Quality sleep remains the ever elusive animal. Even with a remarkably comfortable new bed and a better diet and occasional over the counter drugs, I find myself lying awake in the middle of the night. I can feel the anxiety escalate as I stare at the digital clock, its amber digits mocking me as they sliently climb. Until the inevitable hurumph where I give up and trudge downstairs to watch looping sports highlights until it’s too late to go back to sleep as I must attack the responsibilities of the day, whether weekday or weekend.
But I am not complaining. Or am I?
One thing I have noticed is the differences between the sleeping habits of my boys. My eldest is a night owl, likes to stay up in his room on his Ipod for as long as we will let him (the new texting ends at 9pm) or just farting around with his keyboard. Often I am snuggling into my duvet before he is ready for bed and he fights it every step of the way. Tasman, while only six and fighting it a little bit, concedes pretty quickly as long as a story and cuddle are promised. I am merely the guest star in this ritual as Stephanie is the most requested. Odd the way the parental roles are divided.
On the other side of the night, Tasman is the early riser, usually joining me on the couch for a spell before asking me where the Ipad is. Hud, like his gorgeous mother, has to be shaken out of bed before the various waking hours of responsibility. Like his mother, once asleep, they are goners, trapped in a word of sunshine and lollypops, dreaming of well decorated dinner party tables and MineCraft worlds respectively.
I jealously stare at them while they are sleeping and I am awake (creeeepy) wondering why I can’t find the same blissfull moments to ensure my tenous grasp on my sanity.
I know sleep habits change over time and I know parents talk about the need for sleep throughout the various stages of child growth. But I never thought I would deem it this important.
How do you manage sleep or lack of sleep?
I remember reading that somewhere, Kath, and thinking I was born in the wrong era!
Jason, believe it or not this is actually a natural sleep pattern. In some circles it’s called, “the watch” – but typically it’s called “segmented” or “bimodal” sleep. It may even be the way we are supposed to sleep. People in certain times and cultures embraced it and viewed it as a time to ponder important questions/reflect/pray/contemplate. They key is being able to account for this period of wee-hours wakefulness by retiring earlier or rising later so that your body gets the restful sleep it needs both before and after. Also – an afternoon nap (if you can manage it) works wonders too, and is also considered part of this natural bimodal sleep pattern.
It’s modern-day life that doesn’t fit!
When I was little, I used to sleep walk and I was such a deep sleeper that dreaming of going to the bathroom would leave me sleeping in a real puddle.
My dreams were so vivid I was sure I met Chaka Khan when I was 8.
That changed around the time I became worried that I would get electrical shock from wetting the bed from my electrical blanket.
Then I became the sleeper who could hear every snore in the house. Even when I outgrew bedwetting I could no longer shake the light sleeping habit.
I finally crashed from years of sleep deprivation when I was 22 and just two weeks out of final university exams.
I was bedridden from exhaustion. Saw reams of doctors and tried all kinds of physical therapies and nothing helped until I tried a medication one merciful doctor took a chance on me. She was worried about addiction but the lack of sleep was killing me. I felt sleep like never before. No memories of dreams. Sleeping was like blinking and no hangover.
I took those meds for a few weeks then weaned off and I’ve been a solid sleeper until kids came along. Once the kids were sleeping through the night, I went back on those meds for 2 weeks and it reset my sleep pattern back to normal.
It’s heavenly. Wishing you good sleeps.
I am a terrible sleeper too. I have trouble relaxing and falling asleep and then usually find myself wide awake in the wee hours tired and desperate for some more shuteye. My eldest is the same. My husband and daughter love sleep as it comes so easily and they cling to their beds in the morning. However, my son and I both deal better with lack of sleep and jet lag because, obviously, we have more practice. Our bodies adjust and our moods are not as impacted.
I have no solutions for you, unfortunately, but I am a comrade in sleeplessness!