Over the years, I've known a number of people who enjoy studying theogony. Although I have a very limited knowledge of gods and goddesses, once in a while there’s a Greek (or Roman) goddess whose name just seems to fit as a poem title or, as in this case, a blog post.
Nyx is the Greek goddess who personifies night; she’s the daughter of Chaos. These two sure try to cause me a lot of grief! To clarify a bit: I’ve never been a sound sleeper or one who can sleep more than three or four hours a night.
For most people, when nighttime comes around, if their body’s circadian rhythm is working well, sleep follows. Not in my case. Nyx or not, Ms. Chaos seems to knock about in my cranium, keeping me awake.
My mind is a jumble of thoughts and ideas, memories and questions, projects and possibilities. Most of the time, worry or anxiety is not an issue. Pain or physical discomfort of any kind is not an issue. I don’t fret and sigh while tossing and turning.
I’ve tried all the OTC remedies and herbal remedies. I've tried just about every time-honored bit of advice on how to get a good, long, solid night’s sleep.
I would never become a patient at a sleep clinic because there’s no way I could turn my brain away from acknowledgement of the attached wires and machines that are hooked up to monitor the subject.
I don’t fall asleep at my desk, nor do I feel groggy during the day. I do sometimes daydream of how wonderful it might feel to have slept solidly and soundly for more than a few hours at a time.
There was a time I chose to be concerned about my “lack” of long, deep sleep because studies seemed to show humans needed a certain amount in order to repair the body from the day’s mental and physical assaults and travails. Over the years I’ve concluded I do NOT need the sleep-science requisite 7 ½ to 8 hours of sleep a night.
There was a time I chose to be concerned about my “lack” of long, deep sleep because studies seemed to show humans needed a certain amount in order to repair the body from the day’s mental and physical assaults and travails. Over the years I’ve concluded I do NOT need the sleep-science requisite 7 ½ to 8 hours of sleep a night.
After reading a recent National Geographic article on sleep, it’s possible I finally have a bit of an answer for what I consider my poor memory for many details of past events, as well as the reason I find such enjoyment in discovering new words and derive so much satisfaction from reading and writing.
The studies posit the idea that people who receive mostly REM sleep do better at "pattern recognition" tasks, such as grammar and those who experience deep sleep are better at memorization.
So, I’ll grab at any sleep research straws that help me accept my sleeplessness as normal ... for me; seems much easier than grabbing a bunch of Zs!
