As I drafted this post on Tuesday morning, I was of the opinion that maybe I should have decided to make sleep more of a priority in 2018. That should have been one of my New Year’s resolutions!

My Fitbit indicated that I slept a grand total of 4 hours and 54 minutes last night (Monday night). I was awake 3 times, restless 11 times, and awake/restless for 34 minutes.

I went to bed late (midnight), and I planned to get up at 6:00. There were three reasons why I was awake for good at 5:00 instead.

One – My elderly cat woke me with a loud, plaintive meow. She’s so old I can’t yell at her. I could shut her out of the bedroom, but I’m a light sleeper. A meow in the hallway would wake me up just as easily.She wanted to go into my youngest son’s room so she woke me up instead (HIS door was closed).

Two – Something seemed to be wrong with the furnace. The heat was on full bore and hadn’t cycled off. I was lying there with just the covers across my waist, arms and legs sticking out, in January! What’s wrong with this picture? I remembered seeing the low battery message on the thermostat screen so maybe that was the problem. It was too HOT to sleep! Note to self: Replace those batteries today. Of course the heat could also be running nonstop because it has been in the single digits outside.

Three – I had a hamburger for dinner last night. It was a good hamburger, and I truly enjoyed it. However, I hadn’t had red meat in weeks. I hadn’t had a burger in at least three months. I (predictably) had an upset stomach. It figures.

And, as a result, here I was drafting a post instead of sleeping.

Numerous studies have proven that chronic sleep deprivation causes health issues. I believe the reverse to be true – health issues cause chronic sleep deprivation. It’s a Catch 22 situation. It’s hard to make more sleep happen most nights.

Once I wake up, I’m awake, and I can’t shut my brain off. I like sleeping. I just don’t think it likes me very much anymore.