It is 4:30 in the morning and I am up blogging. Anyone who knows me knows this is totally out of character. I rarely hit the sack before 11:00 at night, and I'm never up before 7. 8:00 in the morning is more like it if I have my way. So why am I up?
I am suffering the curse of many women my age. Middle-of-the-night insomnia. Today I'll blame it on the Claritan. For the last several weeks I've had a middle ear infection. For 2 weeks it sounded as if someone was holding a giant conch shell to my ear so I could hear the ocean roaring. I tried using a milder decongestant, but I was getting rather tired of listening to the inside of my head and asking everyone to repeat themselves. Sudephedrine and I have never been companionable, but I finally gave in and settled on Claritin-D. I can now hear the outside world very well. In fact as I sit here, I hear the trucks on the highway a half mile away. But in exchange I've given up sleep.
There is another side to this problem. I read a very interesting article on the effects of menopause a while ago (I have no idea what magazine I was reading) and although I don't remember the details (so don't quote me here) I do remember a few interesting points. The gist of it was that we humans have an internal thermometer that goes down when we sleep and warms up when it is time for us to wake up. For women over 50, or those who are hitting menopause, this thermometer goes ka-flooey and starts warming up whenever it wants to, frequently in the middle of the night when we'd rather be sleeping instead of throwing the covers off begging for a breeze in the middle of winter when even our husbands are bundled under the blankets.
I've long since given up night sweats, thank god, but the 2:00 AM wake-up call continues. It has gotten better. I tend to have one bad night every few weeks and usually I can lay there quietly and wait for sleep to resume.
I remember my mother saying she solved most of her problems, planned her day, wrote out her Christmas wish list, and categorized her bucket list between 2 and 4 in the morning, laying quietly in bed. This week I have joined the throngs of women counting the hours until daylight when they will suddenly be overwhelmed with fatigue and desire nothing more than to crawl under the covers, only to have their husbands wake up cheerfully well-rested and ready for breakfast. "What do you mean your going back to bed? It's 6:00!... If you'd go to bed earlier at night you wouldn't be so tired... I was really hoping you'd have breakfast with me this morning."
Yada, yada, yada.
"Don't sweat it sweetheart. I've figured out what I'm getting you for your birthday, and Christmas. I just haven't worked out your anniversary gift yet, but I'm sure I'll have that idea around 3am tomorrow morning."
Oh, listen! The birds are waking up. I hear them singing! Can I please go to sleep, now?
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Too bad we don't live next door to each other. We could really stir up some trouble in the wee hours of the night/morning/whenever we're not sleeping. I,too, have a weekly (or more often) night of sleeplessness. It's a pain in the butt. I hate it. Plus it doesn't matter how tired I am, I still wake at 6am like I did when I was working. The only good thing is that I DON"T have to go to work so can be as catatonic as I need to be.
ReplyDeleteI hate it too. Sorry we can't signal each other with a porch light--"I"m up! Help!"
ReplyDeleteSure hope I sleep tonight.
I've had this mess for quite a while now -- but it's gotten worse recently, usually on the night before a long trip. It's like my internal clock does a switcheroo -- and it's time to sleep in the day and be up at night. When I have to drive - this is so not good.
ReplyDeleteIt started with menopause, as you say. I remember in those days going out in the hall and lying on the cold tile to bring my body thermostat back to normal. Now that the worst of that is over, the sleep issues have continued. Like you say - I still seem way too warm at night. The days of flannel jammies during the cold of winter are long over. Even in winter a short sleeved nightshirt is the max I can wear.
Reading a non stimulating book helps - sometimes. Playing a mindless computer game helps. Mindless TV helps (not a riveting movie!). However, rarely does lying in bed "thinking" help! That can sometimes just agitate me and make me nervous, so planning my day is not something I do! But the reality is -- sometimes NOTHING helps...!
I have never slept well the night before a trip, if I'm driving. Larry on the other hand goes to bed early and crashes. One of the few times I wish I was a guy!
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