Situational irony involves an incongruity between what is expected or intended and what actually occurs." (About Grammar)
More than once in this space have I bemoaned my sleeping problems. Just over a week ago after endless nights of perhaps four to five hours of sleep, accompanied by long intervals of lying abed awake in vain hope, I decided to keep a Sleep Journal. I reasoned that I could at some point hold it in front of my doctor's eyes and that perhaps she would decided that I required (a) knockout drops; (b) a session at the sleep clinic. I mean to say that I was getting frustrated about it all.
Little did I know that I would soon be able to write here about irony with reference to that very same Sleep Journal.
You see, I haven't had a bad night of sleep since. My worst night saw me totalling about 6.5 hours, which ain't bad at all, and I have been able to claim almost 8 hours on several occasions. I've nodded off without difficulty and my intervals of wakefulness have been brief to barely existent on some nights.
Now that's irony: situational irony if you please.
But wait, there's more ...
You see, now that I am sleeping longer and deeper, I am finding myself more tired than I was previously. I am at pains to explain this but rather hope that my mind and body are trying valiantly to make up the sleep deficit that I must have accumulated and that I am not doomed to be tired all day until I begin to sleep less.
You catch the irony, didn't you? AC starts sleeping more but feels more tired.
What I'm really afraid of, however, is a third possible ironical twist, for wouldn't it be ironical that after posting about sleeping better if I were to revert as quickly as I verted? It wouldn't be at all funny, but it would be ironical.
If you are sleeping longer, but are less rested, you may have sleep apnea. Do you snore? I know several people who have benefited from medical help for sleep apnea. If that's the case, you do NOT want something to knock you out!
ReplyDeleteGrenville seems to be in the same cycle...sleep more...be tired more. Myself, I go for less sleep (5-6 hrs) and seem to do OK.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think that the more we concentrate on something in our lives, the more elusive it becomes.
ReplyDeleteI try to relax and go with the flow...so to speak.
I too have bouts of insomnia. I know caffeine affects me, so I try to limit it. And of course midday naps throw things for a loop. But I figure, hey, all animals are made to sleep. Eventually I will. And I do.
Hope your increased sleep begins to lead to increased rest--maybe your body is just adjusting.
I seem to feel more rested if I remember having dreamed - almost as though the mind gets rid of the overload of too much thinking that way! I wonder whether you're a dreamer or not?
ReplyDeleteBut you don't wake up in the middle of the night sitting on the couch in the living room, when you are a gazillion percent certain you went to bed two hours earlier?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a heavy snorer and I am a dreamer. I'm hard to figure out, eh?
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think the third irony is upon me after last night. It wasn't terrible, but it was my shortest night in a while. For one thing, I woke up with a sweat-through and had to change. That occurs from time to time but not often, so I don't think it enters into the general quandry.