Sleeping

Sleeping is both one of my best friends and one of my worst enemies. I love sleeping, absolutely love it ("That's where I'm a Viking," says the Simpsons database in my head), but it messes up my life more than anything else.

Part of the reason is because I'm a night owl and keep ridiculous sleeping habits. It's a paradox, I love sleep, but I hate going to bed. I'm like a little kid that wants to stay up and see what's happening, even if it's just wasting hours playing Scrabulous.

I rarely go to bed before 1:30 a.m., and then I always regret it in the morning, when I have the following waking schedule....

6 a.m. - First alarm goes off. I turn it off and fall back asleep. I've done this for at least 15 years - I love waking up when it's still dark outside and knowing I have another hour and a half for precious, precious sleep.

7:30 a.m. - Second alarm goes off. I reset it for 8 a.m. and fall back asleep.

8 a.m. - Third alarm goes off. I either get into the shower, or reset it for 8:15 a.m. and fall back asleep.

And this is why I'm so tired all the time.

I end up desperately needing a nap after work, and, like last night, I usually succumb to one. This is always a bad idea, as I lose precious leisure time to exercise and play guitar and catch up on episodes of LOST (I'm on the third disc of Season Two, so no spoilers, please) and finally watch that DVR'd episode of Who's the Boss where "a hungover Angela remembers kissing Tony... but nothing else."

My co-worker Sarah says this lack of sleep could be the cause of my frequent headaches and other ailments, both major and minor.

On her suggestion, I'm going to go to sleep at midnight every weeknight for the next two weeks, starting Monday, February 4. I'm not looking forward to this test, but I'm gonna do it, anyway.

Also, I think I'm gonna just use one alarm, 7:45 a.m. And wake up no matter what.

Wow, just the thought of this makes me want to go back to bed. But I can't and won't... because I'm at work. If I was at home, on a rainy day like today, I totally would.