write.
Day one after little sleep went pretty darn well. I took my girl to swim lessons which by the way rock. More on those soon. We then came home to meet our good friends who were coming to spend the day. The girls played and us mamas talked and talked all afternoon. That night, my friend over at "Sweating the Small Stuff" and I went to see Julie and Julia. I'm reading the book too. Usually, I'd not read the book and see the movie at the same time but I expected to have finished the book by now. Trouble is, I put it down somewhere and can't find it. Must have been sleep deprived then too. The movie was sweet and light and perfect for a 'girls' night at the movies.
The funny thing about all of this insomnia..I found out I am not alone in my awakened in the middle of the night blues. I've talked to four or five women who are experiencing the same. Hormones raging? What the heck is going on?
At 5:45 am Tuesday morning, after my second night of little sleep, I went to core boot camp at the park. Glad I did. Got my bootay kicked with about 1000 lunges in every different variation one could imagine. Somehow, the sleep deprivation had not yet kicked in fully and I could lunge and push-up right along side my boot-camp peers. My friend in class who was also not sleeping this week recommended Melatonin, a somewhat natural wonder helpful for calming one's mind before bed and allowing deep sleep to set in. Sounded good to me.
Part of the problem I recognize.. each night when I've hit the sheets, my mind has been anything but quiet. There I was rolling from one side to the other all the while analyzing web code in my head. CSS2 to be exact. Configuring layouts in my mind. What has happened to me! I guess bedtime has become my time to create. I dream of my future portfolio, the colors, the type, the layout...ooh stop me now before I get too racy.
Seriously, though it was hours before I fell asleep and when I finally did enter the land of nod at I'm guessing 1am, my husband woke me up on climbing into bed at three. Yep, he's a night owl and was for hours prior in his office recycling papers and organizing. Let me please, not touch that with a ten-foot pole. Suffice it to say, the man is a collector. And a good one at that. Anyway, I woke up when he got in bed and fell asleep subsequently snoring in a matter of 3 seconds and me well I could not fall back asleep.
Finally, Tuesday night I fell asleep at 9:45pm and slept all through the night. No melatonin just me being bone tired forced me into slumber. I couldn't think straight anyway, so my mind was definitely quiet. Yesterday, after my restful night's sleep I swear I was more tired then any of the previous days. I think the sleep deprivation set in. Still, we had a good day. I rallied what energy I had and powered through. By 8:30pm, I was fast asleep and again slept through the night.
I think I know what my insomnia is about besides some drive to code web pages in my head. I am choosing this time to work out any kinks or pondering our job situations, plans for growing my work-life, my little one entering a new school. Truth is, I feel positive and good about all of these changes but somehow whatever natural questions and what ifs come to mind I carry with me toward insomnia. Time to get off that train headed for mind-numbing exhaustion.
I've not yet hit the bottle of melatonin but its there when I need a little calming potion for any leftover kinks from the day that might pull me away from slumber.For now, back to regularly scheduled sleep and sweet dreamin. Sweet dreams to you too.