When I was younger I never had any trouble sleeping, but my mother did. She often was up during the middle of the night working in the kitchen in our old farmhouse. Her task of choice then was ironing. There were a lot of clothes with six children and ironing was quiet work that wouldn't ordinarily wake them up. The few times I woke up in the night to come downstairs for a drink of water, to use the toilet, or to tell her I had a tummy ache, that's where I found her.
I never had any problems sleeping but now that I am older, I have occasional bouts of insomnia, no more than once a month, but it is annoying. I try to use those wide awake times as my mother did, doing something useful.
Last night, I was in bed by 10 pm but by midnight I was wide awake and never got back to sleep. I tried reading, watching television, mental exercises and sudoku puzzles, but nothing worked.
It always seems to me there is no point in struggling against insomnia, so I got dressed and started cleaning the kitchen. I wrote a couple of e-mails. I organized my calendar and checkbook and figured out what I needed to take back with me when I returned to Lake Ottawa on Monday.
By 8:00 am I was tired. My mother used to say she never slept but I knew it was her frequent naps that kept her going. The sensible thing for me to do was to take a morning nap.I went back to bed, but knew I had plans with my family for eleven so would have to be up by 10:30. That is when I discovered that my alarm clock was still at Lake Ottawa.
I called my son and asked him to call me before they left Appleton, giving me a half hour to get ready. I slept deeply and well and was refreshed enough to go out to eat and later, to pick apples with them.
Another nap this afternoon but I am still tired. I'll hope for the best tonight.
I never had any problems sleeping but now that I am older, I have occasional bouts of insomnia, no more than once a month, but it is annoying. I try to use those wide awake times as my mother did, doing something useful.
Last night, I was in bed by 10 pm but by midnight I was wide awake and never got back to sleep. I tried reading, watching television, mental exercises and sudoku puzzles, but nothing worked.
It always seems to me there is no point in struggling against insomnia, so I got dressed and started cleaning the kitchen. I wrote a couple of e-mails. I organized my calendar and checkbook and figured out what I needed to take back with me when I returned to Lake Ottawa on Monday.
By 8:00 am I was tired. My mother used to say she never slept but I knew it was her frequent naps that kept her going. The sensible thing for me to do was to take a morning nap.I went back to bed, but knew I had plans with my family for eleven so would have to be up by 10:30. That is when I discovered that my alarm clock was still at Lake Ottawa.
I called my son and asked him to call me before they left Appleton, giving me a half hour to get ready. I slept deeply and well and was refreshed enough to go out to eat and later, to pick apples with them.
Another nap this afternoon but I am still tired. I'll hope for the best tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment