29 October 2009

Who Needs Sleep? (Well, You're Never Gonna Get It.)

This post brought to you by a rare bout of Phish-induced insomnia. 


Random Sleep-Related Trivia about ZenMom:

  • I love my bed. Best thing we ever bought.

  • I rarely have insomnia. Usually, I'm asleep within mere moments of my head hitting the pillow. The exceptions? Well, the big one is nights like tonight when The ZenHusband his gone.

  • Coffee doesn't keep me awake. But stress does. I have a really hard time falling asleep when I've got something unresolved on my mind. I replay past coversations, imagine new ones, think through the steps I need to take, think about the steps that got me there ... I just can't stop the hamster wheel in my brain. Usually, the best cure is to get up and write it all down - get it out of my head and onto paper (or my computer screen).

  • Another thing that helps me fall asleep: Starting at my toes, I tighten and relax my muscles one group at a time, working my way up my body. I'm usually asleep by the time I get to my arms.

  • I can't take "sleep aid" drugs. Eff me up. 

  • I sleep on the left side of the bed. Always. One time, we had to switch sides (long story), and I tossed and turned and barely slept all night.

  • I can't sleep on my back. Can't do it. My favorite position to sleep in is on my left side. Preferably with my right leg thrown across my husband. Or a pillow. Whichever is handy.

  • I don't have adenoids. Bear with me - it's sleep-related, I swear. See, I don't have adenoids because, when I was a young teen, I had sleep apnea. Had my adenoids removed to fix that. (Side note: Only time in my life I've ever fainted was in the doctor's office for my post-op visit. Blood loss. Stood up, took three steps, fell foward. Would've busted my face on the floor if the doctor hadn't caught me.)

  • Side effect of having no adenoids: I don't snore. Except when I have a cold. (Don't believe my husband if he tells you any different.)

  • I hate alarm clock sounds. I much prefer to wake up to music. But not a.m. DJs. They're almost as bad as alarm beep-beep-beeps. No, actually, they're usually worse.

  • I don't dream as much as I used to. Or at least I don't remember them. I used to have vivid, detailed, complex dreams. But, since having kids (sleep-deprivation much?), I seem to dream less frequently and less vividly. I kinda miss them.

  • I can go from dead-asleep to awake-and-functional in about 3 minutes with total recall the next morning. How do I know this? I have two kids under 5. You figure it out. My husband, on the other hand, can get up and stumble through the motions of night-emergencies. But he won't remember a damn thing about them in the morning. Is that weird or is it just me?

  • I need more sleep than my husband. It's just a fact. He has an internal alarm clock that goes off at 6:30 a.m. and he really can't stay in bed past 7:30 a.m. at that absolute latest. I have one of those internal alarm clocks, too. But mine is set for 8 a.m. And I'd sleep 'till 9 a.m. most days, if I had the option.
How about you? Have any weird or unusual or interesting sleep-related habits?
 

8 comments:

  1. I can relate poor zen.

    I also love my sleep and my bed with the cushy foam mattress.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do the muscle tighten sequence thing too when I can't sleep.

    Also, my internal alarm wakes me up at 6.00am most mornings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great song. I used to be a deep sleeper. Nothing could wake me up. Now I am parent. Enough said.

    Here's to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I never sleep. I wish I could fall sleep but it always takes weeks before I can really sleep for a night

    ReplyDelete
  5. I too developed a clock that wakes me up at the drop of a hat. I used to sleep like a log, but when I started staying home with the kids I suddenly developed this heightened awareness, even when sleeping. I almost can't remember what it was like to sleep to my own content. Love that song.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A few months ago, when I was having a hard time sleeping, I discovered I have a bit of a love affair with over-the-counter, non-aspirin sleep aids. It's possible that when they help me drift off, I dream about them, but they help me sleep so well I don't know if I actually even dream!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do that muscle tightening too! When I can't sleep, when I can't focus at work. It's golden.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If I am successful at anything in life... it is sleep. I'm a pro at it. I don't have an internal alarm although I am forced because of my job to drag my butt out of bed at 4am.

    ON my days off I sleep easily until 10am... longer if I could.

    I also fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow...

    The only places I can't sleep?

    Airplanes, buses, and cars.

    So basically when I am traveling.

    Sucks to on long flights out of the country!

    ReplyDelete