Perhaps you’ve been asked this party conversation starter: if you could have one superpower, what would it be? Usually the choices are things like invisibility or flying. For me, the answer is a no-brainer. It would be the ability to never need sleep. Imagine all the extra time one would have to get things done, save the day, organize the closets, combat villains, etc.
At the very least, being able to sleep restfully at night would be my current choice. It might not seem like much, but getting unbroken sleep during the night is really such a blessing. It’s not something you think about much until it eludes you, as it has with me lately.
One speaker at a UPC women’s conference a few years back compared a woman’s mind to the Windows operating system–we are capable of having so many windows open at once that we sometimes must make a conscious effort to close those which are not important at the moment. In the middle of the night, my mind feels like a bunch of open windows which won’t respond to my frantic mouse clicks.
What strategies do you use when you can’t sleep at night? Do you get right out of bed, not trying to fight it? Do you use the time to pray, to reflect on scripture, or perhaps sing yourself a favorite hymn?
September 9th, 2008 at 10:05 am
If only you lived in the Twilight universe, you could just become a good vampire! Problem solved.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I mostly pray, but do sing hymns also. It’s amazing how much this helps in getting back to sleep. God must think it’s pretty silly…oh, here she goes again trying to go back to sleep! But I am confindent that He will help me get my rest.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I do a bunch of different things. I usually pray before I go to bed, so if I can’t sleep I don’t pray again. Unless what’s on my mind is prayer. I’ll usually get up and do the thing that’s on my mind when it keeps running at night: work online, writing down things I need to do the next day. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie I know will relax me. Sometimes I’ll read a book. Gosh! I do tons of stuff. Lately I’ve been drinking a tea about 30 min before bed that calms my mind. The brand is “Yogi Tea” and the type is Bedtime. I get it at Target.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I don’t know why, but about the only thing that seems to help me fall asleep when my mind is totally running is simply reading something good and fairly lengthy. It doesn’t seem to matter much how interested I am in the topic, even if it’s a great book or interesting chapter. Sooner or later, my eyes can’t fight it anymore and they get tired and I drift off to slumberland.