i need a nap

i think it's been about 5 years now that i have been getting on the average no more than 4-5 hours of sleep per night.. and on a few nights a week - even less.. sometimes just 3 hours.. eeeeeeeek!

it began with stressing over a very bad marriage.. i would force myself to stay up as a punishment(who was i punishing: me? him?) - then after a period of time, it became habit.. i then became addicted to chatting on the internet, and would stay up all night chatting and playing canasta online.. then when i met my gorgeous guy, we started staying up together into the wee hours because we enjoy each other's company so much.. it doesn't help that we are both night owls..

it makes for big ol'ouchies when the alarm goes off at 545am..

i really don't think i am alone.. an NBC Today Show poll shows that nearly half of Americans say they don't get enough sleep, and roughly one-quarter get fewer than 6 hours a night..

SIX HOURS??? what's that? you could call me rip van winkle if i got that much in a night!!

they go on to say that never before have work and play stolen more hours from the sandman - between a global economy that demands increased productivity and a technology-fueled entertainment machine that provides non-stop diversions, it's a wonder people get any rest at all...

i can relate -- although i have a job that i fortunately don't bring home with me, i am caught in the trap of the entertainment machine, plus i just love spending the evening with family.. it's amazing to me how slowly the work day drags by, when the evening zips by and it's midnight and later before we even know it.. there's just too much fun stuff to do at night -- dinner, tv, talking, feeding the Miko (Doug's cute little sugar glider), and of course, sex..

what to do then to keep up? getting more rest, of course, is the answer.. but i swear to you, we try hard to get to bed at a decent hour.. but it rarely happens..

one cool solution i found online is something called metronaps .. there are only a couple of cities now that offer this alternative to sleep deprivation.. these are super cool sleep pods where one can purchase passes to take naps during the day.. too bad there isn't something like this where i live, or probably where you live either..

another solution, called the 'polyphasic' system, is not for everyone - in fact, i bet it's not for hardly anyone.. the polyphasic sleep routine - sleeping for 20-minute stretches once every four to six hours, around the clock - is a bit extreme.. steve pavlina, who practices this, says for the first three weeks he was "pretty cranky, but now I'm just fantastic" .. he even says he is rested.. he sleeps a total of about three hours a day.. he sleeps on the sofa, while his wife sleeps through the night in the bed.. he says that during his odd routine, he gets lots done, including baking in the middle of the night and serving as the family watchdog while the rest of the household sleeps.. analysts say they aren't sure about this, citing that there could be health implications on down the line, and adds that the best approach remains "getting in a good six to eight hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m."..

yeah, right..

of course, there is always alcohol or sleeping pills.. we definitely drink, and yes, it can make you pass out, but it's the fun we have while we are drinking that keeps us awake! we still pass out very very late..

i guess i will just keep on with my crazy sleep schedule.. hitting the sheets about 130a-230a every night, listening for the 545a alarm, and dragging myself out of the bed about 630a.. i can't really complain - it's a good life.. fun, family, tequila, rum, "24", "Lost", movies, karaoke at Bleachers, and sex!

as my mom always said: "you can always sleep when you die"



there ya go...