8/18/10

Up all night...

Much like my last post, this situation doesn't really lend itself to yelling out, "Yay life!" But, also like my last post, I know there is something positive to be found and something to be learned in this situation, so I'm posting it here and looking for your input.

I have suddenly been hit with a nasty case of insomnia. For the past three weeks or so, I've not only had trouble falling asleep, but have actually been lying awake in bed until 4:00 in the morning or so -- not every night, but two or three times a week. I had a night like this in June as well.

Some events exacerbate the situation, like a kitty who wakes us up at 5:15 for her 6:00 breakfast, a sometimes too-cool and sometimes too-hot room, and the occasional snore-fest from hubby, but the fact remains: I can't fall asleep.

I've tried melatonin which, when I took it in the middle of the night after lying awake for two hours, did nothing.

I've tried melatonin with valerian and kava kava which, when taken before bedtime seems to work, but when taken after lying awake for two hours, does nothing.

I do progressive relaxation, I think positive grateful thoughts, I play "Clair de Lune" in my head, I try to empty my mind. None of it works.

I haven't tried getting up and just doing something else, like reading or watching the Home Shopping Network (which has been known to make me pleasantly drowsy). That might be my next step.

I am a regular exerciser, although during this several weeks, my habits have fallen by the wayside a bit. But I've been known to go three months without exercising, and never had insomnia like this before.

I believe it might be triggered by our long list of home improvement projects, and I think I might be a little overstimulated by everything we're doing and still have to do. It's not worry -- it's excitement!

Is it possible I'm being kept awake by the prospect of moving a bigger desk into my office, painting for the first time in 18 years, and assembling a bed with (finally!) drawers underneath? Is it the satisfaction of finally having an organized closet and a coffee table with storage? Is it the prospect of finally getting our home to feel like a place we really want to be?

I don't know, but I'm open to suggestions. Maybe I have something to learn about my health, my thinking, my lifestyle. Please share your remedies for insomnia in the comments. Do you have a no-fail supplement? Do you get out of bed? Take multivitamins? What works when you can't get to sleep?

And for a little fun with insomnia... Check out the poet and storyteller Rives' take on the mystery of 4 a.m. in this 2007 TED talk.



If you can't see the embedded video, go here to view it.

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