Nothing can estimate the value of a good sleep or lack thereof. The older I get, the more sleep can be an elusive butterfly and the effect of a limited sleep can be devastating.
As a younger woman, when I missed sleep on occasion, I knew I had the capacity to live the day through this limitation. I pulled energy from another source (not sure where except youth is a source of energy unto itself). I knew that the next night would be a deeper and more restful sleep as a result. But at this age, these factors are not true anymore.
Sleep is something that eludes me on a regular basis and I’m not sure how this can be prevented. Sometimes, I lay awake thinking of concerns or worries, most of which do not materialize into anything of import. Other times, aches and pains seem to wake me too often.
Sleep is one of the things I value the most these days; I consider it a sign of great health and good feelings when I sleep through the night. I can tell my friends are in the same mode as I am when we see each other on Facebook in the middle of the night farming at 3 am.
I am not one of those people who can lay in bed awake; I have to get up and do something to pass the night away. Usually, I watch TV, especially the old movie channels. Watching a good black and white can really give me calmness and peace. On occasion, it makes me fall asleep and restful. Other times when I am too far from the arms of Morpheus, I just go to the computer and try to do something of value.
I wish sleep wasn’t such a difficult enterprise but I understand it is very normal. I have tried sleeping pills and herbal supplements which work on occasion but only on occasion. I have a theory as to why the older we get the more difficult it is to sleep. I think it has a lot to do with an aging body and the fact that we are no longer under warranty. Also, we have a lot on our minds these days: we have a certain luxury…time…time to worry about our relatives and friends, time to think about those who have already passed, time to delve into the future of our lives.
I figure that at least I am alive to frustrate myself in this manner. Living is better than the alternative. Sleep is just one of those special events that escape us from time to time.
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