Genius or too many martinis?

I had a sleep study done many years ago. It showed that I had more than triple the normal amount of sleep awakenings. The average person, depending on age, will wake up 80 to 130 times a night. This is normal, and for the most part, most people do not really notice it. They roll over, scratch their heads, adjust their pillows, and carry on sleeping. Others, like me, hover in a no man’s land of sleep and thought – often unable to tell what is dreaming and what is thinking.

The sleep therapist told me that it is very common for highly intelligent people to have an above average number of awakenings. He asked me, already knowing the answer, “Do you solve problems in your sleep, often waking up to the answer?” Of course, the answer was yes – it happens all the time. I used to design house renovations in my sleep, solve riddles, and invent recipes. (Too bad I couldn't figure out how to save my marriage while getting my beauty sleep!) These days, I do not seem to have too many problems to solve – so my hundreds of awakenings each night just merge into one big AWAKE!

When I had small kids and a career, I used to fight insomnia; unsuccessful at willing myself back to sleep, I would work myself into a bad case of sleep anxiety. The more I worried about not being able to sleep, the harder it was to get back to sleep. 

The beauty of retirement is that now, instead of fighting it, I can embrace it.

There is something empowering about being awake in the middle of the night when the rest of the world sleeps. Right now, for instance, it is 2:36 a.m. I am enjoying a cup of herbal tea while listening to the howling of the wind. An atmospheric river hit the Oregon coast about two hours ago and with the rain there are some very strong wind gusts. The hotel I am in is whistling and howling as the fast-moving air finds cracks and corridors to blow through. It is eerie and ominous. Before getting up, I listened to a very interesting audio book by an American journalist. I then ate a bowl of cereal, figured out where to go hiking tomorrow, and am now writing my blog.

 How many times have I said, “If only there were more hours in the day?” Well….

The normal number of nighttime awakenings naturally increases as we age. Sore joints, having to pee, restless legs, snoring, etc., all play a role in affecting how well and how long we slumber. I no longer have a partner to snort beside me, but man can some scary noise come out of my mouth - I sound like a generator! (It is probably a good thing I now sleep alone… with the eye patches to block out light, the nose strips to help me breath, and splayed position to open up my hips, and the turkey sandwich beside the bed…I am not exactly a thing of desire.)

I recently started growing a medicinal garden and one of the tinctures I make is a wonderful treatment for insomnia. I have given it to a few friends, who then phoned me after using it and said, "OMG, I need more of this stuff!" I started feeling like a drug dealer, and decided I better do a little more reseach on the herb I was using to make sure I was not getting my friends addicted.

Prickly lettuce/Sow thistle secretes a milky white substance which contains lactucarium and hyoscyamine, among other things. It has been used for centuries as a nervine. Much like the drug gabapentin it is a gamma aminobutryic acid (GABA) analogue. GABA reduces the excitability of neurons in the brain. This can have a sedative and analgesic effect. And it is not addictive. (Phew)!

Ideally, getting better sleep without the use of substances (natural or otherwise) is preferred. Doctors will tell you the greatest cause of poor sleep is poor sleep hygiene. That is, too much stimulation before bed, too much screen time before bed, and too much alcohol.

So, if you struggle to stay asleep, try eliminating Netflix and martinis before assuming you are a genius.