To Sleep or Not to Sleep? That is the question.

For as long as I can remember I have always been a fantastic sleeper. Tired or not I could always fall asleep no matter where I was. However in recent months I am finding it quite difficult to fall asleep even when it's bed time and when I do fall asleep it has been harder to stay asleep through the night. I am not sure what is causing it, perhaps maybe stress from the upcoming nuptials or my crazy work environment? Who knows. So I thought I would look up some causes of sleeplessness so I can be one of the many over-analytic Americans that constantly self diagnose themselves and here is what I found.

According to  post in The New York Times the following could be some causes of sleeplessness in adults :

Causes:

Aging, Alcoholism or abruptly stopping alcohol, Anxiety, Bed or Bedroom that does not promote sleep, Depression, Frequent Urination, Grief, Illicit street drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine, Jet Lag, Lack of exposure to bright light or sunlight, Restless leg syndrome, Stress and Worrying during the day, Too much stimulation at bedtime.

First I must comment on a couple of those as I feel it is perfectly necessary.

Aging: I find this cause of sleeplessness absolutely disturbing considering I am aging every day of my life and I love sleep. So does that mean the older I get the less sleep I will get?

Illicit Street Drugs: Although I do not participate, it just makes me giggle that this is a legitimate "documented" cause of sleeplessness. OF COURSE you aren't sleeping if you completely COKED out of your mind. I have never heard one case of someone saying "Man that was some great coke... Now who's ready for bed??".

Restless Leg Syndrome: I SWEAR I have this sometimes... but it mostly affects me being able to fall asleep not when I am actually asleep. Well now that I think about it, that sounds about right because it is preventing you from falling asleep in the first place...

Lastly...

Too much stimulation at bedtime: If you ask me it just sounds like a very boring night without it and in my experience it "stimulation" is so relaxing I am able to fall asleep immediately afterwards. :)

Okay with that said I feel there are a few causes of sleeplessness that were not included in the official New York Times post that have caused me many of sleepless nights. I believe it is important that these causes are acknowledged because they continue to be a growing epidemic in this country

Obsession with Candy Crush: With its bright colors and candy shop themed music, I often find myself submerged in the land of confectionery and burning away my retinas into the wee hours of the night. "Sorry babe I can't turn it off I still have 3 lives... I must clear all the Jelly... I must clear all the jelly!!"

Addiction to Social Media: To be more specific visual social media such as Pinterest and Instagram. There have been countless nights that I have scared the hell out of the husband-to-be, because while he thought I was fast asleep, reality is I was in silent reverie and awe over all the amazing, creative ways I can spruce up our pad. As well as completely bewildered by the things my friends and family are so brave enough to capture in the big world of pictures.

Suffer from an Overactive Imagination: This is one I suffer from on the daily when having a fiance who insists that the Veiled Lady from Insidious or Evil Witch from the Conjuring is keeping residence in our closet. I don't know about you but when I am extremely tired shapes and images just begin to appear in the dark and the slightest bit of movement in the light-less room is enough to make my mind reel for hours on end.

So all in all it turns out that I may be bringing the sleeplessness on myself... Well it is what it is I suppose, I guess there's always coffee!  The floor is open to discussion, let me know if there are any out of the ordinary things that keep you from sleeping. I'd love to hear them.

Until next time kids... Hugs, kisses and butt slaps! - The Dame