Ok, today I'm thinking about sleep. Specifically, how difficult it is for me to have good sleep.
First off, I am NOT a good sleeper. I sleep very lightly. Even in our (former) big house, the front door opening and closing was enough to wake me up. From a floor away.
There are a few things I require before sleep is even an option. (Wow, I'm high maintenance.)
- Smooth, cool sheets. None of this flannel or jersey nonsense. Just plain cotton.
- A cool pillow. Nothing ruins my ability to sleep faster than a warm pillow. My face gets too hot and I seriously can't sleep. (Re: high maintenance)
- Usually, 2 blankets on the bed. I like a thin, woven-type blanket on top of the flat sheet, followed by a comforter. We keep our house pretty cool in the winter to save energy and I like the flexibility of having 2 blankets on the bed in case I get hot or cold.
- Darkness. I have friends who could sleep on my kitchen floor while I'm baking cookies. I am not one of those people. Ideally, the room I'm sleeping in has blinds covered by curtains. If I can see stuff I end up with my mind churning and thinking... don't ask.
- Bedtime routine. Before bed, I have to read. I always have a semi-trashy girly novel next to my bed to help me unwind. If I don't do this it takes me hours to fall asleep. Not good.
- And last but not least, I have to have a fan running. Ceiling fan or other type of fan - it doesn't matter. But having a fan helps me tune out the little noises that would definitely keep me up at night. It gives me a blank canvas of noise to help me tune out my day.
The nights before weddings and other important events, I stare at the ceiling all.night.long. I discovered while traveling once that taking a Tylenol PM or some other PM product can help "take the edge off" my sleep anxiety and help me sleep in strange places.
Oh yeah, that's another thing - I can't sleep in a new place for the first night. So when I travel, I am usually up for more than 48 hours straight before I sleep. Makes me a real gem to travel with, I tell you.
So I've made plenty of sleep confessions for you to mock me for. What's the weirdest thing?
Are you a good sleeper? A bad sleeper? A light sleeper? Do you sleep a lot? I wanna know!
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25 Classy Comments:
Awww...sleep...how i luv thee!!!
It's difficult for me to do so properly though. This is why i'm such a night owl :)-
I need cool sheets as well and a feather pillow for my head. Many...and i mean MANY blankets are best, as i feel i'm a bear in hibernation trying to get warm. Lol
I would say for the most part I'm a sound sleeper but it's the falling asleep part that's tricky for me! You could say I am a high maintenance sleeper as well- whenever I go out with my friends they always want to just crash wherever someone has a couch but I just am not into that. I like being in my bed and I'm the same way in a strange bed, I just can't fall asleep! I am an anxious person by nature so if I am anxious or nervous about something, forget sleep, but otherwise, once I'm asleep, I'm out for the night!! haha I'm sorry that I just wrote all of that out haha but I just decided to share!
Haha, this was such a good idea for a post! :)
I love sleeping with a ton of blankets. I can pretty much sleep anywhere except airplanes...I cannot sleep at all on them, which really sucks.
I love Nyquil when I can't sleep though I haven't made that a habit. I also read before going to bed
I am a very poor sleeper too.
I worry a lot.
This sleep business has been an up and down struggle for my of my life.
I have found though that a magnesium will help. It might take a time but it will calm the nerves.
You sound JUST like my husband, the things that need to be in place before falling asleep, inability to sleep in new places, etc. He just has a beer, watches CSPAN and tries to fall asleep. It's frustrating!
Oh girl, I am the same way. I hate sleeping in funny places and have a very difficult time doing so.
Also I have the hardest time falling asleep! I get REALLY hyper before bed and cannot stop giggling/annoying the boyfriend... however once I legit close my eyes, he says I am out like a light.
Seeing that parenthood deprives you of sleep, I can now fall asleep instantly when the opportunity arises. However, I also have to have a fan on, and I have to read before bedtime. I too have a bedtime routine. It helps my 2 yr old unwind and it allows me to clear my mind (something that is not easy to do). Happy Sleeping!
Oh hun I wish we could share some of my heavy sleeping capabilioties! A plane could land IN MY HOUSE and I wouldn't wake up. While that sounds great to light sleepers - it's no good. I have slept through MANY alarms and dogs whining to go out, etc. I can't even tell you how scared I am to have babies - I don't want them to have to cry forever to wake me up!
We both need a happy medium! :)
I do love your routine! I'm a big advocate of the cotton sheets and cool pillow! I also loved this sheet spray that B&BW used to carry - and of course they discontinued it!
I get 9 hours every night. I love my sleep and I need it.
I would hate if I couldn't sleep.
