"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told." -Mark Twain









3.06.2012

Tell All Tuesday--Sleep (or not)

I have probably written about this little idiosyncrasy before, but it is one of my more odd traits, and therefore bears repeating.
I do not sleep very much. 

It is nothing that is intentional,
it is just me.
For as long as I remember I have not
required much sleep.
Just this past weekend,
I did not go to sleep at all on
Saturday night.
I stayed up and got things done that 
I needed to do.
To the contrary of what my Hubs thinks, 
I have no control over my
needing minimal sleep.
He still tells me ALL these years later,
"If you just lay down and close your eyes, you will fall asleep."
HA!!! He could not be more wrong.
I can get by on 
FOUR hours of sleep.
.......at. the. most.
......every.  single. day.
I never have one of those collective moments where
it catches up with me
and I am exhausted.
Unless I got two or more days
without sleep.
Yes. You read that right.
I can do that too.
I know. I know.
It is very, very weird.
You're not telling me anything I don't already know!
I think there are a couple of reasons behind this weirdness.
The first one is that my mind doesn't shut down very easily.
It is going, going, going all the time.
I am always thinking of something, or reading something or writing something.
I have thought about this and tried very hard to let my
brain rest,
but it always seems to be thinking, reflecting, creating, summarizing, planning or just meditating.
The other reason, and the strongest argument for my 
Night Owlness
is that it is genetic.
My sister and brother do this too.
My Dad and (late) Uncle.
My cousins.
My second cousins.
Much of my extended family on my Dad's side.
Frequently on Facebook if I get on and look late at night, 
or in the wee hours of the morning, 
the people that are on-line
are my relatives!
Somewhere in time we were just 
not given the 
sleep gene.
I know it has to be hard for a "I-need-my-sleep-spouse"
to live with a "I-just-need-a-quick-power-nap-spouse". 
But long ago my Hubby and I made peace with that fact.
I use my time in the middle of the night
to get things done, 
to read,
to clean
or to just relax.
When all five children were home that was usually the only 
time I had with true peace and quiet!
I keep thinking as I get older, I will get tired.
Well, not yet.
My Dad is 75 and he is still going without sleep
on a regular basis.
I readily admit it is odd that a person needs no 
more than 4 hours of sleep on a regular basis.
I readily admit it is odd that once (or twice) 
a week
I go without any sleep at all in a 24 hour period.
But it is what it is.
Is there anyone out there (not related to me)
that does this too?
Just wondering....from one Night Owl to another.....



8 comments:

  1. I often don't get more than 4 hours sleep but it is not a good thing!!! I lose my mind very quickly and by the second day of not getting enough sleep I don't function very well. The third day I won't drive a car or use a sharp knife.
    The main issue I find is the lack of dreams when you don't sleep enough, for me anyway. When I finally do conk out for the whole night I dream non-stop about all the things that I have done over the previous couple days as if my brain needed to archive these things but didn't get a chance to.

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  2. When I have started a new project or getting ready to do some big event in my life, I think and plan in my sleep...weird? yes! The other night I planned the estate sale all night long and I am always thinking of what and how to paint something, in my sleep. I require about 6 hours of sleep but I do get tired...cat naps work great for me.

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  3. How very interesting.

    I've always required 8-9 hours of sleep each night. Plus, I'm the queen of naps. :-)

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  4. Wow, that's wild! I need lots of sleep. In the evening I often can't wait to go to bed because my legs are bothering me. I just get twitchy and need to lie down. Plus I love going to sleep. But you've made me think about getting time to myself when everyone else sleeps, that sounds nice! I almost never have alone-time, which has always been very important to me.

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  5. I need at least 7 hours of sleep a night or I'm a bear but I kind of wish I were more like you ... you must get a LOT done!

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  6. I have read that Martha Stewart also needs only 3 to 4 hours of sleep. Me? I need about 7 but can manage with 6.

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  7. Laurie3/12/2012

    OH, now I really want to be more like you! I have horrible sleep issues (also genetic)and have to take sleeping pills to get sleep! Problem is, I NEED sleep! Like a toddler who doesn't get a nap---cranky! Ugh! I could go 24 hours or more without sleep too, but you wouldn't want to be around me! Just think of all the things I could get done if I only needed a little sleep. It also explains how you get so much done!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Laurie3/12/2012

    P.S. So, you didn't have that "new-mom-if-only-i-could-get-some-sleep-itis"? Yeah, that explains A LOT too! LOL! Also, do any of your kids share your sleep traits?

    ReplyDelete

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