From the Desk of Your Favorite Insomniac

I don't always have trouble sleeping, but when I do, it's epic.

I'm now reminded of the rhyme about the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. You know the one: "When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid." That same rhyme applies to my insomnia. Tonight, it is horrid.

There's no telling what the trigger was this time; there are too many stimuli to consider. Perhaps it was the strawberries I ate. You know, too much sugar? Or, maybe it is because I watched the second half of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Last night, after struggling to make it through the whole film, I fell asleep mid-movie. Soundly, in fact. But, tonight, apparently, neither money nor I will sleep. 

Hmmmm.... maybe it was the movie! Or, more specifically, the frustration I felt after watching a love story/Wall Street thriller wrought with gratuitous graphics and bouts of nonsensical cinematography. Ahem. Moving on.

It could also have something to do with the fact that I can't escape the sound of snoring drifting in from the other room. I don't know who is worse, Jamie or the dog. I'm having trouble even telling them apart.

Anyway, enough with the What Ifs, a few things are certain.

Firstly, my gender. More women experience insomnia than men. Secondly, my room is chilled thanks to this frigid New England January and my reluctance to turn the heat past 62, and extreme temperatures make falling asleep more difficult.

And, lastly, the most unfortunate discovery is that the actual culprit is probably the glowing twenty-one inch screen that stares back at me as I type this. Studies show that any direct bright light - specifically the kind of blue light found in naturally occurring daylight, computer screens and cell phones - stalls the hormonal sleep triggers that your body uses to tell you to sleep. Basically, my body things it's still daylight, and it's telling me to stay awake.

So, while I thought this blog entry would ease the pain of another sleepless night the fact is, I may just be pushing my REM cycle further away.

If you have no reason to hit the sack right now, stare at your blue light a little longer and read more here.