SLEEP MEANS WINNER-WINNER-CHICKEN-DINNER

Sliding into the finish line for 2017 means that my sleep patterns are totally shot.  I can't hold my eyes open at 6:00 p.m., yet I'm still tossing and turning and making mental lists in bed at midnight.  When I do finally fall asleep, I cannot make it through more than a few hours before my brain wakes me up and is going off at a hundred miles an hour all over again.

So, I play a game.  Upon waking in the night, I try to guess what time it is based on the light in the room from the windows and based on how active a dream state I've been in.  I should probably take this show on the road.  I am remarkably accurate.

This morning I go to sleep ... yes, this morning because it's about 12:15 a.m. when I finally fall asleep ...and wake up randomly sometime later.  I check the window shades.  Hmmmmm.  Hard to tell with the outside lights shining in.  I feel like I slept some, I'm not in the middle of a dream, and I sort of kind of think I might have to pee.

Uhhhhhhhhhh ---- 2:40  I'm guessing 2:40 a.m.

I throw off the 10,000 blankets on the bed (because I sleep with the fan on in a cold room), sit up, grab my glasses, and look at the digital clock.  I am close, oh so close: It's 2:50 a.m. 

Sometimes I play this game when I awaken before the alarm goes off just after 5:00 a.m.  Before I look at the clock, I wonder if I'll get to go back to a deep sleep or just a little snooze.  I feel like a lottery winner if it's before 4:30-ish because that's like still sleeping soundly if I can manage to nod off again.  It's a little depressing when the clock says 4:50 a.m. and I know I will only get in a short snooze.  It's super depressing if I wake up, need more sleep, but realize the alarm will be going off within a minute or less.  Booooo.

The absolute worst is when I struggle to fall asleep, finally do, go right into REM sleep, and wake up twenty minutes later only to start the cycle all over again, struggling to fall asleep. 

Tonight I plan to try and go to bed really early.  Crazy early.  Maybe even around 9:00 p.m.  Of course, the reality is probably closer to 10:45 p.m., but I am hopeful at this point still that my goal is attainable.  At least if I get into bed and read or some such, I am tapping into the relaxation factor.  If I cannot sleep, I can at least give myself some much-needed down-time.  If I doze off and wake up in the middle of the night, I can base my time-stamp guess on how much I've drooled on the book pages.

Hey!  It's MY game.  I can make up rules as I go along.  Just so you know, I'm predicting 4:34 a.m. as one of my wake-up times tonight.  I'll let you know if I'm the winner-winner-chicken-dinner.