Insomnia, Can We Be Friends?

I hear you. Insomnia is not a friendship that I am interested in nurturing. But I am here to let you know that insomnia can be our friend if we let her in our inner circle!  So I am asking, insomnia, can we be friends (kind of like are you saying yes to the dress)?

As a Fiercely50ish member, insomnia is part of our lives. Sorry. In fact, I am not sure that I have had a full night of uninterrupted sleep since I was 37.

However, you know me, Miss Silver Lining. Remember, my blood type is B+. While I would much rather have a night of a minimum of eight hours (DISCLAIMER: I require a lot of sleep, and trust me you do not want to be anywhere near me if I am without my sleep)  that doesn’t always happen. And we all know what happens when we try to fight something, especially insomnia, it gets us madder, and we are more awake!

Keep reading, please.

I can fall asleep like a newborn baby. My issue is staying asleep. And, I don’t take anything medicinal to help me go to sleep. However, several glasses of my favorite Chardonnay may have assisted in me falling asleep, but alcohol and a good night sleep are not meant to be used in the same sentence.

Back to the blog.

When I do wake up, it is usually in a state of panic. I worry about my family, work and the thousands of other things that at 2:47 am occupy my brain and are so intensified it’s as if the universe has used the world’s biggest sharpie to outline just how dire these issues are and if I’m not worrying, obsessing, over-analyzing, then something is really wrong. Can you just feel the panic with this run-on sentence?  Take a moment to calm down if you need to before reading further.

I am not into sharing when it comes to my sleep and my bed partners. It’s just my husband and me. So, I really got upset when insomnia crept her way into our bedroom. It used to be a big problem until I re-framed the situation and welcomed insomnia as an old friend.

Today, I embrace insomnia. I welcome it as a wake-up call to calmly reflect, contemplate, solve or re-think whatever aroused me out of my slumber.

My mother taught me to have a pen and paper on my nightstand, and I put it to good use. The struggle is real to do that while not waking up my snoring husband, but I can scribble fairly legible musings that I use later for blogs, or quietly type my epiphanies into my iPhone.

So instead of worrying about things I cannot control in the middle of the night, I think about and welcome great ideas and possibilities. We all have them.

During my visitation with insomnia, I don’t let both feet hit the floor because I really don’t want to get out of bed. When these great ideas and possibilities start flowing, I am start to calm myself down. Gone is the panic that woke me up earlier.  Calm invites sleep.

Sleep is divine. Sleep is my favorite food.

I am not saying every bout with insomnia will have a happy ending. But, since we all wish there is more time to our day, I view insomnia as some extra time, albeit uninvited, it’s time.

Happy time change, friends!

#Fiercely50ish!