Stop drinking coffee after 3 p.m. Turn off all devices at least two hours before bedtime. Don’t exercise after dinner. Don’t think about the past, or stress about the future. Don’t beat yourself up about every little thing you messed up today. Yesterday. In the past 10 years. Ugh…
Anyone who is sleepless has heard it all. Read the research, done the work, or at least tried. But what if you don’t want to turn your TV off two full hours before bed? What if the time between 10 p.m. and midnight (or later) is the only alone time you get to watch some mindless sitcoms, or some exciting, shoot ‘em up, not-appropriate-for-kids TV. Then what?
It just so happens that I like drinking coffee. In fact, I love it. And I’m sure I drink too much of it. Does it contribute to my sleeplessness? Probably. Also, I exercise class at 7 p.m. a couple times a week and, most importantly, I watch really intense TV dramas before bed…which, not coincidentally, is much later than it should be. I could stop doing all those things and go to bed early, meditate and drink chamomile tea.
Thing is, I’ve tried cutting all those things out and I became a (still sleepless) clueless, out of shape and out of touch grouch instead of a fit and dialed-in grouch, er… I mean, adult.
So, to hell with good sleep habits. I drink coffee, exercise and stare at a flickering screen when I want (or actually find the time) and I embrace my sleeplessness. Insomnia gets a bad rep. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Some of the world’s most successful artists, scientists and leaders attribute some of their best ideas to sleeplessness. Leonardo da Vinci followed the Uberman sleep cycle (taking six naps in a 24-hour cycle) and never slept more than two hours a day. Charles Dickens was an insomniac, and would walk the streets of London in the middle of the night. When in office, President Barak Obama was said to only sleep 5-6 hours a night. He went to bed around 1 or 2 a.m. and was up by 6:30 or 7 a.m.
I am NOT recommending you only take six naps a day or that you run around the city in the middle of the night but I am suggesting that there’s something to be said about embracing sleeplessness. Something pretty magical happens when you’re tired. Much in the same way that having a couple of drinks lowers your inhibitions, fatigue frees your mind.
According to a study by Mareika B. Wieth, a Professor of Psychology at Albion College, people come up with more creative solutions to problems when they are tired, or during their least-optimal time of day. In her experiment, 400 students were asked to solve analytical and creative problems at their peak performance time and at their most tired. And although predictably, the students did better on analytical problems (such as solving math equations) at their most-optimal time of day, they did better on problems requiring creative solutions or at “thinking outside the box” during their least optimal time of day. When you’re worn-out, your inner critic gets the hell out of the way and considers ideas you would have rejected when well-rested.
So, the next time you’re awake in the middle of the night, rather than obsessing about the time and stressing about, well, everything, silence your inner critic, grab a notepad and let your mind wander. Write, doodle, walk around the house, read a good book or just listen to your partner’s snoring, your kids’ slow, even breathing, the voices in your head or the ringing in your ears, and embrace them. You might just come up with some life-changing ideas.
What do you do when you can’t sleep?
I love reading your insights on insomnia dear Meline. Your writings are so very helpful and most definitely remind me that I am sooo not alone when I can’t fall asleep and/or wake up in the middle of the night for what seems like no reason and I find my mind wandering as I wait for my eyes and brain to “shut down” again. Reading you is helping me fight is less and less against my insomnia as I attempt to be mindful about it. Not easy, but little steps for sure as I keep in mind your guiding words. 🙂
I have no problems falling asleep, but I usually wake up after four hours and then have trouble falling back asleep. I will try out your suggestion to be creative! On the rare occasions that I sleep through the night, it feels like heaven! My husband routinely sleeps only 5 hours a night, or less. He can get by on so much less sleep than me.
Middle-of-the-night insomnia is a huge problem for a lot of people. Try writing down all the things that are running through your mind. You’ll hopefully be able to put those ideas to bed (literally), and get back to sleep knowing you’ve already got a jump on tomorrow.
Love this post, Méline.
My sleep has been (every so) slightly better lately. I’ve been getting up at the same time (almost) every day. And I make sure to read a book in bed before (not) falling asleep.
Thanks, Steph! I’m so glad to hear you’re sleeping better. Even if it’s just a bit better than before. Have you tried journaling? My next post will be about ways to declutter the mind with journaling. Stay tuned!