Another wonderful (not) night of not sleeping well. This time, waking up at 2:30 in the morning. Tossing and turning, growling at the alarm clock displaying the time in its glowing red numbers, almost mocking me that I’m awake when I shouldn’t be!

This not sleeping business is getting old. Not meaning I’m old, because I’m not. It’s just that this insomnia stuff needs to be old news!

It’s especially irritating when your husband asks you why you can’t sleep. Actually, if I knew the answer, don’t you think I’d fix it!!??? Don’t ask me dumb questions! Please!

But it is getting ridiculous. And a lot of my friends are experiencing the same thing. Maybe we’re just thinking too much…so much that we wake up in the middle of the night, our brains going 100 miles an hour while the rest of us says “please stop!”

Go back to sleep already!

Easier said than done. Unfortunately.

The other night when my husband and I were talking about how I was the one with the insomnia problem while he always slept thru the night, at least til 4:00, he decided to give me some ideas on getting back to sleep. Just what I needed…but I listened. Sort of.

It’s amazing how so many people have so many ideas about sleeping and going back to sleep in the middle of the night. If they were the ones having the problem, and they gave me ideas that worked, maybe I’d listen. However…do any of these suggestions seem to work for you?

Counting sheep, right. How ridiculous is that. Imagine a never ending line of fluffy white wooly creatures walking slowly along, baa-ing continually to the point where you want to yell at them to shut up so you can have peace and quiet. Yeah, that sure works!

Or recounting a past moment during the week or month where you were so relaxed you couldn’t help but fall asleep. Like being at the beach, lying on the sand with the warm sun shining on you. A wonderful feeling, until you hear the sea gulls squawking over you and suddenly one of them decides to drop love beads on your chest! Yep, wide awake again!

Or imaging yourself floating on a soft white cloud, high above the earth, just you and a few songbirds flying beside you. Just drifting around, peaceful and serene, until suddenly a huge black cloud appears over the top of you, and lets loose with a huge clap of thunder and a shot of lightning! So much for sleep!

My favorite had to be when my husband suggested I just lay there and “count chickens backwards.” Do shat?? Can you actually imagine a row of chickens, some white, some red, and a few black speckled ones mixed in, walking backwards in a crooked line to some rock song you don’t even like, or maybe doing their own version of the “Chicken Dance.” And suddenly you’re singing that song in your head, and it won’t go away, and you’re past ready to take one of those dancing chickens and perch it on top of someone’s head…and hope it lays an egg!

And then you’re really wide awake!

So what’s the trick to sleeping through the night? Without sleeping pills?

Unfortunately I have no idea. Some nights are like that. Some aren’t.

Cuddling up to a sleeping kitty or puppy is a great idea, but if you’re not careful you’ll wake them up, and they won’t thank you. If it’s your dog, they’ll make you take them outside, and I guarantee that won’t be fun! And you certainly won’t go back to sleep then. If it’s a cat they’ll demand to be fed, and in a very loud and annoying way!

Get up and work, or read, or watch tv? Well that’s an idea, but unfortunately you’ll end up falling back to sleep about half an hour before it’s time to get up. And be wasted for the rest of the day.

Get on Facebook and see who else is awake? That’s an idea. But all you do is share your misery. Misery may love company, but not at 3:00 in the morning!

Unfortunately I don’t have a solution. Just a problem I need to solve. And I don’t have any magic answers.

How about you? Are you in the same boat? If you are, let’s hear your solutions. We could all benefit from them, I imagine.

Even those chickens walking backwards in front of you, just waiting to be counted! They probably don’t sleep well either.

Let me know what works for you!

Night night…..