The Apples in My Orchard

I was on a roll with my sleep lately. Prone to insomnia, especially when stressed or worried, it is not uncommon to find me wide awake in the middle of the night. I know I do not function well without a fair amount of sleep so I guard it carefully. I make it a habit to practice good sleep hygiene. This includes things like no caffeinated beverages after 3pm, a glass of wine at dinner – not later in the evening, keeping my bedtime routine the same – which includes reading a book for a few minutes, and having a dark but cool room. I am sensitive to any and all changes that occur in that routine – be it an outside light left on, a warmer than needed pajama set, or the lack of a good book to read. I try not to do school work or have difficult conversations right before bed. I also try to make sure I have a light snack, since I’ve noticed that if I wake up hungry in the middle of the night, it is difficult to get back to sleep. (This is definitely a first world problem.)  I also make it a habit to go to bed at the same time each night – within a range of 30 minutes, either side of 10:30 p.m.. And, I try to arise the same time each day. This is fairly easy when I have lunches to make and course work to tackle. I always feel like I am wasting time if I late to rise in the morning. So, I get up.

Being that I am so protective of my sleep and careful with my sleep habits, I have been very happy that my insomnia seemed to be under control lately- even with being somewhat stressed with life this winter.  But, I also know I am very sensitive to ANY changes. So, why would I be surprised when I was unable to get to sleep last night. Yesterday, we turned the clocks ahead by an hour for Day Light Savings Time.  UGH!

You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself!  I had no worries. But, I had also skipped my evening snack because I wasn’t hungry.  I had a clue there might be a problem when I went to bed (at the same time, but really an hour early – on old time, as we say in our house) and remembered that I had finished the novel I was reading (The Woman in Cabin 10) and was without a book. I got back up and took We Were Liars off the shelf in my son’s room, getting back into bed and realizing my stomach was growling!  I tried to ignore it. I read a little bit, I was sleepy. I turned off the light and WHAM –  I find myself wide awake within ten minutes. By midnight I was in the kitchen making tea (decaf, of course) and helping myself to pretzel goldfish. (Thanks, Pepperidge Farms!)

It was probably close to 1 a.m. before I fell asleep – on the couch cozied up with two throws draped over me. I am ready to ditch that old tradition of Day Light Savings Time. It used to be hard to keep the kids on track when the time switched, now – it seems to be my problem! That Darned Daylight Savings Time!