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I don't sleep well. I usually sleep very lightly, and then have problems getting back to sleep; plus sometimes I can't get to sleep when I want to, or I wake up too early and end up starting my day at some absurd hour because, well, I'm up, might as well do something useful.
Here's something that has helped with the last problem, though.
Someone on FB posted an article a couple of months ago about something that used to be common, which disappeared with the Industrial Age. It's the concept of "second sleep." Evidently, everyone knew about this so it's only been re-discovered through occasional stray remarks and pieced together. So, here's what it is.
It was commonly understood that most people wake up in the wee hours the night, usually around 4am. Folks took this time to pray, think about their dreams, read, have sex, or some other quiet activity for an hour or so. Then they'd go back to sleep and get up at whatever usual time they got up. Sleep studies have shown that this is a very natural pattern.
Why this was so helpful to me is because I often wake up around 4 or 5 in the morning. Before I read this, I assumed something was wrong, I was having another bout of insomnia, and I'd worry about it. Why am I awake? It's too early; if I try to start my day this early it's going to fuck up my sleep schedule and I'm going to be miserable. Shit. Lather, rinse, repeat until I'm fully awake and in a rotten mood.
Having this knowledge that our sleep patterns aren't as uniform as the Industrial Age would have us understand has made it a lot easier for me to just note that I'm awake, reflect on life for a bit, and fall back asleep. It's another case of my brain being my worst enemy, and how we use expectations of what's supposed to be normal to screw ourselves. Here endeth the lesson.
The article:
The myth of the eight-hour sleep
Here's something that has helped with the last problem, though.
Someone on FB posted an article a couple of months ago about something that used to be common, which disappeared with the Industrial Age. It's the concept of "second sleep." Evidently, everyone knew about this so it's only been re-discovered through occasional stray remarks and pieced together. So, here's what it is.
It was commonly understood that most people wake up in the wee hours the night, usually around 4am. Folks took this time to pray, think about their dreams, read, have sex, or some other quiet activity for an hour or so. Then they'd go back to sleep and get up at whatever usual time they got up. Sleep studies have shown that this is a very natural pattern.
Why this was so helpful to me is because I often wake up around 4 or 5 in the morning. Before I read this, I assumed something was wrong, I was having another bout of insomnia, and I'd worry about it. Why am I awake? It's too early; if I try to start my day this early it's going to fuck up my sleep schedule and I'm going to be miserable. Shit. Lather, rinse, repeat until I'm fully awake and in a rotten mood.
Having this knowledge that our sleep patterns aren't as uniform as the Industrial Age would have us understand has made it a lot easier for me to just note that I'm awake, reflect on life for a bit, and fall back asleep. It's another case of my brain being my worst enemy, and how we use expectations of what's supposed to be normal to screw ourselves. Here endeth the lesson.
The article:
The myth of the eight-hour sleep
