Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sleep, or lack there of

A good night's sleep is something I've been missing out on for a while now.

Oh glorious zzzs, how I miss you!

It appears that there's some sort of mental issue going on here. Okay, so you already knew that, but let me explain anyway, like you give a damn.

When I lived in Dallas I had the perfect little weekday routine going for me. I got to work at the same time, worked out at the same time, went to bed at the same time and never had to snooze in the morning. Like clockwork. Get it, clockwork....okay bad joke.

When I moved back to the Midwest I got into a bad habit. I started working long hours, working out at random hours - if at all - and red wine became my best friend. He was only recently demoted to welcome my new BFF Ketel One into the mix.

But that's not the point...

Yes, I do have one. I'll get there. Keep reading, damn it. Uh, I mean, please. Please?

Long nights turned into late mornings, snoozing through my alarm - yes, through, as in I hit that little button so many times it quit going off. Even my alarm can't keep up with this lifestyle.

(This is what it looks like, every morning, for an hour!)

And even on days when I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour I'm not tired because I didn't drag myself out of bed when I should have in the morning. It's a vicious cycle I tell you.

Of course, this doesn't factor in those days where I can't sleep because there's too much on my mind, or because I'm working into the wee hours of the night.

Insomnia is not typical for me, if there's one talent I have it's sleeping. I'm usually the proud owner of a 7-8 hour sleep night, unless, of course, I'm stressed out.

Most often insomnia hits when I'm stressed about my personal life rather than work. Even when the shit hits the fan at work the zzzs manage to come easily. But if there's problems with my family, finances, the SO, I'll be up grinding the gears on resolutions all night.

No, it usually doesn't help, but c'mon, it's not as if I really have control over that. I got the stewing gene from my mom - thanks ma.

Needless to say, in this whole process I've managed to thoroughly throw my system off balance and thus, my precious sleep cycles that I once counted on like the tide.

And now more than ever I need to get this back. Sleep come back to me!

At the very least, I need to get my schedule back before I introduce the puppy into my world. He's not going to pick up these bad habits from me. Or maybe I'll just train him how to hit snooze for me. Hmm...

Any suggestions for getting back on track? How do you stick to a normal schedule?

Cheers!

-A

6 comments:

Jennie said...

I never hada "normal" routine until after graduation and it still isn't really normal, but its so tough as PR professionals to stick to a strict routine I think because we are in a constant eb and flow on someone else's clock. When times are slow its easy to get into the swing of things, but when the tide is high... you better be glad you get to eat let along get anytime to even think about you nice routine that seems impossible at the moment.

I wouldn't fret, just have a weekly routine, plan it out on Sat/Sun for that week and try to stick to it, that has been working for me :)

Christian Holm said...

Basically, sleep if you can, but no matter whether or not you get to sleep, get out of bed early and OUT OF THE HOUSE! Do not go back to the house till it's time for bed... do this before the Cute Badger Hunter comes home in April :D

Susan said...

My schedule is a mess, I can't remember the last time I wasn't tired.

I just caught Jennie's comment as I started typing this. Agreed, as a PR professional, it is pretty difficult, and that is why I am off as well.

Good luck getting back on track!

Kim said...

I think the best thing is to try and keep as normal of a schedule as you can and not beat yourself up if you can't.

Other than that, as someone who has had recent insomnia problems, I can only add that if you need something to help you sleep for awhile (medication, I mean), it might help kick you into a routine you can stick to.

Narm said...

The alcohol doesn't help? Anytime I can't sleep I suck down a beer or some whiskey and I'm out like a light.

alexa @clevelandsaplum said...

i hit snooze for a good hour too!

maybe it's just a funk?