This sounds JUST like me! I have to have both a ceiling fan AND a little fan, affectionately known at my house as my "little hurricane." Back before husband and I moved in together, I would cart that fan back and forth between his house and my house everysingleday and would run back to my house at 1 am if I forgot it. THAT is high maintenance!
Wow, I could not ever imagine being a light sleeper. I sleep like I'm in a coma. The walls could literally be crumbling around me, and I wouldn't wake up.
I have a sounds machine that basically sounds like a fan...I take it everywhere otherwise I can't sleep! After reading your list I think I am high maintenance aswell!
I'm a really light sleeper, if teh dogs move, I'm up, if my husband gets up, I'm up. I also require two blankets...I'm with you, I need the hot and cold options.
xoxo!
Well, normal me needs absolute silence, no flat sheet, and at least two big blankets, even in the summer. I have to have something covering my ears, so the bugs that turn you into zombies when they crawl in your ears stay away. This normally means I pull the covers all the way up over my head, or if there's nobody in the bed with me, I sleep in a hoodie. Combine all that with 7-9 hours of sleep and I'm good to go.
Me right now can fall asleep whenever, wherever and with whatever (well, you know, for blankets). Having a baby that doesn't sleep more than 4 hours at a time will do that to you :)
You can label me high maintenance too, at least when it comes to sleeping! I need a lot of it (by a lot I mean like 10 hours is just great), a dark, quiet, cool environment (a fan is a must), and a comfy bed with my body pillow and lots of blankets. To top if all off, I love to have my boyfriend to cuddle. :) Cuddling makes everything better.
That sounds pretty rough about not being able to sleep for 48 hours! I can't imagine! I think I should try Tylenol PM sometime when I can't sleep. Good idea. :)
lol nothing sounds weird about it to me. I have all the same requirements plus one. I have to have a humidifier turned on in my room. Something about the noise soothes me.
I am such a light sleeper and wish I wasn't. There can hardly be any light, and I mean even from an alarm clock. I will turn it so it doesn't face me. The ceiling fan has to be on even when it's freezing. My feet get cold, so I have to have socks on. Sometimes I take Benadryll if I can't sleep!;)
I still can't believe that I wake up EARLY for work, and everyday you posted on twitter before I even get in the shower! You are crazy!
But, you are like Ryan. I have always said he's a vampire who doesn't need sleep. I'm the opposite. I can sleep anywhere, with the lights and tv on. It's still a curse though - I sooo wish I could get by on less sleep.
I think it's funny what you said about sheets. Ryan and I have been arguing about this lately, bc I want to get some flannel sheets, and he's so not having that!
My sleep habits have recently changed from when I was in class to now (in internship). Now, if I don't go to sleep before midnight I'm a zombie. I NEED like 8-10 hrs a night! Plus a nap! So, that's what's weird with me. I need too much. I hope your sleep habits get better soon!
Oh my gosh...I have the same issues! I have very specific sleep requirements too and have a terrible time sleeping in new places. I usually bring earplugs and a sleep mask when I am at a hotel, especially if I can't bring a fan. Also, I must always have at least 2 pillows. I have to apply chapstick and have a glass of water before bed. I also have to take a Tylenol PM to fall asleep sometimes. White cotton sheets only. Room needs to be extra dark and a small fan must be running.
I thought I was the only one! lol.
Ahhh me, toooooo!!!!!
This isn't weird, but I need quiet. The worst way to keep me up is to snore in my ear. I won't sleep anywhere near my boyfriend or dad because of this.
I sleep like the dead! I can fall asleep anywhere since I sleep curled in a ball (which is good for airplane rides!) and once I'm asleep I'm out for the count. I actually literally slept through a tornado on our college campus my junior year. And it was a major one--FEMA had to come in bc half the townspeople had houses flattened, everyone in my sorority house cowered in the bathrooms...and I slept through the whole thing.
My brother tho, sounds like you. If he has a huge day and can't fall asleep, he takes something called "Benahol" that his neuro-oncologist told him about. Take a spoonful of Benadryl and a shot of whisky, and it'll knock you out immediately for a good night's sleep. But only every so often use it!!
And now I've written you a novel lol. :)
I'm a really poor sleeper too. It takes me forever to fall asleep and I wake up often during the night. I have always just dealt with it and never really had issues with it, but now that I am trying to track my fertility it causes major issues. I feel like I am never getting a try basal body temp because I rarely get 3 consectuive hours of good sleep! Ugh!
I'm totally a high maintenance sleeper, too! I just got back from a trip with three friends -- and four girls sharing one hotel room? Yeah, I'm lucky I got any sleep at all! The littlest things set me off and keep me from catching any shut eye. And at one of our hotels in L.A., I swear that the people in the room next door were having a party... and someone kept knocking into the wall right by my face. Unacceptable!
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