Sleep, Sleep, Sleep and more Sleep.

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Sleep.
What an amazing thing.
I always thought that sleep is one of the greatest creations in this world.
I remember when I was in college and my sorority sisters and I were discussing actually how much time we study, party and how much sleep we get. I remember listening to them all talk about how they only received 3 maybe 4 hours of sleep and I kept quiet because I was looking at my paper and had written down 12 hours.
12 hours of sleep.
When I revealed this to them they were all wondering how I got so much sleep in college no less.
I confessed.
I confessed I only partied on weekends and during the week. I was up at 11 AM in bed by 11 PM.
Going back a little bit before college there was a summer in high school where I slept the entire summer. My dad used to sneak into my room to make sure I was still breathing.
Ah yes, sleep.
Sleep and I were the best of friends. What a beautiful glorious friendship we had.
But that was all gone once I had kids. Then there was almost no sleep. I became a zombie taking care of kids all day and writing all night. My body was so thrown off I had to resort to sleeping pills on occasion just to get by.
But then the sleep would go by so fast I wouldn’t get a chance to enjoy it.

During the day I always missed my bed, my pillows and my covers. I missed my former first love.
In my obsession for sleep, in my madness, I would stay up all night writing short stories about other people, about characters not been able to sleep and would happen when they couldn’t.
My best friend and my husband reminded me that all those hours I spent sleeping I was missing out on the world. The more I wasted away in bed the more of my life I was missing. It was a good thing that I didn’t spend so much time sleeping anymore. Maybe I could have more fun in college if I slept less.
So I relented tried to sleep normal hours and not be a night owl. l can make sure that I get enough sleep at night so that I can spend “quality time” not “zombie time” with my kids in the daytime. It’s not that bad.
6 hours of sleep last night.
That’s it.
6 hours sleep.
It’s not that bad.

Is it bad that all this talk about sleep is making me so sleepy?

Comments

  1. annavolatJune 19, 2013 at 11:50 PM

    Is it bad that reading your blog on sleep is making me sleepy? I mean that in a good way. I'm a night owl and sometimes find myself stumbling through zombie hours...best of luck in finding the right balance. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Annis CassellsJune 20, 2013 at 9:43 AM

    Sleep is good. Sleep is your friend. Time spent sleeping rebuilds the body. Okay, so maybe 12 hours a night is a lot, but most people need 7-8 in order to have the rejuvenation that sleep brings. I remember being a mother of young children and a teacher who had lots of homework; that's when I existed on five or six hours of sleep each night. I survived, thank goodness.

    And now that I'm officially a senior citizen, I find that what the "old folks" used to say is true. Some days I wake up really early,3:00 AM, not being able to sleep. So, I might as well get up and write or read.

    Thanks for your post, Donnee. xoA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donnee PatreseJune 23, 2013 at 9:37 PM

      Thank you. I think my body is used to going bed late and waking up early. If my husband tries it is a zombie and I'm productive.

      Delete
  3. UnknownJune 22, 2013 at 7:18 PM

    I used to get a lot more sleep also. Now it seems it doesn't come as easy anymore, although I wouldn't mind a lot more pillow time. Something about snuggling up in bed and relaxing really appeals to me. I tend to struggle to fall asleep or wake up early - like before the sun comes up and obsess about falling back to sleep.
    Sometimes ideas for stories keep me awake or just the to-do list that seems to run rampant in my brain.
    Ahh, what I wouldn't give for one really good night's sleep again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donnee PatreseJune 23, 2013 at 9:38 PM

      i totally understand. It is very difficult with three little girls and everyone needing my attention all day. No sleep for Mommy the writer.

      Delete

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