Monday 23 January 2012

The Demon Drink

Several times in the past, I've mentioned experiencing something like insomnia. Every so often, I'll be lying in bed, wide awake, well into the morning. This happens regardless of what time I go to bed, though I'll freely admit I tend to go to bed not long before 'tomorrow morning' begins, and sometimes quite a while after. Sometimes it's because my mind is racing - if something's bothering me, for example - but sometimes I can't identify any reason.

It has been said that there's a state of tiredness where you go beyond mere tiredness and into a weird, hyperwakeful state... and it certainly feels like that sometimes. I've only once stayed awake almost all night and, even then, eventually got to sleep.

On a whim, a few weeks ago, I decided to have an alcoholic drink while watching a late movie. This actually happened several times over the space of a couple of weeks (who knew there would be so many late movies I was sufficiently interested in?) and, on each and every occasion, I managed to get off to sleep almost immediately after reading a chapter or so of whatever book I was reading.

Perhaps I should have made a connection, but I genuinely didn't...

...Until I'd spent a couple of weeks without any alcoholic nightcaps and having trouble getting to sleep again.

It strikes me as a Bad Thing that I might 'need' to take a drink before going to sleep - surely alcoholism lies down that path - but perhaps it suggests that I'm tense? Maybe I need to relax?

Clearly not having a job to make me tense and grouchy is making me tense and grouchy.

In other news, 600 posts, 4000 pageviews... Gosh...

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