The reality is that my body wakes me up any time it feels like it between 4 am and 7 am. I used to fuss and fret about this physical anarchy and wonder why I couldn't control my own body.
Now I've given up trying to fix my sleeping patterns and I just go with the flow. If I wake at 4 am, no problem, I simply make a cup of tea and read for a while.
I never take sleeping pills. They don't work and just make me feel weird.
Believe it or not, I can have a completely coherent conversation with Jenny while I'm asleep, and not remember a word of it the next day.
Going to sleep on the other hand couldn't be easier. I nod off in about ten minutes and that's that - unless I'm away from home somewhere, in which case falling asleep will probably take longer.
Once I'm asleep I sleep pretty soundly. There are no children to wake me, no pets to wake me, little background noise of any sort.
But I never sleep on planes. There's too much going on around me for me to settle down sufficiently.
I used to find it easy to get out of bed in the morning, but that's not so any more. Quite often I don't want to get up at all, I just want to stay in my warm, cosy bed for as long as possible.
Or better still, hibernate until the spring.
Yes, going to sleep is no problem, but staying asleep is. I'm the same way, waking anywhere between 4-7 a.m. I've tried melatonin but it makes my head hurt, so I gave up.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I've never tried melatonin. I just assume that whenever I wake up, my body reckons I've had enough sleep.
DeleteMy night is usually from about 2-3 am until 11 am-12 noon. I do enjoy my bed and sometimes choose to stay in it and sleep longer. I tend to eat breakfast when most people in the US are eating lunch.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: That's an interesting routine. There's no way I could stay up to 2-3 am. I'm usually in bed by 9 pm!
DeleteThe only reason I accept that sleep is necessary is because it helps to keep one sane. Other than that? Waste of time. I'll make up for it once the BIG sleep descends on me. Not, of course, that I need to be sane then.
ReplyDeleteU
Ursula: Sleep certainly helps to keep me sane. I can forget about all the world's horrors while I'm fast asleep.
DeleteI would probably sleep better if I didn't have a dog. He sleeps in my bed and loves to throw himself up against when he moves at night to get comfortable. Plus he's an early bird and gets me up at 5AM most mornings.
ReplyDeleteMary: Dogs don't care if you're sleeping. They'll wake you up at any old time!
DeleteI'm the same - I wake up in the early hours. No point fighting it. If I've had a lot of exercise I might sleep longer. It is random these days though.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: Agreed, no point in fighting it. I just get stuck into a book till I feel sleepy again.
DeleteWe try to get to bed by 10 pm and wake up at no special time, unless we have an early am appointment, which is not too often. Staying in bed until 7 or 8 am is our usual routine and if I awake earlier a Kindle is nearby.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: We're usually ready for bed by 9 pm. Even when I was young I seldom stayed up till the small hours.
DeleteNever in my life have I been good at getting out of bed but I was a great sleeper.
ReplyDeleteThrough my 40s i spent many hours awake every night, probably due to anaemia.
I no sooner got that sorted than I found out I have severe sleep apnea so I now have a cpap machine which has given me back the energy I didn't know I was missing. I don't love having to drag the thing with me everywhere but I am reassured that my general health shoudl be vastly better than it was. Untreated sleep apnea leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and dementia