Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Sleep Cycle: Friend or Foe?

Women in my life who are a smidgey bit older than me are always telling me all the wonderful things I have to look forward to when menopause finally descends upon me- particularly the part where a lack of sleep is involved.  Terrific.  One more thing to anticipate that will leave me in a-very-bad-mood-mister due to lack of blissful, uninterrupted sleep.  I mention this because I am, of late, sleep deprived.  Experts say that a complete sleep cycle lasts from 90 to 120 minutes.  Apparently, my family is very aware of that fact because they seem to wake me up at just the right time….just the right time, that is, for me to be wide awake and unable to return to my much coveted slumbers.  ONE complete sleep cycle is simply not enough to ignite my mom-is-such-a-kind-and-wonderful-person attitude.  On the contrary.   If my coveted seven hours is interrupted what they get would make Genghis Khan run for cover- speedy quick. 

At night, I tend to leave Hubs asleep on the sofa without awakening him for his own protection for self preservation- - I REALLY NEED TO GET MY SLEEP.  Hubs can sleep anywhere anytime.  Just coming off a nine hour sleep?  No problem. He sits down and falls right back off to sleep.  Just coming in from work?  Just coming in from outside?  Just sitting on the sofa watching a movie?  Just HAD a blasted nap?  NO FREAKING PROBLEM.  AT ALL.  And, about 2 minutes into his sleep, he starts snoring.  I don’t mean a little snorty snore here and there.  I mean the kind of snoring that makes workers in a buzz saw factory with machinery going at warp speed and over 1000 active buzz saws being tested turn and say, “What’s that noise?”

Oh, Hubs is not the only one who likes to live dangerously.  Don’t get me wrong on this one.  It is completely wonderful when the kids come home.  And, when they are here, I want them to have their fun.  I want them to enjoy the food I prepare for them. I want them to see their friends who still live here.  I want them to sit back and let Mom cater to them (which they have no problem allowing me to do).  Blah, blah, blah.  But then, at the same time, there are some things about having an empty nest that you just can’t beat.  It’s called quiet, peaceful calm.  And it disappears the very moment the tornadoes kids burst through walk in the front door.  Their first night here this weekend (Thursday), they came in around 3 a.m. speaking in those wonderful whispers that people who might be a bit tipsy tend to speak in (I call it whisper shouting), turn on every light in the house, go in kitchen and make noise like they are short order cooks in a diner in New York City during the busiest lunch they’ve ever worked because they absolutely MUST have food in an attempt to counteract the effects of their alcohol consumption AND, wake their dad.  Who comes to bed, lies down and, within those first two minutes….Buzz. Saw. Factory.   Of course, Hubs, who is very helpful in this type of situation, says: “They’re only here for a few days and then there will be plenty of time to sleep.”  Thank you so much Mister whatsthebigdeal.  Easy to say when someone has had twelve hours of sleep.     
  
Everyone was gone by 8:00 p.m. Sunday and the house was back to its three inhabitants: Hubs, Tucker, and myself.  Boredom Quiet and calm descended upon us just as quickly as it had left us three days prior.  For about 30 minutes.  When Hubs fell asleep... and began snoring. 




28 comments:

  1. I highly recommend MidNite--available at Walmart. Really good stuff. You can take it anytime and not have that groggy feeling in the morning. If you have a Costco handy, they sell Kirkland's Sleep Aid. Several people have told me about this, but I didn't have much luck. It worked, but left me sleepy the next day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sleep, I need sleep. For the past two weeks I've been sick with a cough that won't go away and when it does calm down, then like your hubby mine is snoring or grinding his teeth. I so love it when he falls asleep in his chair where I leave him to sleep a good chunk of the night. It's wishful thinking getting a full night sleep when he goes to bed with me. Oh blissful sleeping, where are you?
    I hope you're feeling better and getting the sleep you need now it's a bit quietier.
    Oh by the way, 19 in March and not to sure about leaving to move to S.C. Maybe the girls could move up here... ;)
    Take care and have a great day. God Bless!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well what can I say? Are we 'telepathic' twins? You are right about the husbands - they are twins too...Hubby launches into a deep sleep and snores like mad almost immediately.
    Love your pictures and boy do I know how you feel:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Join the club, sister.
    We meet every wednesday @ 7.
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can't remember the last time I had a full night's sleep. My sister recommends benedryl. I have yet to try it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't tried sleep aids yet. I used to have a sort of fan that provided 'white noise' (suggested by Dr. Oz, of course) but it stopped working three weeks ago...the last time I remember sleeping the night through...and Hubs says he can fix it. Which may or may not happen in this life time.

    At least I'm not alone in my sleeplessness. And, HOT DOG! There's a CLUB! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, I see we've started off the day in a cheerful mood. LOL

    Try getting any sleep with a cat who wants to lie on your head and purr into your ear!

    (always fun reading your posts. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. P.S. I didn't know there really were people who actually slept through the night. Amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I feel your pain! If there is any little noise or anything "different" going on--I can't sleep! Just like you--I need my sleep to be civil--which is why hubby and I sleep in different rooms. He can sleep anywhere, while I struggle and do whatever it takes to get a few winks. I have one of those little fans for white noise, too! Welcome to "the club"!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't slept for the last two night and had no idea why!!! I'm so excited that it might be menopause - there's got to be some reward for getting older and I figured menopause was it. I hope the sleeplessness thing doesn't last long - I've been known to be slightly irrational when sleep deprived ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Who are the gorgeous Babes in the wedding picture (?). Is that you and your wedding?
    You have an interesting blog..... so perky and upscale.

