No Sleep In Brooklyn
Mar 3, 2010 at 3:33 AM It's 3:33. I always wake up or look at the clock at 3:33. Isn't that weird?
My sleeping is so screwed up and I hate it. It's really getting old.
I've been trying to get on a normal sleep schedule for months now and just when I think I have it, I don't. I can't sleep at night. I get motivated at night. My brain turns on at night. I just can't stop thinking. I think and think and think all night long and it keeps me awake. My mind talks to itself, I have this inner dialogue that just rambles on and on about nonsense. To all my friends who tell me I talk too much, I know! Tell me about it! I never. shut. up. Or, rather, my mind doesn't. I mean, if it had little hands and a Mac of its own, it would bust out at least a dozen books a year. (Easily ten pages a night.)
I'm taking a sleeping pill. The normal dosage is two pills but I'm only going to take one because it's already 4 AM and they give me nightmares anyway.
I'm still going to wake up at 9AM though. Because if I sleep in to make sure I get my eight hours, then my sleep schedule will never become normal.
Just needed to vent.
Karyn
Reader Comments (17)
hi karyn! i am inspired by your squarespace blog... nice choice. i've been doing a lot of things the last couple of years since my last blog-intensive existence (three good things) and am about to launch some new blog projects. excited! so i click on you here - and we're both night owls. i know what you mean. EVERY time i look at a clock it's 420 (your post went up at 421)... and this has strictly no other relevance to my life whatsoever!!! everyone i know, live with, etc, likes 420, umm, i'm surrounded by it, and the clock keeps reminding me... but it's not for me. happy 42010! i mean, 2010 :)
Didn't something like this happen in The Exorcism of Emily Rose?
I just googled it, and it did. But do not do any research on this phenomenon, I don't think it will put you at ease.
Been browsing through the web and I came across your blog which I have found interesting....It is very rare that I comment on anyone's blog...unless it draws my "undivided attention"... I must say I do enjoy your sense of humor and your sense of communication to your readers....
My response to your venting out on your "sleepless nights"....whatever happened to counting sheeps? :-)
I understand about the "thinking, thinking, thinking" .... I have some nights that I want to tell my brain to...."SHUT UP! I'm trying to sleep...I get up every morning at 4:00am...except for weekends....or when I don't have to go to work....I just sleep through the day which is till 9:00am...that is the latest for me....I have a dog (cocker spaniel) myself that demands my love and attention....
Could it be that having sleepless nights could be the cost of being a great writer? Anyway....I haven't read your book but I am interested in reading one of your books.
Barnes and Noble here I come!
Hope you have a good night sleep tonight....try counting sheeps! haha!
My naturopath told me that if i wasn't asleep by 11pm, i was more than likely going to be up till 1 am . Because in chinese medicine 11pm-1am is the time for the gallbladder to process the information of the day, so you are likely to have lots of thoughts, and run over the days events in your head!
Hopefully that was somewhat useful!!
This is so wierd. I just went to an artist workshop in February. The instructors name is Bob Burridge and HE always wakes up at 3:33! He has started a painting series on it. I don't think any are finished yet but it must be a creative thing! It must! He's creative. Your creative. I want to start waking up at 3:33! :)
Sleep well, Karyn.
Just thought I'd point out that you were awake at 3:33 on 3/3. A number oddity if I do say so. I hope you ended up catching some zzzz's.
I could have written this post myself. Becoming self employed put an absolute bomb on my sleep schedule. There are many nights when I am laying awake at 4:30 and cannot shut my brain off. I don't think anyone really knows how horrible insomnia is unless they've been there. I was taking Ambien, but then that quit working. Unfortunately, the only thing that really seems to knock me out is a big capful of Nyquil, but it leaves me extremely hung over the next day.
Anyhow, good luck with your sleep. I'm right there with you!
Don't you think the inner monologue is why you are a writer? I have had this going on for most of my life - and used to get in trouble for talking too much at school. I tell myself (inner monologue again!) that the thing that used to get me in trouble is now getting me published (even in tiny increments!) and praised, so it's now paying me back. It reminds me of Dave Barry's story about getting in trouble at school, with his teacher saying (in effect), "Mr. Barry! You can't get through life just by making jokes and wisecracks!" Oh, really? What is Dave Barry doing with his life now? Making a great living, writing his jokes and wisecracks. I rest my case.
Speaking of rest, I "come alive" at night, too, but am married to a "morning person." It was an adjustment, and sometimes we are still making adjustments. I pray that you will find a rhythm that works well for you to get the rest you need, and still have your creative outlets as needed. I wonder if a vacation by the sea would help? The sound of waves, the salty air and water are such relaxing things.
