In praise of zzzz’s
Posted in Blatherings on 08/11/2009 01:39 pm by Michele
Have you seen the new commercial that starts with the song, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year? It shows a dad dancing down the school supplies aisle at the store. Following him are two dejected-looking kiddos who have realized that their summer is coming to an end with school soon to start. Having to get our kids back on a schedule every August was the worst part of them starting school again. I’d wake them up once, then again and again. I didn’t want to turn into a she-beast in the morning. However, some days she was the only thing they responded to. I’ve never really considered myself a morning person. However, next to my family I am. I’ve always thought that if you have to get up, just get up. What’s the point of hitting the snooze? Do you really get “good” sleep in that extra five minutes?
Our daughter Amanda, and her bf, Nate, have put their alarm clock on the other side of the room so they have to get up to turn it off. Yet they tell me they still hit the snooze multiple times. I don’t understand it. If you’re going to hit the snooze five times, why not just set the alarm for 20 minutes later and then just get up- no hitting the snooze? Wouldn’t you get more “good” sleep?
I’m wondering if perhaps how you handle the start of your day might somehow be genetic. Both of our kids are sleepyheads in the morning as is their father. It almost takes a court order to get Doug going in the morning. After waking up, he lays in bed “relaxing” while he watches TV. What’s he have to relax from? Sleeping? By the time he’s done with all his ablutions it’s been almost an hour. When I met Doug in 1982 he had a perm. He’d stand in front of the mirror for 15 minutes with a hair pick, rearranging his curls. Thank goodness that perm is long gone. (That was a truly unfortunate choice on his part for sure.) Now, he’s strictly a wash and wear kinda guy-but he still moves slower than molasses in January. All I know is that it’s a good thing he was never in the military. That would’ve been really ugly.
Last Christmas I gave Amanda a mug with a drawing of a cranky girl on it saying “Good morning? What’s good about it?” (She wasn’t amused.) A joke in our family is that if you talk to Amanda while she’s still in bed and she’ll look at you and growl, “Why are you waking me up???” She’s a slow mover in the morning too-just like her dad. When we were in Aspen we actually heard of a posh hotel there that offers personal wake-up service. They come in, open your drapes and gently rouse you from your slumber. Can you believe that? They wouldn’t have any more luck waking up my group than I do though.
I love to sleep too. I just wish I could get more of it. But between the hot flashes and life’s stresses, sleep for me is hard to come by some nights. Sometimes late at night, I’ll look over at Doug sleeping so soundly and actually feel jealous. I just can’t seem to find that switch you flip that sends you into lala land. If anyone knows where that’s located please let me know. I’ll make it worth your while.
08/11/2009 at 1:42 pm
Right there with you.
08/11/2009 at 1:58 pm
Having an orgasm usually works for me.
08/11/2009 at 2:52 pm
I can’t remember the last night I slept through the night. If seems like forever. I look and feel tired everyday. I’m hoping that one day these fucking hot flashes will stop. Maybe then I’ll be able to sleep through the night again.
08/11/2009 at 4:00 pm
My wife and I have slept in separate rooms for the last 10 years. Snoring was a big problem for us. We get together, but when all is done, we go to our own rooms.
08/11/2009 at 6:09 pm
No OTC remedy has worked for me. I’m leery of anything stronger-don’t want to wind up like MJ.
08/11/2009 at 6:47 pm
Stay away from Milk of Amnesia unless you want the big sleep.
08/11/2009 at 6:51 pm
I’m the early bird, he’s the night owl for 34 years now. Don’t try to change each other. It doesn’t work. Just enjoy your “me” time.
08/11/2009 at 7:46 pm
I have to be the bad ass at my house. I hate it, but I’m good at it.
08/11/2009 at 7:47 pm
Replace all your clocks with new ones sans snooze buttons.
08/11/2009 at 9:50 pm
I know what you mean my husband could sleep through a train wreck and still not “hop out of bed” in the morning.
08/11/2009 at 9:52 pm
I agree with the orgasm idea. It always works for me.
08/11/2009 at 9:58 pm
I used to be hard to get up. But now I can get up two or three times a night.
08/11/2009 at 10:02 pm
My wife gets up in the middle of the night sometimes, also. But her theory is she doesn’t turn on the light or it will wake her up. I guess she is “sleep peeing”.
08/11/2009 at 10:07 pm
Women’s bathroom habits reminds me of being admonished about leaving the seat up. Apparently if women “sleep pee” and the seat is up they “take a bath”.
08/11/2009 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for the good feedback. Doug’s a big fan of the orgasm as a sleep aid. Of course, he recommends that for everything from an ingrown toenail to laryngitis.
08/12/2009 at 9:00 am
About the orgasm, I thought Doug didn’t have any trouble going to sleep! :)
08/12/2009 at 9:28 am
Doug has no trouble going to sleep. He is gracious enough to offer that to me for a sleep aid.
09/04/2009 at 10:33 pm
My Pupster snores like a cartoon bear so I started wearing earplugs. She says I snore too but she can fall asleep at the drop of a hatand I don’t wake her up. My mind races as I recal the day and stuff that comes to mind from 30 years ago. I never set an alarm. If I do I wake up an hour before it goes off. I just seem to wake up when I have to and I’m uncomfortable just laying there…