A fitful sleep 

We get stressed. We can’t sleep, or we don’t sleep well. Or perhaps we can’t stay awake.

A simple online search reveals a lot of articles about insomnia and other sleep disorders caused by stress. There’s much less about people who can’t seem to stay awake when they are stressed.

Some cases are dramatic, like those discussed in this article from 2013 in The Atlantic: Why some people respond to stress by falling asleep.  For the people interviewed in this article, they cannot stay awake after a stressful incident. People who start yawning in the middle of a fight or crisis.

I completed a DISC training a couple of years back. I’m trying to find my full report. But it said that people like me use sleep as a relaxation tool and coping mechanism for stress. Last night, I nearly fell asleep sitting up on the couch working at my computer. It’s not the first time that’s happened. By the time I got into bed and had removed myself from the stress-inducing computer activities, I felt much more alert.

Still, after a long week, I can rarely sit through a movie when Hubster and I finally get some quality alone time on Saturday nights. He always takes off my glasses after I fall asleep uncomfortably on the couch with my head at some awkward angle and my mouth open, giving the drool some breathing room. The movie ending or the crick in my neck usually wake me so I can make it upstairs to my bed. It’s a glamorous life I lead.

Tonight, it’s the honey bourbon-spiked tea that’s doing the trick. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t count. But it’s pretty relaxing. I should sleep well tonight. I hope you do, too.