The latest PFAM prompt asks “what do you guard?”
I guard sleep. In fact, I think about sleep a lot. Sometimes there’s more thinking about sleep than the actual doing of it. I plan my evening activities around how much I can do and how much sleep I can get. One late night results in days of extra fatigue until I can play catch up.
And these days a “late night” means a 10:30 pm bedtime; hardly the “late nights” of my twenties where, on occasion, I’d party until dawn.
Because I am easily over-stimulated, I’ve been known to toss and turn until the wee hours after a gathering with friends, too much sugar, or a comedy show.
My caffeine intake has been restricted to mornings only. I miss it, especially when I haven’t slept well or long enough. But too much caffeine can set up a vicious cycle for me of poor sleep, more caffeine, poor sleep, you get the idea.
When Punkin [one of our cats] started her early morning hints for breakfast, I decided I’d need to go to bed early to compensate for her disrupting my sleep. Now, blessed (or cursed) with being an early riser, no matter what hour I’d retired the night before, I have been known to go over my evening schedule for the week and count the nights I can go to bed early.
Some days, it feels like my whole life revolves around sleep—getting it, finding it, keeping it. Too long tossing and turning and I’ll practice breathing techniques, take gravol, count backwards from 100, name flowers - all to find that sweet spot of sleep for “sleeplessness is a desert without vegetation or inhabitants.” (Jessamyn West)
Sleep is so important and often so fleeting or hard to grasp. I sleep in 2 hour shifts; if I’m lucky it’s for 4 hours. I try creative visualization to set myself drifting; if I let my mind go (but watch where it wanders) or write blogs in my head, I can eventually find sleep.
Hubby gets up early (even on weekends) and brings me a coffee. Nice, but it means I’m an early riser, even if I just went to bed a few hours before. Not complaining about getting a nicely brewed cup of joe, just wish he could sleep in on the weekends!
Hey Phylor, maybe hubby could make the coffee for you, put it in a carafe or a stainless steel mug to keep it warm, and have it ready for you when you wake up. We need our coffee that’s for sure but we sometimes need sleep more!
Sleep, sleep, wonderful sleep. We all crave it but sometimes it is hard to find…especially at night. If I lay down during the day…I’m off to dreamland quickly for an hour or two. I suppose it is because I’m so exhausted. But at night I stare at the ceiling. Good post Kathy!
mo