For those of you who listen to the podcast, you know I've been having some SIReous sleep issues over the past few months: difficulty breathing, choking, massive daytime headaches and generally constant fatigue. Tonight, I'm heading into the Sleep Lab at Mass General Hospital so they can jack me in to the Matrix and figure out what's going on.
I think I know how it all began, though. For years, I challenged sleep to a duel, and now, sleep is kickin my behin-y.
I was in college from 1995 - 1999, and generally got about five, maybe six hours of sleep a night, for FOUR YEARS! I settled on a 2am - 7am pattern after experimenting with some karazy routines my freshman year including:
Sleeping four hours a night
Sleeping eight hours every other night
Perpetually cat-napping
Just plain not sleeping
I considered sleep to be the enemy of my hyper-active life. "I'll sleep when I die" was my attitude, and a lot of my friends were jealous. They thought I had an unfair advantage and could get more work done than they could. Here's the catch though:
I don't remember college!
I'm hardly kidding. There is so much from those four years which is simply gone: people's names, classes, cafeteria silverware (the one thing college does provide in preparation for the real world).
After college, I kept this up for a while. I would work until 11pm then go out till 2am, then get back to work by 8am. I knew I had a problem when I woke up one morning and found a partially eaten chicken wing in my clothes dresser. I didn't remember even buying the chicken!
So years later, I have at least abandoned my overt anti-sleep stance, but now sleep is having its revenge and not giving up the quality stuff.
wish me luck!
I think I know how it all began, though. For years, I challenged sleep to a duel, and now, sleep is kickin my behin-y.
I was in college from 1995 - 1999, and generally got about five, maybe six hours of sleep a night, for FOUR YEARS! I settled on a 2am - 7am pattern after experimenting with some karazy routines my freshman year including:
Sleeping four hours a night
Sleeping eight hours every other night
Perpetually cat-napping
Just plain not sleeping
I considered sleep to be the enemy of my hyper-active life. "I'll sleep when I die" was my attitude, and a lot of my friends were jealous. They thought I had an unfair advantage and could get more work done than they could. Here's the catch though:
I don't remember college!
I'm hardly kidding. There is so much from those four years which is simply gone: people's names, classes, cafeteria silverware (the one thing college does provide in preparation for the real world).
After college, I kept this up for a while. I would work until 11pm then go out till 2am, then get back to work by 8am. I knew I had a problem when I woke up one morning and found a partially eaten chicken wing in my clothes dresser. I didn't remember even buying the chicken!
So years later, I have at least abandoned my overt anti-sleep stance, but now sleep is having its revenge and not giving up the quality stuff.
wish me luck!
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