I have been trying to harness that creative energy by actually getting up and writing. But the problem is that even though my brain is mucking about, my body is dead tired. So now I try to outline the next chapter or whatever I am working on the next day so I at least have a road map in the morning when my brain has now decided to pass out hardcore and I am left by myself at the computer.
Julia - That's funny! I was going to say, you know what 420 means, right?
Paul - The producer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose is the same producer of the 20 Times a Lady movie. Maybe that's more than just a coincidence.
Chris & Karen - I believe the inner dialogue and writing go hand in hand because I know not everyone has it. I've tried to explain it to some people, like, "Aren't you always talking to yourself?" and they have no idea what I mean because they aren't. I need to get me that Dave Barry book.
Jo - Interesting thought. I talked to my doctor about my sleep problems and she believes in this circadian rhythm thing, that no matter where you live in the world, your body is most awake at 4am. People who have heart attacks in the middle of the night usually have them at 4am, etc. And she thinks that what I should be doing is going to sleep at 8pm and waking up at 4am. That's crazy to me. Completely unrealistic. But then another friend of mine is a genetic scientist. He studies genes, chromosomes, etc. And he said that they've been studies done that suggest our sleep patterns are written in our DNA. Some people are night people and no matter how hard they try to fight it, they will always go back to that schedule. So, for my doctor to say every single person on the planet is the most awake at 4am is crazy. Every person is different and not just because of habit, but because it's in our DNA.
Cheryl - I like Bob Burridge.
Katie - 3:33 on 3/3... ha! We're both schitzos.
Sarah - I take Sonata. It's a lighter sleeping pill than Ambien, but it gives me nightmares. Maybe you should try it.
Rebecca - Maybe we should get a tape recorder and make our inner voice and outer one? And then when we wake up we can transcribe what we said the night before?
Hi,
Have you tried melatonin - natural sleep remedy which is also amazing for jetlag? I live with a night person and he takes it to get to sleep often. Otherwise meditation to calm the mind? It takes practise but it is a way for you to train your mind and switch it off when you want to, which is obviously not when the next bestseller is about to write itself!
I haven't been sleeping either lately. I'm tired, but I just can't seem to sleep through the night. It's so annoying...but I have been reading a lot as I await Mr. Sandman. (Or Mr. Anybody, really. Can't be picky at my age...) Good luck getting some shut-eye in more than one-hour increments!!
This happens to me a lot too!
I usually have a pad of paper on my nightstand bc I often find myself remembering shit as I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep!
Join the club. My sleep patterns are AWFUL. I usually go to sleep around 3 am and wake up before noon. In the event that I have to wake early and I go to bed around 10pm(like normal people), then I wake up at 2-3 am. I feel exhausted and end up taking a nap by 9am til noon.
I do not take sleep aids/medications. Without them I have nightmares, so I don't need nightNovels.
I second trying Melatonin. We actually use it once in awhile with my 7 year old daughter when she has problems sleeping. She has PDD-NOS, which is a high-functioning form of Autism. (very similar to Temple Grandin) There are times where she cannot shut her brain off and the melatonin helps her to relax and reset her sleep pattern. You can buy it OTC at natural food stores or in the natural section at most grocery stores, it comes in pill, liquid, and lozenge form. My husband and I have also used it and it works great. He likes it a lot better than the Ambien.
I usually use Benadryl to try to sleep; it's non- habit forming and really helps conk me out, and I have no ill effects the next day.
Rozerem may work. It's some kind of funky Melatonin with a delayed release. I'm sure it's marketed with much fancier terms, but you get the idea. I'm on Ambien CR, and I highly recommend it. It does have a few "odd" side effects...sleep eating, is in the official literature. I would add: random Facebooking! Honestly, I'm always in a bit of a panic to see what I may have posted the night before. Being an author, this could provide some excellent sources of humor for you.
Seriously, don't be too hard on yourself. You're trying to conform to what most people accept as "normal hours" for sleeping/waking, and we just aren't all built like that. I think it's so cool that you mentioned the genetic link. I remember my grandmother sewing during the middle of the night, and my aunt always being a night owl. So, I get it honest. Hope you can find a schedule that is comfortable for you, and get some GOOD rest.
BTW, thanks for this awesome, hysterical blog. I was just trying to read one of the entries to my husband, and I could barely talk and had tears streaming down my face from laughter. Thanks.