Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Calgon, Take Me Away

I lead a rather stressful life. Some (ok...maybe most) I bring on myself and some I have no control over. Well, when we finally found our new house that we decided to buy and I found out it has a jacuzzi tub, I was THRILLED!! I love relaxing in a tub with really hot water and reading. I had told Dean I would be taking a nice long soak the first night we moved in. Well, 6 weeks went by and I still hadn't used it! I was so busy unpacking and cleaning and trying to stay on top of school and everything else that goes along with moving into a new house in a new city. So finally, last night I decided it was time to break it in. The kids were so jealous. They wanted their turn so bad!

I started running the water and it took a LONG time to fill up. (Note to self, start filling it sooner next time.) Then I lit a candle and poured myself a glass of wine. I turned on some soft rock music on my TV in the bedroom, turned on the jets, shut off the light, and climbed in. Wow, those are some powerful jets!! So loud, I couldn't even hear the TV. Oh well! The tub doesn't look that big but once you climb in, it's really roomy. I can almost completely lie down. (Dean got in it the other day with no water just to check it out and he even thought it was roomy and he's 6'2.) So anyways I relaxed in there and it was GREAT!! Definitely will be doing that again soon!


So I thought this would help me finally get a good night's rest. Nope!! Didn't work. For several years I've had sleeping problems off and on. I've possibly pinpointed it to the school year, that's why I'll be so happy when I graduate in May. We lived in a hotel for a month and I slept very little so by the time we moved into the house, I was extremely tired and looking forward to finally sleeping in my own bed. Well, for 1 1/2 weeks, I slept GREAT! Then, it started going down hill. Not sure why. I started taking some sleeping pills and for the most part, they really don't help. They say to take 30 minutes prior to going to bed, well sometimes I'm still awake 2 hours later. And that's taking maximum strength Unisom. I'm so afraid of getting hooked on sleeping pills so I try not to take them too often. And those mornings I get up at 5:30, I just can't take them the night prior because I can never get 8 hours of sleep and you're supposed to allow that with sleeping pills. Lately it's been taking me about 2 hours to fall asleep. Sunday I went to bed between 10 and 10:30 and I was still awake at 12:30. I tossed and turned quite a bit longer before I finally fell asleep and got up at 5:30 to get ready for school. I was tired! So one would think after 4 to 4 1/2 hours of sleep and getting up at 5:30, one should sleep pretty darn good the next night, right?! Well, not me! I took my hot bath, relaxed on my bed watching a little TV until my eyelids were almost closing. About 10:00 turned the TV off, crawled into bed and didn't fall asleep until about 12:30. After I get to sleep, I'm usually pretty good and sleep the night except waking occasionally but fall right back to sleep. Luckily I didn't have school today and the kids are on Spring Break so I got to sleep in. I heard Dean getting ready for work at 7 but fell back to sleep and woke up at 9:00 but wasn't quite ready to get up. Finally at 9:30 I got up because I thought I should get the kids breakfast before they called Child Protective Services on me because they are STARVING!!

If anyone has ANY suggestions on how I can start sleeping, PLEASE let me know!!

Plus, my husband would like to come back into our bed sometime soon. He starts in our bed and then with my tossing and turning and his snoring, clicking, and leg kicking I finally kick him to the guest room because I certainly can't fall asleep with all that going on. Sometimes I fall asleep shortly after he leaves and sometimes I'm still tossing and turning for awhile.

I can't seem to get my head to stop working when I go to bed. I'm always thinking about what I have to do the next day and sometimes jump out of bed to jot something down that I remembered that I don't want to forget. Anyways, when I was out shopping today, I was looking at alarm clocks because both Dean and I want new ones. Well, I decided to buy one with nature sounds and maybe if I listen to some nature sounds (white noise) when I go to bed tonight, maybe that will help me fall asleep! Please cross your fingers. I'll let you know how it goes.

5 Visitors:

Just Mom said...

You are a hard person to find. I remember Dan telling me a long time ago that you told him that you found my blog through a friend whose name started with a J. I checked all the local links (thankfully I started at Amber's site) and found you through Julie. You must like anonymity. I don't blame you. :-)

Anyway ... Sorry about the difficulty you're having sleeping. Have you tried reading a devotional Bible to unwind? It works for me. That's why I fall asleep on the couch -- a lot. Of course, I then wake up at midnight or later and then putter around the house for a couple of hours before going to my bed.

You probably have a lot on your mind, with you being in charge of local and state (?) PBL (as well as your studies). I know it's cliche, but hang in there. The end of the rainbow is in sight. :-)

Aisha

Amber said...

I'm a firm beleiver in my memory foam contour pillow! I woke up in the middle of the night a lot until I got my pillow...it's awesome!
It's kind of expensive ($60) but well worth it!

Andrea said...

Thanks for the advice!

Aisha - I'm not intentionally trying to be hard to find. My blog address used to be listed on my profile but then it disappeared and I don't know how to get it back. Believe me, I've tried! I really enjoy reading your blog! I gave Dan a hard time today about trying to be a college student - pulling an all-nighter! :) And yes, I'm president of DSU PBL, State PBL, and DSU Delta Mu Delta, on top of 15 credits, wife, and mother!! Is there any wonder why I'm stressed and can't sleep?! :)

Just Mom said...

You're going to need to tell us how that white noise thing works out for you. I like Amber's idea too. Where do I get one?

By the way, I'm glad you enjoy reading my blog. I'm glad someone out there appreciates my "musings."

Lori said...

Andrea, We have one of those white noise sound machines in our bedroom and i just love it!
I'm a light sleeper so I hear every little noise outside or inside of the house.

You would think the nice bath before bedtime and reading a book, or devotion or bible might help. Maybe some fresh air and going for a walk to?? Those types of things seem to help me sleep better.
Maybe you just have a lot on your mind. I find that is when I don't sleep well either. I know it's hard to shut off the brain sometimes and not think of anything.

I usually don't have trouble falling asleep. The thing I struggle with is falling back to sleep when I'm woke up in the middle of the night. Sometimes I grab a book and read for awhile and that gets me sleepy again.

I agree I don't usually like to take too many drugs either.