10:00pm: I'm weary, so I settle into my recliner; however, knowing that it's too early for me to fall asleep, I decided to tire myself by reading about 40 pages of The Real Eve before completing a Sudoku puzzle, which solved itself rather easily.
11:00pm: The Sudoku is done, and I wonder whether to try another, but I decide to turn out the lights and chill. I lie quietly and do my best to still my mind. I determine to stay relaxed even if it takes awhile to fall asleep, for I have heard that real rest is almost as beneficial as sleep. Mind you, I don't think I've ever heard an expert say this.
12:00am: I haven't really slept yet, but I think I might have dozed briefly. This thought encourages me, and I move myself to our shared bed. I stay relaxed but don't fall asleep although it is possible that I may nod off once or twice. It doesn't help that a Wiggles song has become a nagging earworm.
1:00am: Perhaps I will fall asleep in the guest bed where I have more room to stretch, so I move my body over there. My legs are very sore despite the fact that I have gone back on Celebrex lately, but I did have a vigorous session on the treadmill, and I may have overdone it. The Wiggles song (mercifully, I forget which now now) continues to play in my head, and I try to drown it out by internally singing Baby Beluga.
1:45am: It's not working, and although I try to remain calm I roll over to look at the clock.
2:20am: Hooray! I have been sleeping for 20 - 30 minutes, but now I am hotter than blazes. This occurs most nights; I don't usually sweat but my internal heat is ferocious. It is internal because our house is kept quite cool at night. Sometimes, I can find the right combination of clothing, blankets and restful position to overcome this heat problem: but not tonight.
3:00am: My body is still blasting heat, whether real or mental, I don't know. Despite the fact that I have purposed to lie peacefully for as long as it takes, I finally relent and get up to change the dynamics. Hopefully, puttering on the puter will cool me down and change my mindset.
3:30am: Sometimes, when nothing else works, I can find rest on the couch in the living room; I don't know why this works, but it often does. Tonight, however, this, my fourth resting spot of the night, doesn't work for me. I remain hot and uncomfortable, and my mind begins to compose this blog ... when it isn't humming a new earworm, Baby Beluga.
4:00am: A glimmer of hope: I know that I just thought of something good to include in this post but am unable to bring to mind what it was. This (being unable to reconstruct what I have just thought of) is always a good sign as is the fact that the clock has turned four. I often find that I undergo some sort of change around 4 o'clock, give or take a half hour or so. Maybe the magic hour will work tonight too.
4:10am: Back in the guest bed, I check the time and also notice that my internal furnace has shut itself off. Despite the fact my legs are still yelling at me, I know that I am ready to sleep.
6:50am: Less than three hours later, I wake up and change beds yet again to go snuggle with Cuppa while I try to get another few minutes sleep. I don't get those few minutes, perhaps because I am still listening to Baby Beluga sounding in my head. I wish I could actually sleep with the woman that I love, but I seldom manage to do that for very long any more. Would it help to have a king size bed, I wonder. But our expensive queen size bed is very comfy, still fairly new, and it would be an costly experiment to purchase a king size bed, probably to discover that it wouldn't help anyway.
10:00am: I finish this blog and note that I am am doing reasonably well despite the sleep deprivation. I decide to schedule this post to publish tomorrow morning (now this morning) since I have already posted once today. I continue to play Baby Beluga in my head, but not so much as previously. I determine to take a sleeping pill tonight although there's no guarantee that it will solve my problem; sometimes it helps a lot, and I suppose that it always helps at least a little.
And that's how a night with AC may very likely transpire although I must admit that it usually isn't quite that bad.
Ac, Go get your hormone levels checked...Sounds like that's the problem...((HUG))
ReplyDeleteThis really sounds awful.
ReplyDeleteHugs are flying through the universe to you right....NOW!
this is my official curse for reminding me about Baby Beluga. Although it's somewhat better than the Ceciliaaaaaaaa I've been toting around, also grâce à vous. Ta very much, as my Nan would say
ReplyDeleteWe are having a somewhat similar bed debate in our home. I find myself wondering just how common these sleep issues and bed discussions are with our age group.
ReplyDeleteAnd Barney seems to be living in my head these days. :-)
I used to have those days or rather nights,,when I spent a lot of time with Rugrats, Nicholodeum, Capt'n Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Barney, etc. Now I only have them if I have to be up and at em a certain time in the am. I wish I had someone to watch Barney with ,(said in a sad whiney voice.) By the time the great grands start to arrive the grands will think us way too old to babysit. Woe is me.
ReplyDeleteQMM
Oh A/C this must be dreadful and I almost feel guilty as I am asleep within minutes of turning out the light......have you ever tried a background noise, I used this when my husband passed away and I would drift off to the sound of the ocean or the rain forest....I used it for a few months now I don't need it. I hope you sleep better tonight......:-) Hugs
ReplyDeleteObviously Baby Belugas are very nasty beasts, to be avoided at all costs.
ReplyDeleteAnd they should never be brought to bed with you.
Hope you get a more peaceful night tonight!
AC--full sympathy here. I too am plagued with difficulty falling asleep.
ReplyDeleteSo, herewith a couple of questions and/or suggestions.
Have you sworn off all caffeine?
Have you considered praying--now, please understand I am not suggesting a deep religious type.
I really mean a kind of meditative slowing of the mind.
I try praying--because it is like meditation. As I try to think of petitions and gratitudes, I feel myself relaxing. I don't know why it works--it just does.
I suspect true meditation, or other such techniques, would work--so it's not the praying itself, but the slowing down of brain waves.
Truth be told, me getting my mind off myself seems to be what is at work.
When I saw "AC," I thought you mean the air conditioner, and wondering what the heck had happened weatherwise in Canada.
ReplyDeleteIt's a durned bummer not to sleep. Something I can tell you, is to get yourself HOT before bed, either a hot shower or wrapping yourself up or even laying ON YOUR STOMACH in bed with a lot of blankets on you. Get good and hot. Then flip over and just cover very lightly. Try it! I feel for ya pardner.
Fergot to mention you must get HOT and then rapidly COOL DOWN!!!!
ReplyDeleteAC,
ReplyDeleteI have the same problems sometimes...not being able to fall asleep. The days of the internal blast furnace are over, thank goodness, but I know how you feel.
Take care and be sure to get rest, if not sleep.
Blessings,
Mary
sounds like a familair night, even if I usually knock off by 3 a.m., and am sometimes fighting off too early to sleep at 7 pm not 10.
ReplyDeleteI get chilled mid-afternoon and those heat blasts thru the night. That you're getting the night sweats too at least gives weight to mine not being perimenopause.