Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, January 18, 2008
What is your usual sleep schedule on weeknights?
Now pardon me while I go laugh myself silly.
Ah, that's better.
My sleep patterns are erratic, at best. This I attribute to being a creative type. I tend to get some of my best ideas at night, and have been known to pull all-nighters to finish a story or make a deadline.
Having said that, I try to have some semblance of a so-called normal waking life. If I'm not on a project then I try to go to bed around 10 or 11, read until I'm sleepy, then wake at 7. I give myself the luxury of watching Today, just to catch up on news and weather, before I get out of bed. I have clients that work regular hours, so I have to be available during the day.
This, of course, rarely works. My mind tends to race after I turn out the lights. For some reason the quiet house is the perfect atmosphere for my brain to kick into high gear. Whenever that happens I try to get up and take some notes and then head back for some sleep. The other thing playing havoc with my sleep habits these days is my age. Those hot flashes in the middle of the night are no fun at all. They shall pass. One day. Soon. Please.
How do I catch up on sleep? Other than the weekends? I try to nap. That doesn't always work, but I make an attempt.
Today I threw my sleep habits out the proverbial window and didn't get out of bed until nearly 11. I had a good excuse. Last night I was feeling very tired, and went to bed early. I'm re-reading Lucky Jim, and am enjoying it far more the second time around. Not that I didn't like it the first time, but I suppose as my own life changes some books just seem to hit a different chord when I read them again. This time around I find myself far more sympathetic to Jim Dixon.
But I digress.
I woke up at 1:00 with a nightmare-induced panic attack. Hadn't had one of those in a very long time. Of course, I'm out of good drugs, so I had a glass of water, did some breathing exercises, and went back to bed. I didn't get back to sleep until nearly time for my alarm to go off. I turned off the alarm, turned on the TV, and went back to sleep. I had another nightmare. Yeesh.
Extra Credit: If you had no work or family scheduling obligations, would your sleeping pattern change substantially?
Probably not - not unless I retire and move out of the suburbs, that is.
Tags: Weekend Assignment