Bass-ackwards Sleep Patterns

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Does anyone else out there suffer from Alarm Clockitis?

This morning I was tossing and turning for several hours in bed watching the sun rise as the bedroom began to fill with light. I was wide awake and seriously contemplating getting out of bed and just starting the day. But Wednesday is a day I get to sleep in.  Arrghhhhhhh. Getting up before the alarm makes NO sense at all. I desperately wanted to catch a few more zzzzs but it seemed nearly impossible. Until, of course, the alarm clock sounded. Then, BAM, I jumped the first train to sleepy-town.

It happens to me all the time. I'm a horrible sleeper until the alarm goes off. Once it does, suddenly my eyes get heavy, my body relaxes and I drift off to the most incredible sleep I've ever known.  That "beep-beep-beep" of the alarm seems to change everything. No longer is my body fighting to escape the prison of a bed I'm in.  Instead I become ravenous for sleep, desperately aching for just "10 more, 20 more, 30 more minutes," under the covers.  It's really peculiar and rather annoying. A result of my alarm clockitis is that I start the day all groggy and longing for sleep when only a few minutes earlier I was awake and raring to go. Strange, right?

I guess I need to get my butt out of bed before the alarm goes off.  Even if it's five in the morning and totally dark, I should take advantage of my alertness (is that a word?).  But that just sounds like such a boring mature solution. Is it really likely that I'll do that? What if instead I were to use this disease to my advantage? Perhaps I set the alarm to sound about an hour after we lay down in bed at night. (The hubby would just LOVE that.) Maybe then I could get that amazing sleep AT NIGHT when one is supposed to be all "ravenous for sleep."

Please, someone tell me I am not the only one who deals with this craziness...

Thankful Thursday/ Episode 47

A couple weeks ago I ran out of Melatonin. Have you heard of Melatonin? (DISCLAIMER: I’M NOT A SCIENCEY TYPE O’ GAL – read the next sentences with that in mind) It’s a hormone that’s supposed to be produced in our brain that controls our sleep/wake cycles. It tells us, “You’re tired now, fall asleep.” And the good news for people like me (people who have brains that slack in the melatonin production department) is that you can get it in pill form! In short, it’s a totally natural, over-the-counter, non-habit-forming sleep aid. For me, it’s been a life saver. But, recently because I was stupid curious I decided to TRY and sleep without taking any. I mean, maybe all of sudden my brain wants to play nice and produce some melatonin. I just wanted to see if I REALLY still needed to take it every night. It was a little experiment that yielded a very clear answer.


I STILL NEED TO TAKE THE MELATONIN.

After a week’s worth of difficulty sleeping I knew that I needed to re-order and continue taking it ASAP. When that little bottle showed up in my mailbox today I felt like Christmas had come early.

Episode 47: “Today I am thankful for… all natural sleep aids that WORK.”

It’s no secret that I'm not a champion sleeper. I really never have been. So, when I was introduced to Melatonin by sweet, sweet Anne in Arizona it changed my life. I started sleeping soundly and regularly for the first time ever. I asked my doctor about it and he encouraged me to try it out. He was the one that suggested I take a break after awhile and see if my brain had learned to make its own melatonin.

Well, I tried and it hasn’t.

No worries, though - Melatonin to the rescue. I embrace the fact that sleeping is something I don’t do well, and thankfully there is a way to remedy that without dangerous side effects. I just took those wonderful white pills a few minutes ago. Sleepy town, here I come.

So tonight, I am thankful. (And I'm going to be even MORE thankful tomorrow, hopefully.)



*I'm not being paid for my opinion, though I sure wouldn't turn down a check if you want to send one to me, Natural Nutritionals.

Adult Swim

This post will not be about how long I've been away from this blog. It won't be about writer's block, or life putting my focus on other things. It will not contain an apology, an explanation or a promise to be more consistent. Because, all those tactics are really just the literary equivalent of getting into a freezing cold pool one centimeter of your body at a time. It's uncomfortable for the swimmer and looks really silly to everyone observing.

For this post I intend to just jump right into the deep end. Quick and painless.

Not that I have anything particularly important to say. But, I'm going for a swim.

I got up while it was still dark today. I'm trying out something new since I'm back to the not sleeping. The melatonin still knocks me out, but I'm up several times throughout the night and it is A-nnoying. In response, I've devised a two prong plan. First, I'm trying to force sleep at night by taking away the early morning "easy for me to sleep" hours. Surprisingly, I had no problem getting up this morning. Of course now, you, as a reader, are forced to endure the ramblings of a coffee saturated sleep hunter. But think of it as your contribution to curing my disorder.

