Feeling Anxious About Not Being Able To Fall Asleep At Night

If only I could sleep as easily and deeply as Gypsy

I love sleeping. Who doesn't? That sensation of giving into the drowsiness, passing over hours seemingly instantaneously, having adventures in dreamland...what's not to love? Well, right now, plenty. 

My sleep is rarely the rejuvenating experience I wish it was. I wake up frequently during the night and by morning I am often quite sore and just as tired as I was before bed. Additionally, I experience a sort of pre-bedtime anxiety. As tired as I am sometimes I lie awake for hours before drifting off or I'll wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to get back to sleep until it's almost time to get up.

When that happens I get out of bed, move to the living room and watch TV until I'm drifting off again. It usually takes hours and always stresses my eyes to the point that the rest of the day is pretty painful. Despite the price I pay for a night like that, it's not really that big of a deal. It's not enjoyable on any level but it's not as bad as day 10 of a migraine. Certainly not worth getting anxious.

Nevertheless, as bedtime approaches I find myself getting anxious about possibly not being able to fall asleep. I always want to put the TV on the sleep timer to distract my mind until I'm drifting off but that makes it difficult for hubby to get to sleep. Logically I know the sleep button is nothing more than a security blanket. For whatever twisted reason I've decided that I'll be able to fall asleep better if I can do it with the TV on. That is simply not true. Either I'm going to fall asleep soon after the light goes out or I'm not. And if I don't, I really just need to relocate to the couch.

The time has come to turn the TV off and just go to bed. It may take a while to figure out how to dial down the anxiety but I can definitely turn the TV off.