Hey chicks.
I've always had a very different sleep pattern from the people around me, even as a kid. I stopped taking naps at age 2, and 25 years later I haven't taken a nap since.
I have a hard time turning off my brain to fall asleep a lot of nights - a good night is one where I only lie awake in bed for half an hour - and I always wake up early (7:30-8:30 AM) even on weekends or when I stay up till 3 AM. Even when I'm sick, I never sleep past 10:30 and have trouble making myself rest.
I think that some of this is insomnia, and some of it is probably just the way my body and mind work. I always hate saying stuff like this, but I think it's a factor: I have a very high IQ. Sleep bores me, and so does waiting for sleep. My mind searches for stimulation constantly, and I think that exacerbates my problems falling asleep and staying asleep.
As a kid, I was taught that if I couldn't sleep I should "rest my eyes" by staying in bed with the light off and my eyes closed for however long it took to fall asleep. But I sometimes have nights where I wind up doing that for 3-8 hours, and when my alarm goes off I've been laying in the dark awake all night. (And yes, I've tried sleep aids. I've actually had nights where I took sleeping pills and then didn't get any sleep a couple times.)
Recently, I've started to wonder if "resting my eyes" is really the best course of action. I'm sure it worked great for my parents - who never believed I had trouble sleeping - to tell me to just lie in bed quietly all night, but is it really the healthiest option? I'm wondering if it might not be better to get up for a bit, turn a light on and read a book or take the dog for a walk, then try again.
Anyone else have trouble sleeping? How do you handle a bad night?