I’m not as rushed or tired as I was yesterday, but I still didn’t get a full night’s sleep. That seems to be happening more lately.
Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) I get to bed late because I’m working on stuff, or else just browsing the Internet, trying to put off tomorrow a little longer. But even when I do get to bed on time, I have trouble sleeping.
I’ll lie awake for an hour. Or I’ll fall asleep okay, then wake up at 3 AM and stay awake. Eventually I’ll give up, go downstairs, and do something till I get tired. If I’m especially ambitious, I’ll write tomorrow’s blog post.
This morning, my alarm was set for 5:00. I was downstairs by 4:30, and awake by 4.
Two reasons for this, I think.
First, I’m one of those rare and hideous creatures: a Morning Person. I’m most productive when I first wake up, even if I’m tired. I like my sunrise coffee, and it likes me. So if I do wake up at 3 AM, I have trouble convincing my brain that it’s Late Night Sleep Time and not Early Morning Go Time.
(I’m imagining Betsy reading this and shaking her head. She suffers from no such ailment.)
The second reason is that I think a lot.
Not necessarily smart thoughts or deep thoughts, but a lot of thoughts. I think about plans for FourthCon, or the anime I just started watching, or blog ideas, or story ideas, or…
I can’t always switch it off. I don’t always want to. I’m a schemer.
Still, it would nice to get a little more rest sometimes.
Do you ever have trouble sleeping? What do you recommend?
Brian D. Buckley 
My insomnia has stemmed mainly from two sources light and physicality. I have found that without regular exercise, sleep can be a virtual impossibility. And I dont mean like five pushups, like miles of running per day, for an example. Remember you are a physical being, lol. If you have not worn yourself out then you may not sleep well. But if you do it within four hours of when you need to be asleep it can keep you up. Secondly, natural light was and is a big thing, the more i get, the better i feel, the better i sleep. Finally, food comas are always helpful, lol. Seriously, food before bed is terrible for you, but man does it help me sleep.
Yeah, I should probably exercise more. I was doing it for a while and then stopped.
Curse your reasonable but slightly inconvenient ideas! lol
Nothing wrong with well planned pill of paracetamol+codeine + š
I’ve heard Nyquil and whiskey does wonders, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. š
š
Melatonin (3mg) and sticking to a regular sleep/wake schedule are helpful for me.
Good advice. Sticking to a regular schedule is something I’ve never quite been able to do. š
I kind of got that impression. š
” I think a lot. … Not necessarily smart thoughts or deep thoughts, but a lot of thoughts.” Yeah, that’s me and it goes wild when I close my eyes, so I have resorted to writing down as much as I can (the hubby hates it) when it comes to mind, I’ve got a pad next to my bed…if I don’t I will keep going over it in hopes that I’ll remember it the next day and as I go through it I add so it starts to get even more complicated….aaarrrggghhh… I also wake up at 3 or 4, if my mind wants to get going I honestly just tell it to SHUT UP, it’s all about will at that time of the morning… and I do get my best rest when I don’t have dinner and when I do have something else š take care, Alexandra
Wow…that sounds pretty intense!