    I'm one of those "older than you" women and I hate preachy older women so I don't know how to say this with humor. I've found and also the gals I went to kindergarten with, tell me, that diet is what guides your sleep patterns. We are all around 81 and into a natural diet and we sleep very well.
    Manzanita

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh yes, interrupted sleep, one of the 'rewards' of menopause. I tried natural hormones but taking one tylenol PM seems to work better. My hub also can sleep anywhere, and a mouthguard made by his dentist has helped with grinding and snoring!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I changed the diet to healthy in May of 2009. Didn't help with me being a light sleeper. The fan that provided the 'white noise' worked best. Guess I should buy another instead of waiting on Hubs to fix the broken one!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I don't think I've slept through the night since Nixon was in office. At least it feels that way; and of course, the hubs can falls asleep before his head hits the pillow and could sleep through a jet taking off in the next room. Even though it's not his fault, some nights it truly pisses me off.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Alright that cracked me up! :) I have trouble sleeping but my Hubby is like yours- can fall asleep wherever, whenever. Augh, I'm so jealous! :)

    Thanks for your encouragement on my resolutions post! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yep, ya'll I do believe it's a male thing. Sleep anywhere, anytime and do it loudly. Dag~nab~it, after the monthly woes, birthin' babies and menopause it's just not fair. I do hope ya get the badly needed sleep ya need but it did make for some hilarious blog fodder baby!

    God bless ya and have a terrific 'restful' evening sweetie!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Too funny!!! I think sometimes my hubby could sleep standing up.

    He pulled a muscle and is doped on muscle relaxer now, says he's sorry but he can't hold his eyes open...so what's different about that?

    I don't know how many times he has to watch a movie to see all parts of it. He will say, I've never seen this...yes, you slept through it, two nights ago.

    I am at the point in my sleep that if someone touches me, I'm awake...totally wide-eyed awake. Hubby comes to bed after an evening in the recliner and touches me, and then begins to snore.

    This has to be a male condition!

    Sweet dreams!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What is it about men, my husband sleeps just like yours. I don't care when I walk out to the family room he is asleep. Comes to bed and is out before his head hits the pillows. I don't get enough sleep and I end up doing a lot of it in my office on the sofa because it seems like when I go to bed he is snoring. Put in an old movie that I love and fall asleep to it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. My husband can sleep anywhere ... except in bed. Drives me nuts. He'll sleep on the floor, in a chair, at the table, at his desk, outside on the bench. But when he hits the bed, his peripheral neuropathy kicks in and he tosses, turns, grunts, groans and makes the hours from midnight to 7 a.m. hell for both of us. So he usually ends up sleeping on the floor in the study ... and I'm okay with that.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Speakin' of sleepless in the Ozarks, we have a weather front movin' in that's tearin' Hubby's joints apart...up and down all night last night plus the fax that came through at 3:00am didn't help my sleep pattern either...she types with bags under her eyes! Heeeehehehe!!!

    I just wanted to pop over and thank ya for hoppin' on my blog. I sure hope ya'll enjoy the ride.

    In the words of that wild and crazy Granny Clampett, "ya'll come back now, ya hear!!!" :o)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I popped over from VL because when she mentioned your blog name, I knew I had to. I'm in the same stage myself with grown up kiddos!

    I understand perfectly everything you say in this blog post right down to the jackhammer snoring and falling asleep in 2 seconds. My ex did that. We've only been apart a little while so it's all very fresh!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think we all have the same problem with the lack of sleep. One of my friends was telling me that she read a study about women and the lack of sleep which causes fat bellies!
    She said if a woman does not get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, the cortisol levels in the body get somehow messed up ( she did not remember the whole article due to lack of sleep the night before)which causes increased belly fat.
    Well, I only get 5 hours a night..NO WONDER I HAVE A FAT BELLY!!!! The rest of my body is OK but the belly has got to GO.
    Because of my friend, Fibromyalgia, I have sleep disturbances and have been on Tylenol, or Advil, PM for years. I am sure I have built up a tolerance because it does not work as good as it used to.So, for now, I guess I am stuck with the jelly belly!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have come thru menopause without any sleep problems other than the hot flashes that made me sweaty but I'm on the other side of it now and all is well.
    The snoring i deal with is another story though. My Hubs sounds like yours and I wear wax ear plugs. They help soften the sound enough for me to get to sleep and sty asleep.

    ReplyDelete
  24. So THAT'S where all this belly fat is coming from! LOL

    Thanks so very, very much for all the kind comments! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate each of you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Too funny!

    I hate missing sleep. I need 8 hours a nite uninterrupted.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Very funny, and I feel for you sleepwise. An extremely talkative purry cat keeps me awake the first half hour in bed wanting a ton of loving, and then again when I wake up each morning, but love him dearly. I usually catch up on sleep weekends, but 12 hours sleeping each Friday and Saturday night makes the days a tad short, ha ha. Get a new fan. If your hubby is like mine, it might be done by next Christmas. Loved this post.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Try a new pattern for a few days. If I may suggest - start with copying the daily activities of Hubby; the energy he is spending seems to put him in the Land Zz's pretty quick. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wings-Thanks for the visit and follow! I've just found my way to your blog and became a follower-very much enjoy your writing!

    Kipp-He's always been like that. My brother says Hubs is like him- they have a switch on their butts that turns on and they go off to sleep as soon as they sit down! LOL

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
Design by Imagination Designs
Illustration by MerryLittleDoodle
Background by CinnamonDove