I think one of the hardest things was to prepare my wife for my sleep issues. I tried to be open and honest that I have a hard time sleeping and often go through the night awake, but until you have to live with it, it is hard to understand and cope with.
The night before last, I was up until 3:30 am and didn't fall asleep until between 4 and 4:30 am. Last night I was awake until almost 5 am, when I went to bed and fell asleep (thankfully!) fairly quickly. However, in both instances, this means a typical 6-7 hours of sleep has me waking up around noon. Today it is nearly 1 pm and I'm waking up (8 full hours). Which, of course, means it will be that much harder to sleep tonight.
I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't have issues with sleep. I never napped during nap time in pre-school. My parents gave me bed times as a child which simply meant I had to go to bed; I often would stay up very late reading or drawing, or something because I couldn't sleep and would be hard-pressed to wake up the next day. In High School and College, my ability to go days without sleeping served me well at times, hurt me badly at others.
My buddy Chris, with whom I lived for more than a few years, got used to my odd sleeping patterns and the noises I make when I'm prowling around the house during the wee hours. My hope is that my wife will too.
Update: I can tell you this article (which ironically comes out today) is absolutely dead-on from my perspective.
Update 2: I took a sleeping pill last night at about 10:30pm. It helped me get to sleep by about midnight, and I had a good, long sleep till my wife's alarm went off at a bit after 7am. I am feeling much better, overall, this morning, and the sore throat is much less of an issue.
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Excellent article and, I believe, absolutely accurate: I get sick when my sleep cycles screw up, which they do about every 3 months. I've just been through another one of the staying awake until 3 am cycles, but am never able to go to bed early to make up for it. My entire system goes out of sync and it's so hard to get it back into balance.
ReplyDeleteThe doc suggested that I use a gentle sleeping aid, such as Tylenol PM, and it does help me to relax and fall asleep better than using nothing.
The bad news is that, as you age, supposedly the body needs less sleep ... and you are a person who functions on about as less as anyone can!
I wish you success with establishing regular sleeping patterns, both for you and M!
Interesting. I just read this same article online this morning. I think there is truth to it, as when I do not get enough sleep I tend to get colds more easily. This was particularly true when I was in college and had some long nights burning the midnight oil. - Daralee
ReplyDeleteVan often had/has sleepless nights. I have to admit I found it frustrating and concerning. He would often sit out in the front room until 3 or 4 in the morning playing on his computer. That doesn't help a wife's disposition.
ReplyDeletehe too has started using a low dose sleep aid. Sometimes he sleeps and doesn't even think he sleeps. LOL!! He almost always falls asleep before I do now!
That being said, I think that he functinoed better not taking the pills and not sleeping than he does taking the pills and sleeping. Perhaps he just doesn't need as much sleep as the rest of the human race?
I need my sleep and I definitely am one of the ones that gets ill without rest. Lots of it. Too much for most is about right for me. Colds, sore throats, etc. are all issues of mine due to lack of sleep and stress.
Glad you were able to get some sleep though even with some help! Hopefully it will just be enough to "right the ship" so to speak!
Ugh for an awful night's sleep. I'm the terrible sleeper in this household and it really does end up in frustrations on occasion. There are some nights I just cannot get to sleep.
ReplyDeleteHey TL if you're back reading this... It sounds like Van is experiencing Paradoxical Insomnia. It's something I deal with at least 1-2 nights a week. It really and truly does feel like I'm awake. I can on occasion even relate real details despite John's insistence I was sound asleep - which totally freaks him out.