Elusive – I’ll Sleep When I am Dead

Sleep eludes me almost every night. Sleep eludes my children almost every nap time. 🙂

Sleep is elusive.

Our bodies need rest. Our minds need rest. I need rest.

My poor boys do not know how to sleep through the night. I am pretty sure they get their night owl status from my husband and their restless brain syndrome from me. They are doomed.

People ask me all the time how I keep going on such little sleep, I smile and say, “I’ll sleep when I am dead.” We laugh and then I worry that might actually be when I truly am able to find rest.

I have done a lot of research on parenting and sleeping and even more research on how to get my body to be at rest. All of the research suggests limiting caffeine and sugar intake, establish bedtime routines, and avoid stimulating media devices before bed. Tried all of these, but the lack of caffeine may kill me before the lack of sleep.

The bedtime routine seems to make my kids crazier. The second I mention baths, pajamas, or bedtime all hell breaks loose and my sweet angels are hanging from the ceiling fan throwing down remnants of their uneaten suppers. It is hard to find a restful state in this situation.

When I talk to other parents and my pediatrician about getting them to sleep, everyone has advice or ideas. We welcome any and all ideas, but my favorite ones involve my friends taking my kids for the night so I can get some sleep. (For some reason, my kids will sleep anywhere but at home.) The problem with this idea is that when my kids are gone, I still can’t sleep.

What is wrong with me????!!??!

Prayer, melatonin, meditation, reading, and soaking in my tub are all things I have tried to bring myself to a restful state. Often these things help me fall asleep but staying asleep just doesn’t seem to happen. I really do think I have restless brain syndrome.

My dreams are so weird I usually don’t want to remember them. Forgetting is easy, since I am so tired. 🙂 When I do wake, falling back to sleep is tougher yet. Plus being tired diminishes my resolve to get rest, so I eventually get up and work on something. (Usually my fun and inspiring blog http://www.intentergy.com) If ever you are kindly checking out my posts and see a typo, remember I need rest. 🙂

If you find yourself in the same sleepless situation, know that you are not alone. Take comfort in the fact that sleep is not for everyone. To ease your mind, feel free to visit http://www.intentergy.com and share your comments on the world as discussed by Intentergy. Just kidding!

My wish for each of you and myself is that we can find peacefulness and security. Peace and security that will allow us to rest soundly and benefit from a mind and world that is without anxiety. It is my full intent to put energy into pursuing rest for my mind and my body so that my children can reap the benefits of a mom that is not worn too thin. But if rest won’t come now, I can always smile and say, “I’ll sleep when I am dead.”

By: Melanie A. Peters