Counting sheep

Insomnia runs in my family. Perhaps not as genetically predictable as blue eyes or curly hair, it nonetheless weighs in disproportionately among my people, including my mother, brother and me. Falling and staying asleep is a challenge. Once there, we are light, fitful sleepers. I am both awed and aggravated by those, like my husband, who lay their heads on a pillow and magically fall asleep. I joke that I can barely count to ten before he is snoring. How does he do it?

We may raise sheep here on our farm, but mentally counting them doesn’t get me to the Land of Nod. I have learned to get up and read, or wash dishes, or write blog entries rather than trying to force myself asleep. Unfortunately, I’m not particularly creative late at night, so, no, I’m not secretly writing the great American novel in the wee hours. Luckily, I function well on 5-6 hours of sleep, though I don’t always get that.

As I write this, it’s after midnight and I’ll get up in less than five hours. Are you up, too? Or, maybe you’ve found a nice homegrown remedy for insomnia. Let me know what you do when sleep is elusive. Maybe you’ve got that novel underway…

Tags: insomnia