Sleepless in Fort Jennings

by



Sleep fascinates me.

I am an insomniac. I have been this way as long as I can remember. I’ve tried every OTC medication, practically every prescription medication…I’ve done “natural” remedies…everything. I’m starting to think that I’m a person who’s not meant to sleep.

I find it intriguing that everyone seems to have a different sleep style. My husband passes out and begins snoring (sometimes) as soon as his head hits the pillow. Which infuriates me, by the way, because I’m trying desperately to fall asleep, and it kind of sucks to stare at someone who’s already way off in dreamland. But I’ve heard the real test of true love is wanting to strangle your partner in his or her sleep and not actually going through with it. So at least I have that - true love - going for me.

So is anyone else out there one of those people who find it hard to fall asleep at night? What methods have you tried? Has anything worked? E-mail me at saraberelsman@ymail.com and please share if you’ve found something that works! I’m desperate.

It’s just that I lie down at night, and I have a million thoughts racing through my head at lightning speed. I close my eyes and see flashes of color, images darting back and forth…no matter how hard I try to relax, (it sounds weird to say “try hard to relax,” but that’s me) nothing comes of it. (Luckily, the Hallmark channel plays marathons of The Golden Girls all night, so I have them to keep me company. From the bottom of my heart, sincerely, I want to thank Rose, Dorothy, Blanche, and Sophia for being a friend.)
I want to find all the night owls out there and see if maybe we can figure this out together. Unless I was really born nocturnal, like an actual owl…is that even possible? I’m starting to think so.
I am bewitched by what happens when I do actually sleep. I have the most vivid, real dreams. I remember them every time. I also have lucid dreams, which means when I’m dreaming I realize I’m dreaming and I can control what I do in the dream. It’s insane. But I think I love it. I have the most ridiculously real, Stanley Kubrick-directed dreams.

It’s interesting to me too, that some people don’t ever remember their dreams. My husband rarely remembers his. I enjoy interpreting dreams when they do happen. I really think that my dreams have a lot of significance. They always seem to be a subconscious manifestation of whatever I have going on in my life, sometimes presenting a solution to a problem I’ve been wrestling with when I’m awake.

So if you haven’t done it too often, take some time to analyze your own sleep style. You could possibly learn a lot about yourself. I think I’m going to even start a sleep journal to help me better figure out the meaning of my dreams and maybe what helps and doesn’t help me fall asleep. I’d love your feedback on this, so again, feel free to e-mail me! Until then…
Sweet dreams.