Short on Sleep
I’ve never been a very good sleeper. I remember laying awake for hours plenty of times that I was supposed to be sleeping as a kid. I’d read for awhile, I’d beg my mom to let me bring my pillows and blankets out in the living room to watch TV. That hasn’t changed. (Well, now I live by myself, so if I want to take my pillow in the living room and watch TV when I’m supposed to be in bed, noone is going to stop me.)
I’d gotten to the point where it wasn’t too bad. I gave up caffeine several years ago, and that actually helped a lot. I hung blankets over the windows. I bought an eye mask to block out even the little bits of light from the alarm clock. It all helped some. I think it still takes me longer to fall asleep than the average person, unless I literally stay up until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. But I was sleeping better. Getting a basically full night of sleep, not having too much trouble going back to sleep when I woke up to pee or get more comfortable.
But then I joined Weight Watchers and Roller Derby. Weight Watchers is a problem with my caffeine intake. I like to get a pop when I go out to eat or hit a drive thru, and I don’t really want to give that up. Unfortunately, most places don’t offer an option that is both diet AND caffeine free. So I have to choose between taking in caffeine, or spending upwards of 8 WW points on a caffeine free beverage. I usually choose the caffeine.
And then, the roller derby. I get up at 5 in the morning for work. (Okay, more like 5:30 or even 5:40 by the time I stop pressing snooze, but that’s not the point.) We have two practices in the middle of the week that don’t even start until 8:30. By the time I get home, get showered, blow dry my hair and wind down enough to go to bed, it’s between 11:30-12:00. That is NOT enough sleep, and that’s when I can manage to fall asleep and stay asleep, and that doesn’t always happen.
I feel like I’m always running on a sleep deficit these days. Sometimes I can catch up on the weekends… but then last Friday I ended up being awake until almost 1:30am, and was still out of bed by 7:30. Ouch. Starting to wonder if sleeping pills would be a good option. Especially on nights like last night… I didn’t have derby so I was able to go to bed at a decent time and get a full night’s sleep, but needed a little help. I’ve heard a lot about melatonin, but haven’t tried it. Do you have to be able to “devote at least 8 hours to sleep” like you do with most sleeping pills or other PM medications? Cause I’d like to fall asleep and stay asleep, but I don’t always have 8 hours to sleep in one stretch. I love roller derby, but man, it keeps me tired! I got a full night’s sleep (thank you Midol PM!), but I’m still feeling a bit tired and looking forward to my nap after work!
