Peter at The Buddha Diaries tagged me with a meme about sleep. Here is the original post. The object is to answer the questions and tag others. It’s something like putting a note in the bottle and tossing it into the ocean. The note includes an address and a request to send a postcard from where it’s found and then return it to the sea. My son did this once from the Oregon coast and got 11 replies from from places like San Francisco and the Mediterranean. So here are some questions my answers.
1) How do you sleep at night? Is your sleep affected by the national angst? Do you drop off easily, as you always did? Or does it take a while to get to sleep?
It depends on the night. Sometimes I sleep soundly. Others, like last night, not well at all. I’m anticipating a new way of life coming my way and wonder how I and my family will adjust to it. I’ve survived more than a couple sweeping changes to my life already, but this is the one I’m faced with now. Will we be able to keep our house? I don’t know. Will life continue with it’s relative ease? It doesn’t seem possible. I feel I need to make a plan, to do something, but I have no idea what to do or where to start. So we just keep going day by day, night by night.
2) What strategies, if needed, do you use to get to sleep? Pills? Sheep? Late night television shows? And/or…?
I’ve never taken sleeping pills. Nor do I take a drink of alcohol – not for 12 years, anyway. I’ve used melatonin and valerian, but haven’t for years. Usually, when I can’t fall asleep, I meditate. I keep the mind focused on the breath. This helps keep obsessive thoughts out of the way. The drowsier I get, however, the more difficult it is to stay focused. I want to keep my unpleasant thoughts. Perversely, I take pleasure in them. If then I can’t fall asleep, I will get up and read for a while. That helps, maybe. Sometimes nothing helps and I’m awake for hours.
3) Do you wake up in the middle of the night, plagued by obsessive thoughts?
Occasionally.
4) What strategies do you have to get back to sleep?
Same as above in #2.
5) Are your dreams affected? Are they more anxious than before? Do they wake you up in a sweat? Or are they peaceful, innocent, undisturbed by the general malaise?
I rarely remember my dreams. But when I do, I don’t notice any differences from the way they’ve always been. Some leave a pleasant feeling, some definitely unpleasant.
Begging your pardon if you find this intrusive, I tag the following. Respond if and as you see fit. Please link to the original post as well as this one.
