Day 10 - Sleep

Oh how do I love sleep, now.... When I was ten a man came flying through my living room window and for over a decade after that I didn't sleep much. Actually I still have problems at time. I would spend my late nights cleaning, reading, and watching movies. Then I would doze off for a couple hours and start my day. This was my life for far too long.

Even though I often ran on two or three hours of sleep I was rarely tired. Then every couple weeks I would sleep for like twelve hours. When I was in high school my friends often teased me about being on drugs because while they slept I would clean up after all of them. It wasn't until I got into my early twenties that I realized the toll not sleeping was having on my body.

When I was twenty-two my boyfriend at the time worked with me and it finally got a little better. I started taking melatonin and going to bed at an earlier time. I noticed a little difference in my attitude and I felt more rested then I had before. Sadly our relationship ended and then I moved into a one bedroom apartment and my problems started all over again. Living by myself did not help my insomnia. Consequently, I haven't lived alone since.

Battling with insomnia sucks much more then I could ever explain. It's one of those things you'd never understand unless you dealt with it. Being that I dealt with it for so many years it really did a number on me. I wish my parents would have gotten me help for it when I was younger. People gripe about my needed sleep and what is required for that to happen and I just wish for a week they could be in my shoes and really understand what it's like. Perhaps then they'd have a different perspective.

I know I can survive just fine on five hours of sleep but I know it's not healthy to do that nightly. To this day I still don't get "tired" until well past midnight so I have to make myself go to bed before that or I'm in trouble. I also can nap now, I could never do this before, and it's amazing! Now I just love sleeping. That being said I still have sleeping issues. I can't fall asleep to noise (unless I'm super exhausted which is rare) and I often wake up throughout the night. I'm not sure which is worse. On those nights I just can't fall asleep I have little tricks I do that help. I'm hoping that my sleeping problems will go away entirely.

*Kristin, Brie, and I 2008