Insomnia

If you can swing it, I recommend life as a functioning insomniac.  Contrary to its reputation as the destroyer of souls, a constant, predictable insomnia  is freeing.  I was designed to require little sleep, but it wouldn't matter if I did require it.  I'm just not very good at it.  And so when the rest of  the world is sleeping, folks like me get work done at odd hours, finish the three books we've been reading, and have ideas worth having.

This is not tough guy talk.  There is nothing commendable about getting by with less where sleep is concerned, any more than it would be admirable to require less air.  It's just how you are riveted together.  I've never been one of these Spartans who assure you sleep is overrated, or they'll sleep when they're dead, or any such platitude.  These folks are nothing like me. They are tacitly conceding that sleep is important and feels good, but showing off their tough guy behavior.  It's pride in self-denial, in endurance, the idea of hanging in there to git 'er done, when most couldn't.

As a practical matter, I suspect a lot of these no sleep tough guys are lying.  Everyone I ever  knew who offered that he could go for days without sleep is someone I eventually caught napping.

Thing is, something's up.

I'm sleeping.

Heavily, and well, and a lot.  I fall asleep early and end up uncharacteristically sleeping through alarms.  and I don't wake up during the night.  This, after a lifetime of waking up every other hour, nonsense dreams, and routinely throwing up my hands, saying screw it, I'm up now, and getting dressed at 3:30 AM.  Triathlon season is over, so skipping morning swim practice for Zs is fine -- for now.  I am not troubled, during my off season, to be a single workout per day guy.  And it wouldn't matter of  I were -- this is like a virus I can't shake.  I leave work, go to my kids' practices, ride my trainer for an hour, and pass out.  Often without showering.  Then it's 7 AM and I am waking up and considering rolling over for another 15 minutes.  As opposed to sitting bolt upright at 4:30, and 25 minutes later using a pull buoy and paddles.

I suppose it's possible my body is telling me I need the sleep, but I don't buy it, at age 44, for the first time.

And you normal sleepers -- is this how you feel? Do you wake up after 8 hours feeling sleepier than when you went to bed?  What the hell is that?  I wake up at 7 and am paralyzed.

This better be a phase.  There's a reason this blog has gone unattended like an overgrown garden.  Insomniacs get stuff done.  Just maybe at odd hours.

Insomnia per Ed Norton's nameless character/Tyler Durden..
Love the book, love the movie, love this scene -- but this is the conventional view of insominia.  Well, I dissent.  I hope not to sleep though the night again, and soon.