Monday, April 25, 2022

bedtime story

I mean at some point we're going to have to talk about why I'm awake at 2:22 AM, goofing off like a goof... when I know I have an alarm set for 5:30 AM so I can do my green tea and meditation time before the high-schooler wakes up at 6:00 AM for their morning cuddle and breakfast.  

And this is not at all unusual--I've been averaging between 3-6 hours of sleep for years now... and put like that, I'm worried there's going to be some spectacular comeuppance for this. 

In some ways I'm a perfect candidate for fractured sleep because I have family from other continents and time zones--so no matter what the time, I have people on hand to have heart-to-hearts and to text links to hilarious songs like Rowdy Baby (no babies were harmed in the making of this video). 

But also Big A works nights, so we're usually texting and chatting about stuff and keeping in touch and being silly as well. And if he's home, his sleep schedule is messed up by working nights, so I'm hanging out with him then too. And tonight At seems to be up and feeling chatty and is sending me Langston Hughes poems about Lenin and I sent him that clip of Paul Robeson singing to Scottish miners (cross cultural solidarity is my favorite and my boy knows me). 

Anyway, this will all work itself out, or won't. If I'm going to be up all night anyway, I feel like there ought to be a cuddly baby to keep me company at least 😁. 

Pic: The Red Cedar was flooding its banks on our walk yesterday.

7 comments:

Gillian said...

I could not make it on three hours of sleep.

StephLove said...

When you say fractured sleep, do you mean you sleep at other times of the day besides the 3-6 hours a night? That's what North does. They sleep for hours after school and then stay up late at night.

maya said...

StephLove--Is North mostly happy and awake when they need to be? Sometimes I'll get an hour after dinner (especially if kids are watching TV) when I'll fall asleep. Like this: https://www.pocobrat.net/2013/12/the-kids-are-documenting-my-lapses.html

I'm convinced my natural pattern is biphasic and maybe North's too? https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/biphasic-sleep

And I wonder if this article applies to me a bit: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/02/ultra-introverts-nocturnal-lives/622856/

Also, I did a search, and figured out I've been doing this forever. It's too late for me, clearly.


https://www.pocobrat.net/2018/12/not-my-finest-moment.html

https://www.pocobrat.net/2008/01/whisper-hallelujah.html

Nicole said...

Three hours of sleep! I'm tired on your behalf!

StephLove said...

It actually started after they learned about biphasic sleep in psychology class and decided to try it because they had a hard time getting enough sleep on a get-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn schedule.

They are up when they need to be and we've talked to their doctor and psychiatrist about it and they both said if it works for them fine. The main drawback is that we see a lot less of them as we are up at different times of the day. Family dinner has basically gone by the wayside.

StephLove said...

I thought I answered this but maybe not. North is up when they need to be, but we see less of them now that we're sleeping at different time of the day. Family activity night (which started during the pandemic) is a thing of the past and after eating dinner together for most of their life, now we rarely do. I am ambivalent about this, because it is helping them get more sleep, which is a problem for so many teens, but we're losing connection time.

This actually started last fall when they read about biphasic sleep in psychology class and decided to try it.

maya said...

StephLove--I will say being awake when everyone else is sleeping feels very soothing, and perhaps that's what North is craving right now. But but I would be sad about losing time spent together at dinner too. Hugs.

"bad idea, right?"

More meetings today, including two terribly fraught ones... including one in the boardroom where 99% of the portraits on the wall are of old...