Sleepless in Missouri

A few nights ago I woke up at 3 AM. Unable to go back to sleep, I checked my email and responded to one from a friend in KC. Minutes later a new email appeared in my inbox from the same guy. "You can't sleep either?" he asked.   It's not unusual.   Approximately 60 million Americans - 1 in 5 - experience at least occasional bouts of sleeplessness.

I don't recall ever having trouble sleeping when I was a kid.  Heck, I don't remember ever having trouble sleeping until I got out of college, got married and started a career.  Perhaps there is a clue there as to possible causes of insomnia.

I have accumulated the following words of wisdom regarding sleep, or the lack thereof, for your consideration:

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one" - Leo J. Burke

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book" - Irish proverb.

"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast" - anon

"People who snore always fall asleep first" - anon

"Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds" - JoJo Jensen

"Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up" - anon

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all" - Vince Lombardi

"I'm not asleep . . . but that doesn't mean I'm awake" - anon

Missouri's own Dale Carnegie had this advice for insomniacs: "If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep."

Maybe insomnia is something writers have in common.  Shakespeare expressed it like this:.“O Sleep, O Gentle Sleep, Natures Soft Nurse, How Have I Frightend Thee, That Thou No More Wilt Weigh my Eye-Lids Down And Steep My Senses In Forgetfulness?” 

William Wordsworth wrote a poem about insomnia:

A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one;  the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring;  the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky -
I've thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless . . .


My personal remedy for going back to sleep is a glass of milk and a book. As Tracy Chevalier noted "It is a rare book that wins the battle against drooping eyelids."  In fact, for readers of this blog I offer a sure cure for insomnia - go back and read the archives of this blog (not responsible for injuries caused by hitting your head on your keyboard while reading this blog).

Read This Blog and You Will Be Asleep in No Time!