White Nights

The biggest problem with having lazy days is that I wind up not not being very tired when bedtime rolls around, sometimes blogging late into the wee hours of the night.  Then my mind is so wound up that it's nearly impossible to sleep.  Monkey mind is what this is called in Yoga.  Irritating is what I call it.

The other night, after furiously writing and posting, I finally fell asleep at 5am to the unbelievably loud chirping of the morning songbirds and a detailed analysis of every major earthquake since 1906 on the Discovery Channel.

But it's not only the lazy days that are problematic.  Often I'll return from my daily walk, hot and sweaty, and fall asleep for an unintended afternoon Shlaffstunde. That's blogspeak for feeling like someone has knocked me on the head and re-gaining consciousness waking up 3 hours later, making it difficult to fall asleep by midnight.


Also it still is not terribly comfortable sleeping.  On my back, my heels and back start to ache.  While on the non-operative side, my right shoulder has been taking the brunt of my weight for a while now and is beginning to rebel. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in can be a long and contentious battle with my body, sometimes waking me in the middle of the night just to try to readjust.

Needless to say, these White Nights put me off the following day. It is a bit of a vicious cycle.  So I've decided that I need to be more more disciplined about my sleep routine and I am trying to stay away from the sleeping pills.  Instead, I'm trying some less conventional sleep aids:  lavender and hypnotherapy/white noise apps on my phone.  I'll let you know how those work...


Today I have nothing scheduled which is a good reason to blog now as opposed to the middle of the night tonight.  Also I'm hoping that the Bear will come home early-ish from work and go walking in the park with me.  Because I can tell already that I haven't expended enough energy today.  Doing the dishes, folding laundry and trolling around on Facebook aren't strenuous enough activities to ensure a good night's sleep. 


Having said all that, I am definitely feeling more energetic and less worn out lately as I move into Week 9 post-op and that feels good!  I've got activities scheduled for the next 3 days and I am still trying to attain that elusive balance of doing just the right amount.  Hopefully I'll know my limits and adhere to my strict sleeping schedule. 


And if I have sleep issues, there's always this bear to help relax and put me to sleep.

(Yes, this sorry thing is my childhood Teddy bear.

No, I no longer sleep with it, although I will admit to the occasional hug!)