To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
It's 4:08 a.m. as I write this. I've been awake on and off since the 2 a.m. hour.
The only real disappointment in my daily life is that I don't sleep well. I'll go to bed, usually between 10 and 11, sleep 2 or 3 hours and then wake up. Sometimes I'm able to go right back to sleep and stay asleep until the 6:00 alarm; more often I just doze the rest of the night.
This is probably what affects my afternoons. From, say, 2 to 4:30, I find it almost impossible to read, as I keep dozing off. The only way I accomplish anything in the afternoon is to be busy in more than just my mind--working at the computer, for example, uses my mind, eyes and hands, and I can generally come up with projects that don't require a lot of slow deep thought or concentration.
I recently saw an editorial cartoon that depicted a line of baggy-eyed, bleary-eyed, slumping people at a water cooler, and the caption suggested that something like 2/3 of Americans don't get enough sleep. What is wrong with us?
Here's a story my Methodist minister uncle once told from the pulpit to illustrate a point. My grandfather (maternal) was a leader in his North Carolina mountain community. Papa was, apparently, often consulted about this or that issue related to farming. Sometimes in the early morning, one particular man would stand by the road in front of the house and wait for the first signs of awakening life to come from my Papa's house. Then he'd call out until my grandfather stepped outside to talk with him.
One night, Papa and my uncle were up at 2 a.m. for some reason--whether they'd arisen at that time or had yet to go to be, I don't know. Anyway, they decided to walk to this man's house and see just how early he got up. As they came to the place where they thought they'd take up a watch, they saw that the lights--possibly firelight--in the man's house were already on. So, they made up some pretense for knocking on the door to ask after the man. When this neighbor's wife answered the door, Papa asked if her husband was home. She said, "He was around here earlier this morning, but I don't know where he's got to just now." I guess that's the kind of schedule that comes from going to bed at sunset, not a story of difficult sleep like mine.
Well, the computer's clock now says 4:27, and the family cat, O'Ryan, is snoring beside my chair. I think I'll go back to bed and try to sleep a few more minutes before NPR's Morning Edition speaks to me from the bedside radio.
The only real disappointment in my daily life is that I don't sleep well. I'll go to bed, usually between 10 and 11, sleep 2 or 3 hours and then wake up. Sometimes I'm able to go right back to sleep and stay asleep until the 6:00 alarm; more often I just doze the rest of the night.
This is probably what affects my afternoons. From, say, 2 to 4:30, I find it almost impossible to read, as I keep dozing off. The only way I accomplish anything in the afternoon is to be busy in more than just my mind--working at the computer, for example, uses my mind, eyes and hands, and I can generally come up with projects that don't require a lot of slow deep thought or concentration.
I recently saw an editorial cartoon that depicted a line of baggy-eyed, bleary-eyed, slumping people at a water cooler, and the caption suggested that something like 2/3 of Americans don't get enough sleep. What is wrong with us?
Here's a story my Methodist minister uncle once told from the pulpit to illustrate a point. My grandfather (maternal) was a leader in his North Carolina mountain community. Papa was, apparently, often consulted about this or that issue related to farming. Sometimes in the early morning, one particular man would stand by the road in front of the house and wait for the first signs of awakening life to come from my Papa's house. Then he'd call out until my grandfather stepped outside to talk with him.
One night, Papa and my uncle were up at 2 a.m. for some reason--whether they'd arisen at that time or had yet to go to be, I don't know. Anyway, they decided to walk to this man's house and see just how early he got up. As they came to the place where they thought they'd take up a watch, they saw that the lights--possibly firelight--in the man's house were already on. So, they made up some pretense for knocking on the door to ask after the man. When this neighbor's wife answered the door, Papa asked if her husband was home. She said, "He was around here earlier this morning, but I don't know where he's got to just now." I guess that's the kind of schedule that comes from going to bed at sunset, not a story of difficult sleep like mine.
Well, the computer's clock now says 4:27, and the family cat, O'Ryan, is snoring beside my chair. I think I'll go back to bed and try to sleep a few more minutes before NPR's Morning Edition speaks to me from the bedside radio.
posted by mac | 6:36 PM
5 Comments:
Listening to NPR's Morning Edition over a period of time will destroy anyone's night of sleep, as well as, their reasoning process! Stop this madness before it's too late!
Seriously...I too have had that problem. But due to my NPR Morning Edition listener nurse/wife, who has lost most of her common sense reasoning, came up with the solution to this. Don't eat after 7 in the evening, and don't drink anything but water after that time.
It really does help! Now mind you...I only take her advice on this matter after weeks of sleepless nights. I love having a beer with my dinner that I usually eat around 8:30 at night, and then digging into my dessert around 10 pm...a red delicious Washington apple with peanut butter!
Ah, we're much alike, you and I--the beer with dinner, the apple and peanut butter. I'll give these ideas a try. True media madness, however, is sitting at the tire store (as I did this morning) where they have FOXNews blaring!
...soft cozy voices that spew out false information or loud obnoxious
ones who do the same. I've had it with both!
To get my news now, whether it's local or national, or international, I hunt down the really, really, short articles that only have one paragraph...that way, I can almost get the factual information (and that's debatable) instead of an opinion created by some *!&!^%!*&^!%^!!!! reporter who thinks I need to hear the "truth" as they see it through their politically driven agenda. And while I'm venting...can you believe what the parties are offering as "presidential candidates"!! Lord help us all...Where is Pat Paulsen when you need him.
http://www.paulsen.com/pat/
Hey guys - the next time I'm up at 4am, as happened today, I'll know I have company!!! As for politics, I have nothing meaningful to offer. And as for broadcasters........
Cheers, John
Good venting, Mark! We're a nation and a world in serious trouble, and most of us are so distracted and scatter-brained that we don't yet know it.
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