A long time ago I made a list of all my sleep-related quirks and habits. I thought my more recent followers might like to see it.
- I seldom sleep in, I seldom nap.
- I'm invariably asleep within ten minutes
- I'm usually up and about by 7 30 am
- I almost always have bad dreams
- I sleep on my left side or my right side, hardly ever on my back or front
- I find it easy to get out of bed in the morning
- I prefer a nightshirt to pyjamas
- I sleep naked if it's warm enough
- I read books in bed but never newspapers
- My bedside cabinet contains my watch, my alarm clock, my glasses, a box of tissues and a book
- I find it hard to sleep on planes
- I slept for 13 hours straight after arriving in Vancouver Island, Canada
- I never take sleeping pills - they don't work and just make me feel weird
- There are no teddy bears in our bed
- Our hotel room in San Francisco had the creakiest bed of all time
- We slept on a futon for several years
- We have single duvets, which avoids duvet hogging
- We have breakfast in bed every Sunday morning - toast and marmalade and a cup of tea
- We change the bed linen every....so often
- I can have a completely coherent conversation while I'm asleep, and not remember a word of it the next day
- My sex life....is none of your business
I've often said I can sleep on a clothes-line. I did while waiting in a café for someone the other day. I slept in the middle of Heathrow Airport another time, my head on my luggage. For 4 hours.
ReplyDeleteWho makes your breakfast in bed?
XO
WWW
www: I envy your ability to sleep so easily. Jenny is much the same. I make our Sunday breakfast in bed, and have done for decades.
DeleteI was getting up at 6.00 am which suited me from a sleep point of view, but as the household works much better if I get up at 5.00 am that's what I do, thugh I then need a nap after lunch, which messes up the schedule....
ReplyDeleteLuckily I have no problems getting off to sleep which is just as well as Leo frequently needs attention in the night.
Fly: I sometimes wake up around 5 am, and have a cup of tea, read a book and then go back to sleep (if I'm lucky).
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The only naps I’ve ever taken have been when I’m really ill. Im not much of a sleeper, in general. Flying back from Hawaii at night, I was the only passenger awake. I used a flashlight to do crossword puzzles. Two duvets on one bed is something I’ve never seen before.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Single duvets are common in Scandinavia, Germany and Austria. I don't sleep so well under a double duvet (which is the usual thing in hotels).
DeleteWe have had two comforters for years. It's one of the best things we did to make sleep better.
ReplyDeleteBut, I'm a night owl. My typical sleep time is from 3 am to noon. I should live in Hawaii's time zone.
Linda: Jenny is more of a night owl than me. She often reads till the early hours, while my time for reading is first thing in the morning.
DeleteMy night time medication makes me tired so I can sometimes drift off to sleep within a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI have had nightmares almost every night for the past 40 years. I've tried different medications but nothing worked.
Mary: I try to prevent bad dreams by conjuring up happy images before I go to sleep, but I still get bad dreams.
DeleteI have been that person who falls asleep quickly. I’m afraid frustration wastes a bit of my sleep. Plus I am a night owl and early riser. Some days I am a bit tired from lack of sleep but I am not one to nap.
ReplyDeleteAnn: Frustration? Do you mean fretting over things that frustrate you? I do a lot of that!
DeleteI go straight to sleep almost every night. I often wake an hour before the alarm. I may get up, or not.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: I never set the alarm because I always wake up well before 7 am.
DeleteLOL! I liked your list. everything for me is different than it used to be. I think I'm a light sleeper. I seldom dream. if I do I don't remember them. I sleep on either side. Bob was the night owl in our family. I used to start getting sleepy about 9:30... and still do... so it's not old age. I always hated naps as a child. now I love them! xo
ReplyDeleteTammy: I'm usually ready for bed about 10 pm. I've never been a night owl. When I was young I'd be ready to leave a party at 10 pm or so while everyone else was good for several more hours.
DeleteMy reply got lost so won't try to repeat other than to say that currently my sleep pattern is erratic and I’m trying to consistently reset my body. I don't use sleeping pills and never have.
ReplyDeleteHope you saw Peter’s response to your comment on my blog.
DeleteJoared: My sleep pattern is erratic too. I wake up any time between 4 am and 7 am. How wonderful it would be if I could reset my brain for a sensible waking-up time every morning!
DeleteJoared: Thanks for telling me about Peter's response. I see he's very familiar with John Prine.
DeleteYou’re welcome — I thought you might enjoy that mutual appreciation with Peter, plus I found his column on John Prine quite interesting.
DeleteI've struggled with insomnia all my life so I envy people who can fall asleep readily.
ReplyDeleteAgent: That's a bummer. I fall asleep easily but I wake up at any old hour. If only I could regulate my waking-up time.
DeleteI'm a lark, not an owl.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what causes your bad dreams?
Sx
Ms Scarlet: Who knows? Maybe some traumatic experiences in my childhood. A therapist might be able to get to the root of it, but it doesn't really bother me. Did you see that Mary has had bad dreams for a good 40 years?
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun list, Nick and here's a few of my own sleep quirks: never nap, only read books, back sleeper always, no sleeping pills (ever), teddy bears on bedroom bookshelf (not bed), never recall most of my dreams, coffee in bed every morning (never breakfast.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: Glad to hear the teddy bears are confined to the bedroom bookshelf. We can't allow them to get too uppity.
DeleteSorry I’m late. This is a fun post. When I was working I would fall asleep as soon as I switched off the bedside light. I still do most nights but now and again it can take an hour or longer before I fall into proper sleep. Then I wake with a hot flush! but I do get back to sleep. I like sleeping on my back but I often snore and wake myself up! So I sleep on both sides but favour my right side. I have strange dreams that I remember vividly. Ditto sleeping pills. I only sleep naked when in very hot countries, I like pyjamas. I can sleep on planes. I wake about 8.30, earlier in the summer. I do like an afternoon nap occasionally. Single duvets is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteSorry I’m late. This is a fun post. When I was working I would fall asleep as soon as I switched off the bedside light. I still do most nights but now and again it can take an hour or longer before I fall into proper sleep. Then I wake with a hot flush! but I do get back to sleep. I like sleeping on my back, and although I don’t snore, I do when I’m on my back and I wake myself up! So I sleep on both sides but favour my right side. I have strange dreams that I remember vividly. Ditto sleeping pills. I’ve only ever tried sleep remedies when in a new or noisy place, but they don’t work. I’ve only slept naked when in very hot countries, I like pyjamas. I can sleep on planes. I wake about 8.30, earlier in the summer. I do like an afternoon nap occasionally. Single duvets is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI think I might have commented twice on this post Nick. My laptop was behaving badly yesterday.
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