Sleepless in Rising Sun

There is nothing on my schedule today that would be deemed exciting or cause me to be anxious.  I do not feel any sense of dread or stress.  I don’t think I’m depressed.  I’m not taking any new medications.  I’m not a substance abuser.  Actually, things are going quite well in my life at the moment.  So, why is it that I can’t sleep?  I awoke this morning at 2:30 a.m.  I tried reading, which normally does the trick, but it didn’t work.  I counted sheep.  I counted my blessings, of which there are many.  I tried to plumb my inner depths to ascertain if there were any hidden frustrations, worries, concerns, etc. that might be holding me a captive to wakefulness. I found nothing!  I even listened to music for a little while, but that didn’t work either.

It is one of the costs of being human that on occasion we have bouts of sleeplessness.  It happens to most of us once or twice a year.  Last night was my first time for the new year 2019!  I expect another similar night will come sooner or later.  Being unable to sleep doesn’t always have to do with worry about tomorrow or our chewing over yesterdays.  It doesn’t always mean we are depressed or under stress. It just happens occasionally.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately 50 to 70 million Americans have a sleep or wakefulness disorder.  According to an article in Psychology Today, “if it takes 30 minutes or more to fall asleep, or if someone is awake for 30 minutes or more during the night at least three times a week—for a month or more—they’re officially suffering from insomnia.”  

I don’t think I suffer from chronic insomnia, but if I keep thinking about it in reference to last night, I’ll probably get it tonight!  

Ah! It just occurred to me why I might have had difficulty sleeping last night.  I think it was those two naps I took yesterday.  I normally just have a little nap after lunch, but yesterday I took a longer one than usual.  And then, I took yet another nap after dinner.  Maybe that’s the reason I was sleepless last night!  Could be?