Have you ever pulled an “all nighter?”
Back in college, in the 80’s I veered away from this practice. Actually, I saw no need for it. I studied hard, was organized, and ultimately prepared for my exams and practicums without having to pull an all nighter. In short, I was not a procrastinator.
Of course, I knew people who made this practice a regular part of their routine before a big exam. It’s called cramming.
In order to function well and ultimately, test well, adequate sleep is extremely important. I know this and try to get enough shut eye. But, I also suffer from insomnia, as most middle aged women do.
Usually, when I have a bout of this affliction, I know why. Something is on my mind, bothering me to the extent of worry. My mind races, thinking of solutions to problems, responses to conversations, and all sorts of other things.
But, this was not the case last night – when I pulled an all nighter! Let’s just say this was not a welcome occurrence. I had a busy day yesterday with over 15,000 steps on my Fitbit. It’s roughly more than double of what I usually accumulate by the end of the day. I walked with a friend, ran to the nursery for more plants, put those plants in the ground, started a new sewing project, and wrote my blog. I did not nap. I was not worried about anything or anybody. When I went to bed at 10:30 p.m., my usual time, I was tired. I read for twenty minutes or so and felt a wave of sleepiness come over me. I was winding down. The room was nice and cool with the window open a crack for a breeze. I shut the light out.
Boom! I was awake!
Midnight…awake.
One o’clock… awake.
Take an antihistamine. Go the bathroom.
Two o’clock… well, 1:58 a.m….awake.
Three o’clock…awake.
Note that the birds living in the gutter outside our bedroom window are moving around.
They should be sleeping.
So, should I.
I keep listening to the moving birds and wonder about them.
Four o’ clock…awake.
Go to the bathroom.
Go downstairs and lay on the couch.
Get away from the bird noises.
Find our guest house cat looking at me through the dark.
Finally, some sleep.
6:06 a.m….awake. Hear noises upstairs.
Hubby is probably up.
More sleep.
7:30 a.m….Dog appears, wondering about my position on the couch.
A little more sleep.
8:45 a.m.
Awaken and rise.
I am blaming this “all nighter” on the red wine I had a dinner time. I have not come up with any other reason to be up during the wee hours of the morning. I’m dragging today.
Have you ever pulled an all nighter? If so, what was the reason?
The Apples in My Orchard 
Yeah. I worked ‘graveyard’ shift for two years. It got very, very old very very quickly too!
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Yes, the night shift is hard. I had forgotten I worked five years of nights when I wrote this post – I guess because it was very long ago. But, those shifts can be hard and are definitely pulling an all-nighter, especially if you are up all day before you go in. Thanks for your comments! Glad you’re “off the nights.”
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I’m a procrastinator, so I did do all nighters in college before exams. I also proved in my mid-twenties with peers that we could stay up all night, so we took a drive from Houston to Galveston and walked on the beach and saw the sunrise. It’s been a long time since I’ve pulled this stunt, but I do suffer from the middle age female insomnia at times. Just the other night I woke up every hour. I was fortunate, though, and was able to return to sleep.
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