(no subject)

[ysobel]

Each morning when I get up -- which is almost never because I have awoken naturally -- I tell myself "tonight, when I go to bed, I am going to let myself go directly to sleep", because being tired sucks. It's not a "should", it's that I very much want to, and plan to, just go to sleep once I'm in bed.

This resolve lasts quite literally until I am in bed with the lights out, at which point I get an overwhelming urge to Do Something. Read, or listen to an audiobook, or watch Netflix, or something. At which point I end up staying up later than I meant to, and the cycle resumes.

I ... really do not understand this.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

I have a small stock of games that are just engaging enough to keep my attention, but not interesting enough to stay awake for, for just this purpose.

Fucking sleep schedules.

[echan]

For me, that time in bed while waiting to fall asleep is boring. When it lasts more than a few minutes it seems endless. I tend to put on music I'm familiar with as a distraction.

[krait]

I think the urge for No, Wait, I Don't Wanna Sleep After All Right Now is a pretty human thing, actually? I dunno, I've always done that -- I have to be flatly exhausted in order to not want to bring a book or laptop to bed with me, anyway. And humans are basically designed so that it's easier for us to push our circadian rhythms out of shape by staying up late than by getting up early, so I suspect it's not just us; I think there's some deeply-rooted thing in that that's true for a whole bunch of people.

[ephemera]

I think you may well be on to something here, because, yes...

[ysobel]

Hm, maybe! (It is a bit reassuring to know that I'm not alone, at least.)

I sometimes wish I were a cat, because they seem to have no problem sleeping whenever they want to and then being awake whenever they want to.

[ysobel]

I use music to fall asleep to -- partly because of the boring aspect, partly to ward off anxiety brain nattering at me, and partly because it helps me track how long it takes to fall asleep based on how much of that playlist I remember hearing.

It's just that it no longer is enough to lie still with my eyes closed and listen to music; I want to be *doing* things argh.