Well, no, not really a genius. But sometimes I do get these moments of pure inspiration. Like yesterday…
I had been dragging for the last month. Not in a bad mood, not depressed, not anything like that. Just so sleepy that I could hardly manage to keep my eyes open all day! But then, come 9 o’clock at night… suddenly I’m ready to clear out the furniture and turn the joint into a dance hall. I have to force myself to bed by 10. What in the world?
I was worried about my thyroid problem returning. Sleepiness is one good indicator of that type of problem. I had no other symptoms though, so no thyroid issues. I’m out of the concrete bunker and my breathing reflects the cleaner environment. No problems getting enough oxygen. I conclude that my heart is pretty healthy seeing as I’m climbing 6 flights of stairs at least two times a week and hardly getting winded anymore. I’m eating well, socializing, sleeping 8 hours or so every night. That is, since I discovered I really do need a white noise generator.
It gets so quiet here that I tend to wake up in the middle of the night because I’m not hearing anything. And then, I can’t go back to sleep. The white noise generator helps with that. I just turn on my fan and place its flat back directly against the wall. It makes just the right amount of noise. Great idea, that noise generator stuff. Now I am sleeping through the night.
But why am I so sleepy all day long?
I’ve been waking up about 6:30AM on most days; one hour later at the latest. After getting up and enjoying my tea I do my exercises, clean house, go out or stay in. On Mondays I have to teach class from 8AM till 3PM, and then I have an evening class that I host, so I’m teaching for about 12 hours a day. OK, I can see being sleepy on Monday. But dragging? For a month?
Taking a nap is out of the question, I reasoned. If I nap when I am so sleepy I’m liable to sleep for five hours or so, and then what am I going to do all night prior to having to wake up again at 6AM to teach, or 7AM to talk with Gabe? And I know this is not a liability but an actual danger because I have tried napping during the day, when I am at my sleepiest and I have in fact stayed asleep for over 4 hours. That totally messed up my sleep schedule.
And why does my sleep have to be so regimented, anyway? Well, because I’m an ‘8-hour’ girl. I have to have 8 hours of sleep to function properly. And apparently they have to be the right 8 hours.
By the time it got to where I could no longer organize my thoughts, remember my students’ names or which blog entries I’ve sent for publishing, I started getting worried. My classes were suffering. At home, I’d wander through the house aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do with myself. This is not good.
And then I got to thinking: I’m out of whack!
That’s right, Folks, I am completely off my schedule. Normally I wake up about 8 or 9, spend a little time stretching and marveling over my good night’s sleep, and then I throw back the covers and get going on my day. After this and that, maybe some teaching and maybe some going out, definitely some writing and some reading, I’m ready for bed again at about 1AM. This past month I have been operating 33 degrees out of my normal body schedule.
Contrary to what most people believe, I firmly maintain that obeying one’s circadian rhythm is of vital importance to maintaining health and happiness, and performing optimally. And, contrary to what most people believe, I aver that one cannot train themselves to become a morning person when in fact their body is scheduled to power up in the afternoon, or at night.
When I think about it, I realize I have been operating outside of my schedule for longer than one month. During my extended trip across the States I was sleep disadvantaged while on the bus and waking up earlier than usual when I was bunking down at friends/family’s houses. Since I’ve been back in China I’ve been waking up at 7AM so I can get online and chat with Gabriel. That means that, in fact, I have been out of schedule for several months and the effects are just now manifesting themselves.
To put my theory to the test, I forced myself to stay awake till midnight last night. No struggle there! Remember: I told you that, come 9PM I am suffused with energy. I read till about 1AM, when my eyes grew heavy and then I turned out the light…
And slept blissfully! Wonderfully! And woke up at 8AM, fully refreshed. All day today I have not been sleepy at all. I’ve thought up things that I want to write about and actually got some writing done without that frustrating feeling of knowing what I want to say but not being able to get the words out. This entry is testimony to that. Actually felt hungry again for the first time in a long time. Went out walking. Welcomed visitors. It has been a good day.
But now, it is 11PM. I feel myself winding down. So, I’m going to review the posts I’ve written today and then say goodnight. Sleep tight! Sweet Dreams to you and yours.
Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to do when I finally get my Internet connection back. All’s well for now while I am not connected. I can set my own schedule. But, because Gabriel now lives on the East Coast instead of the West, our time is polar opposite. 8AM here means 8PM there, at least till Monday, when daylight savings time kicks in. And then I will have to get up even earlier to chat with my Gabe-Gabe every day.
Oh, well. Let me recover from this last bout of out-of-whackness first. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
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