The second part of said, "two prong plan" starts tonight. Reincorporate exercise! I know, I know. You've heard it here, and here and here before (geez, that is ridiculous). I make the initial steps, I put exercise into my schedule for a time, it works, I feel great and then I get lazy and complacent and choose to live like a sloth rather than continue the regimen. However, this time I have a secret weapon. The hubby. We've made a pact. We have a gym membership, we pay for a gym membership... we need to use the gym membership. (Oh, and maybe we both saw some before/after type pictures indicating that we've added a few extra pounds to the mix lately ~ but vanity is not the motivator here. It's our health... no, seriously.) Three times a week we will work out together! One of us must be strong and push the other to go. It's a team effort! We slimly succeed or puffily fail together.

I really, really hope that between the waking before dawn and the physical activity, uninterrupted and productive sleep will soon be mine once again. Aaaaand perhaps the added hours of consciousness in the morning will produce more of these enthralling posts for your enjoyment. You can thank me later.

Thankful Thursday/ episode 18

i've slept 8 nights in a row. one week plus one day and counting. i've been falling asleep in less than an hour after i lay down. i've been sleeping steadily through the night only waking for fleetingly brief moments of blurry half consciousness. it is pure bliss.

episode 18: "today i am thankful for...sleep."

my mom has always said that my life's problems could be solved if i would just "regulate my eating and sleeping habits." in fact she said it so often it became a mantra among some of my friends. while i can't say all my life's problems are on the verge of being solved, i can definitely see my mood improving with regular sleep. and when my mood is good, life is just plain better (for everyone - just ask my husband).

so today, i am thankful. (and so is everyone around me!)

Thankful Thursday/ Episode 17

You know that saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"? Clearly that has not always been the mantra here at A Foreign Land. But those have been the words running through my mind over the past few days. This also explains why I missed last week's Thankful Thursday post. Hope you all didn't lose too much sleep over my absence. Though, if you did, we should have maybe chatted on the phone seeing as I haven't slept well in quite awhile. But that all changed last night. I think I slept maybe 5 or 6 hours. Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!! That is astonishing for me right now.

Episode 17: "Today I am thankful for ... Bad times."

After all, if it weren't for bad times we wouldn't be able to recognize good times, right? In order for one to exist the other must too. Waking up today after some sleep, was a good time that might have gone unnoticed had I not just lived through some sleepless bad times. Thank you, God, for Melatonin and generous family members who share their stash.

So, today I am thankful.

emotional equation

too many hours at work
+ a lack of sleep and exercise
+ an absent husband = bitter blog posts

you know what cures bitterness??? a trip home

nightly battle

our room is dark
i'm lying in 400 thread count, yummy sheets
my body is relaxed and free from aches and pains
the perfect mattress and a fluffy duvet cocoon me in total comfort
my husband isn't snoring and is only taking up his 1/4 of the bed
a thunderstorm outside is creating lots of white noise
there's an amazing breeze coming through the window
it's 2:30 in the morning
these are PRIME sleeping conditions

so why am i unable to crash?????

my mind races out of control
"tomorrow, i'll do this"
"today, i should have said this"
"i wonder how this will turn out"
i can't slow down
seems like i'm trying to solve the world's problems one at a time
as soon as one is resolved, another pops up
and again and again until i'm back to the first one
my mind is too crowded
"will i ever fall asleep"
every minute that ticks by adds stress and frustration
i swear i was tired
but the minute the lights go out, i'm wide awake again
completely conscious and mentally full of energy
not exactly the ideal time for a second wind

chamomile tea
warm milk
progressive relaxation
prayer
a warm shower
lavender linen spray
reading a boring book
a satin sleep mask
short of prescription pills, i've tried it all
my body is willing but my mind rebels

insomnia
the nightly battle that i always seem to lose

Quiet or Dead?

I'm a city girl. I mean, I’m no Carrie Bradshaw. But, I was as Carrie as I could be in a medium sized, Midwestern city. St. Louis has outstanding live theatre, traffic jams, fine dining, professional sports, a wide variety of live music, and is always in the running for America's most dangerous city. And for the past 5 years I’ve gobbled up every bit of what it has to offer. I loved the noise, the stress, the hurried life style, and the options.

So, finding myself in Cleveland, Tennessee (population 37,000) has been kinda jarring to my system. It's just so quiet. It's so peaceful and serene surrounded by mountains. It doesn't seem like anyone is in a hurry. And did I mention how quiet it is? I can't sleep at night. We turn off the lights and there's dead silence.

Honestly, I heard a siren last night when we were lying in bed and it relaxed me. It was the first good night of sleep I’ve had since we came here.