Wednesday, May 18, 2011

True Confessions of an Insomniac

It's true, for the last 16 years or so, I have struggled with insomnia. I can go to sleep without any problem. It's staying asleep that I have an issue with. Years ago when this first started happening, I was pregnant with Truman. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and toss and turn. Finally, I'd get out of bed (which is a no, no, according to sleep experts, believe me, I've read up on this stuff) and turn on the TV. All that was playing at the time were infomercials. I didn't care. At least if took my mind off of not sleeping. So I'd pick the best one and it would always be the Richard Simmons Cruise to Loose infomercial. As heavy women would tearfully tell their stories to Richard and he'd cry while holding their hands, I'd cry right along with them. They were so inspiring. Here I was with this ever increasing belly and body that I could do nothing about, watching a weight loss show.
Ironic.

Through the years I've learned how to deal with insomnia by using a couple of mother's little helpers. The first one is: Use an eye cover like the one you see below.  Actually this eye cover is new as of  Mother's Day.  It is super serious when it comes to blocking out the encroaching sunlight.  This is a good thing especially when you live where I do and the sun comes up at 4:45 a.m. during the summer.  That's usually when I'm finally getting back to sleep after a rough night.  I've learned that when I wake up in the middle of the night to visit my friend, John, (my toilet.....duh) when I come back to bed I place this little number on my head and I sleep much better!  I'm able to get back to sleep which is the real chore and stay asleep until at least 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.  Yeah!


Another treasure I've found is this little invention called, wait for it..... an alarm clock.  Truly.  I haven't used an alarm clock for at least a decade because the sound of it stressed me out and I would naturally wake up anyway.  What I realized is that I'd wake up early and a lot, constantly watching the clock, waiting for 6:00 a.m. to come so I could get up and ready for work.  I thought it was okay.  It wasn't.  There was more lost sleep without an alarm clock with my worrying.  So a few weeks ago, I set my alarm before work and I slept worry free.  Miraculous!  These two items have changed my life for the better.  No matter how long you've had a problem and what you've tried, there's probably something out there that's simple that can help improve your life too!  Wait until you hear about my shower cap I've newly discovered......

1 comment:

Lauri said...

I have it too. I usually fall asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow (luckily) but I wake up a few hours later and am wide awake. And then you yell at yourself because you know you are tired and you know you need sleep so why can't you do it? I dont know how you do it and work your long hours. Maybe your body clock is just messed up from work? I can't wait to hear about your shower cap now!