I did it again. Fell asleep in the big chair at the table, watching TV after supper. Now, I'm awake, my back hurts, it's 1:48 A.M., there's nothing worth watching on my 72 channels of satellite TV, the coffee's hot, and I'm not especially sleepy after my nap.... So the question is, "What do I do now?"
It's a question I've arrived at under very similar circumstances all too often lately. And it's my own fault, of course. A few months ago, I wandered into the big office supply store about four blocks down the street from here, into its furniture section at the back, where a nice young man and I got into a long conversation about office chairs, and which is better, the traditional types, or the kneeling style ones. I tried them all, and bought a kneeler for $145. It works very well, and does improve your posture and keep your lower back in a better position - but as the name implies, it does affect the knees. So I went back to the same young man at the office supply, for something else.
He asked, "Was there something wrong with the kneeler?" And I replied, "No, the something wrong is with my knee - the one I wrecked showing off on Blackcomb one day about 25 years ago. I thought it had healed years ago, but that kneeler got it all upset again - so let's try something else, shall we?" He said, "Would you like to return the kneeler?" And I said, "No way! I really like that crazy thing, and it's great for when you want a change from the usual, but now let's look at 'usual' - make me a deal I can't refuse..." So he did. And I've got this big deluxe office chair, leather, adjustable five ways from Sunday, very comfortable - did I mention you can sleep in it?
The Italian aerator on my kitchen tap set finally wore out last week, and I went looking for its newest incarnation at the big building supplies supermarket near the waterfront yesterday. Sunday is a good day for that, because all those self-employed contractors who usually haunt the place on weekdays are all at home sleeping in, or out golfing or skiing or fishing, and you've got a nice relaxed atmosphere in which to browse to your heart's content. Anyway, there I am admiring a rack with almost every imaginable kind of fixture there is for sinks and tap sets, and I found the thing I wanted, plus a couple of its other family members. There's now a deluxe model with a little more chrome and a double swivel action between the spout pipe and the wet end of it, and it's got a fat middle section, like one of my old girlfriends, for easier handling. Costs $15.58 + tax. I only bought one. That and one 150-watt CFL (uses 40 watts) light bulb for the desk lamp came to $35.69 with the tax. I must be getting stronger in my old age - years ago, I couldn't hardly lift whatever you got for $36 at the lumberyard, which is really what this elegant place really is. It's a lumberyard with a hardware section that got out of hand, and now includes $3,500 hot tubs, and $4,000 barbeques along with the floor tiles and nuts & bolts and glue and paint and gardening supplies. It's a man-trap is what it is - you get in there, and if you're lucky, you escape in time for lunch. So in retrospect paying them $35.69 to turn me loose and let me go home wasn't so bad after all.....
Circadian Rhythm Disorders describe the types of insomnia caused by disruptions inyour internal biological clock.
ReplyDeleteSunlight is the most important cue, but it’s not the only one. Other factors help, too, such as sounds, smells, artificial lights… plus your hunger and energy levels at various times of the day.
All the cues help the internal clock set itself for a 24-hour day. This helps us to fall sleep at roughly the same time at night and wake up on time in the morning.
It’s easy to ignore the internal clock, but it does have consequences. And that’s when
circadian rhythm disorders come in as one of the main causes of insomnia, especially in nightworkers and people with irregular work schedules.
Interesting note: almost all sleep
deprivation studies involve
disrupting the sleep cycle to measure this particular effect of insomnia on the participants.
If you have this problem, you may find yourself going to bed later and later at night and having a lot of trouble waking up on time in the morning.
Resolving this type of insomnia requires patience – because it will take a while to adjust to a new earlier, more consistent schedule – and a certain amount of will power because you won’t want to go to bed when you need to.
Those after supper "naps" of 6 hrs.; 4:00AM coffee breaks makes sure you are a canditate for your internal clock settings disruption.You have the McVittie GS sleep syndrom.
@ Pete -
ReplyDeleteYep, old habits die hard, Peter.
Especially if you aren't trying to fix them.