Since our twins were born (almost seven years ago), it's a rare occurrence that I sleep more than five hours a night. I've justified it by saying "I just don't need as much" or "I've got things to do" or the oft-quoted line from Road House, "I'll get enough sleep when I'm dead."
I think I've grown accustomed to little sleep. There have been segments of my life that sleep was a commodity in short supply.
Anyone who has been to grad school knows how little sleep you can survive on. We wore it as a badge of honor. A typical conversation was "You look horrible. How much sleep did you get?" "About seven hours." "You got seven hours last night?" "No. I got seven hours so far this week."
When I moved to Kansas City after grad school, I had no responsibilities and a good job with a lot of friends in the same situation. It was very unusual to get home before midnight and there were many occasions when I left the bar when the bartender did.
For six years, we owned a bar and I worked nights. We had the boys and Ashley worked days. I got used to hitting the rack at 2 a.m. or later and getting up at 6:30 when Ashley left for work and I had to be up with the boys.
But now, I don't have to survive on that little sleep. The serious side effect are lack of patience and of course, the health concerns associated with getting less sleep than you should. I'd like to be able to sack out for seven hours, but I just can't. On the weekend, my wife can sleep until I wake her. Yesterday she slept 11 hours. I'm jealous.
It may come down to the fact that the early morning hours are my own. I don't fight for computer time. I catch up on the news and scores. I can linger for a while on Facebook. I search through Twitter to see if there is anything I should be reading not covered by more traditional news media. I write my blog if the feeling hits.
It's nice and quiet in the house. The only noise is the sporadic clickety clack of me typing. It just takes so long to write anything because I yawn so hard my eyes water. I just need a little pick me up. Looks like I picked the wrong time to quit caffeine.
If you're seeking help breaking that little sleep cycle, take it from one who's been there, you should either try Simply Sleep or Tylenol PM. They have both helped me out on multiple occasions. The only caution I have is that they have yet to work when my brain is in overdrive and refuses to stop thinking. Hope it helps you.
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