I have always had problems sleeping.
I can't ever remember ever finding it easy to get to sleep, even when I'm really tired. I think it's because I have an overactive brain, I really struggle to switch it off, unless I'm Really Drunk, in which case I'm fully capable of passing out anywhere.
However, despite this, It's never caused me any major problems, apart from maybe during several of my GCSE exams when I couldn't sleep the night before and rushed through my papers so I could have a kip on the desk!
My girlfriend is a Sleeping Machine. Due to the whole travelling thing last night, she went to sleep this morning at about 5am. She got up this afternoon at around 5pm, I made her some dinner and then she went back to sleep. I woke her around 9pm, which I then regretted as she was in a Very Bad Mood Indeed. She had a bath, unpacked her suitcase and then settled down on the sofa and went back to sleep Again. I am still awake and now it's coming up to 3am. I don't know if or when I'll get to sleep again. Could be not until tomorrow night, which is fine because then I will actually sleep when I go to bed and I'll be fine for Monday morning when we go back to work.
The reason I love my insomnia is that being unable to sleep has opened up a world to me that I wouldn't know existed had I gone to bed at a reasonable time. As a teenager, it enebled me to discover Japanese Anime, which was only on Channel 4 after midnight on a Friday. Over the years, I've seen countless films that I would've missed otherwise like Susperia, The Haunting (the original black and white), Theatre of Blood, The Ghoul etc etc.
I love old horror films, and many of the ones that they show on TV in the early hours aren't the sort that you would find proudly displayed at your local Blockbusters and I probably wouldn't have got around to watching them under any other circumstances.
I completed Final Fantasy 7 after devoting several weeks to playing the game when I should've been sleeping, I've watched countless documentaries on everything from the Lions in Africa to Notorious Murderers to how the ancient Egyptians built the Pyramids.
I've managed 4 posts today, which is more than I managed in the whole of June! I've read hundreds (literally) of books by many different authors (over the years, not just tonight!).
All these things have been experienced as a direct result of the fact that I don't sleep very much, and I'm glad because they're all part of who I am. It also comes in handy to have lots of useless information bouncing around your head if you want to do a crossword or join a pub-quiz team!
I've tried loads of different tablets and remedies. They either don't work, or work too well and give me a stonking great hangover in the morning. If I'm going to be hungover, I'd rather drink the vodka, thanks. At least then the hangover will feel meaningful......
I gave up on trying to cure it a long time ago, and I really do feel better for accepting that sleep deprivation is a part of my life, and probably always will be.
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