Everyone I know wants more sleep. The youngsters want to sleep in, the party animals in their twenties are recovering from big nights out, and those of us with children below waist-height are desperate for an uninterrupted slumber.
Except me.
I’ve been working with a nutritionist recently, for a health feature I’m writing, and she’s particularly keen to address what she calls my ‘sleep issues’. Apparently working till midnight, then reading for an hour, is not conducive to a good night’s sleep. No surprises there, but what do I do about it?
I am not an insomniac, in the true sense of the word, but I struggle to get to sleep. I can be desperately, achingly tired, yet still reject sleep, because I can’t bear the thought of such a long period of inactivity. Rather like my children, the idea of an ‘early night’ is horrific: what a waste of time! All those hours when I could be working, or reading, or clearing the house, or… doing something. Anything. I lie in bed, thinking of all the things I could be doing, totally unable to relax sufficiently to actually fall asleep. Writing lists doesn’t help: I’m not worried about what I have to do, just keen to get on and do it, instead of wasting time lying in bed.
I’d like to say that, Thatcher-like, I can happily survive on four hours’ sleep, but less than seven and I’m decidedly tetchy. Every morning I peel open my eyes and attempt to prise myself out of bed, ready to stagger through the day until it’s time for bed again. Every evening I tell myself I’m going to get an early night, and every evening I change my mind. Life is too short to spend so much of it in bed.
Objectively, I understand that to consider sleep a waste of time is as ludicrous as deciding food is unnecessary. Both are essential for growth, energy, and productivity. Yet if I could do away with sleep altogether I would: think what could be done with all that extra time…
If you’ve got a convincing argument for why I should rewire myself to embrace sleep I’d love to hear it. What’s so great about sleep, and how can I learn to love it too?