I am out like a light by 9, then, around 2A, my conscious brain (there is so little of it left...) starts to hear the click of cat nails, the chorus of crickets outside the bedroom window and the unknown things that are gnawing, scratching and making unpleasant little noises. Since Mr. P Butter's entrance into the homestead, Slimbo Kitten has been a little down in the dumps. There is some easing of tensions, as MPB is less likely to bolt after him now that he recognizes him as part of the family, but Slimbo still stays in his room most of the time. This is hard on him (and me) because he was my cuddlesnugums after Pepperoni died. His place is now filled by the interloper. Since I wasn't sleeping anyway, I have taken to leaving my bedroom door open and Slimbo now tippy-taps his way in as soon as MPB is safely crated and lights are out, purring madly, and jumps up on the bed, finds a comfy position, and is down for the night. He is much happier.
My rule of thumb is, if I am not able to coerce myself back to sleep within a half-hour of waking up, I get up. This eliminates the chance of the endless loop of unhelpful thoughts that pop up and won't go away. An upside of this is that I have completed one pair of socks for my sister, and I am well into the second pair. The downside is that I have to make sure I am not nodding off on my way home at night. This usually entails downing a large latte at some point during the afternoon, which, perversely, keeps me awake at night. It's a vicious circle.
21 comments:
Oh dear, not good about the sleeping. I can commiserate, because I am a lousy sleeper, too, although mine is mostly discomfort exacerbated by also being a very light sleeper. Or maybe it's because I am a light sleeper that I frequently wake up, become conscious of imperfect temperature or uncomfortable body part.... But when I've tried to get up and make good use of otherwise wasted time, I (and the rest of my family) pay for it, so I force myself to stay in bed. Apparently, as my mom always told me, I do get SOME rest if I stay prone with my eyes closed....
Glad to hear everyone is getting quality time with you, one way or another. As for sleeping are you an essential oil type of gal? Cedarwood is claimed to stimulate the pineal gland to produce melatonin and therefore improve sleep. Dabbing a spot between your eyebrows is the recommended route although I prefer to put oils on my feet at bedtime. Or you could bring in cedar boughs or go for a walk in the woods-whatever rocks your boat.
Hi Susan :) I'm not a good sleeper either. I sleep so lightly, every noise wakes me up. I actually let 4 of the 5 dogs sleep in bed with me last night...why did I do that? Every movement, snore, sneeze, click click woke me up, but they're so cuddly too! :) I think the cats feel a bit neglected so I'm trying to pay a lot of attention to them too...
Light sleeper here too, down around 9 up around 2:30 complete with excited dogs who can't think of anything better than peeing, pooping, eating and then going back to sleep until whenever.....I sew in my salon.
Hallelujah! We need to start a 2:30 a.m. club!! I NEVER have trouble falling asleep (sometimes doing so before even getting in bed) but then wake at 1:30 or 2:30 or 3:30 and lie there trying not to think about things I shouldn't be thinking about and willing myself to fall back asleep. If I get up, I watch a DVD or go into my quilt room for 2-3 hours and then I can usually stumble back to bed and sleep. But, holey-moley, do I pay for it the next day!! I keep reading about how very, very important a solid night's sleep is . . . and that makes me all the more upset that I'M NOT GETTING IT! Solution? Please? Help!!! I will share with all you other Sleepless Beauties.
I am totally with you on if you can't fall back asleep, to just get up. I do that sometimes. I haven't knitted socks, but I've gotten some cleaning done, ha ha!
What I wouldn't give to sleep like I did as a teenager. I have often gotten up when I can't fall asleep only to go sit in a chair somewhere and nod off. So I get up and return to bed only to not be able to fall asleep.
I have started listening to audio books at night if I wake up with my mind swirling. Sort of like letting someone else do the thinking, not leaving room for your thoughts. Pick something you already know what's going to happen. No lights from tv or loud commercials to wake you back up and you can set a sleep timer to shut it off.
If I could lie still, eyes closed and NOT have unhelpful thoughts, I would do it in a heartbeat. I agree that you get some rest, even if it's not sleep. I find that, should I fall back to sleep after the unhelpful mind loop starts, it results in dreams that I would rather not have...
That is a good idea - I will try that. It's interesting - putting oils on your feet would be the furthest point from your nose.
Why, indeed! Isn't it amazing how much noise dogs make when they sleep? I don't find that with cats, although cats can be twitchy.
I get the feeling that Lovey is just waiting for me to make any move - she is ready to go out! Same thing - once they go out, they are back under their respective blankets and out like a light.
Let's see. Your 2:30 a.m. club would be my 1:30 a.m. club. Then there are the westcoast members...eek. I'm with you - if I do fall back asleep after being up for any length of time, I am zombie-like. And cranky...
Exactly! Why is it we can sleep in furniture not designed for sleep, while the opposite is true in our beds? It's perverse.
If I'm really desperate, I put ear buds in and listen to a sleep story on my Calm app on my phone. It does work, but then I tend to oversleep and wake up stressed.
As my goats go so do I. A huge creature of habit. I make a point (fiber night being an exception ) to be on bed between 10-10:30 in the pm. I rarely have trouble going back to sleep if I awake.
I find if I do have trouble with getting back to sleep it is usually on a day I didn't do a lot of physical stuff and / or a day I in some way dink with my bed time or or rising time.
I did have a couple of nights where it happened this last week. I find moon cycle and barometric pressure can throw me off. I do thelie and rest routine since Ari and Calli the house dogs sleep in our room. And if I get up they assume ( silly dogs) that they are going out too.
Would love to join the 2:00 AM club but I would be 2-3 hours behind all of you depending on where you. There I go dinking with time again.
I'm a light sleeper too and have to have a fan on--white noise--so that the dogs and cats can live and breathe without me hearing them! :-) I also take melatonin right before bedtime, and no caffeine,sugar or heavy carbs after 1 p.m. or I'm wide awake or have restless legs. Sleeping should be easy, but it isn't....
Susan,
Hey Lady!!! Your little kitty is happy you crate MPB, this way he can cuddle with Mom :-) and everyone's happy.
I've noticed as we get older our body doesn't want to sleep....even though we may need it.....our body decides otherwise!!! Careful driving home from work the next day, it's too easy to doze off.
Hugs,
Sandy
As one insomniac to another, I appreciated this post! The cats about drive us crazy at night with all their in and outing. It's worse now that the nighttime temps have been so cool and we leave the door to the back porch kitty door closed. I have the same rule as you! If I'm still wide awake after lying in bed for 30 minutes, I go find something useful to do with my time!
I take some Valerian every night, since my husband snores terribly! It's also a natural muscle relaxer so it's great for my back. Have you tried something mild?
I have read that if one wakes up after sleeping about 3 hours or so, something is going on with the adrenals...stress, thyroid, hormones, all kinds of stuff. I find that taking a calcium and magnesium pill about an hour before bed helps. Also a nice cup of chamomile tea. Sometimes, nothing helps, though.
Post a Comment