Tired vs.Sleepy

If you were to look up the word "tired" in a thesaurus you would find sleepy as one of the synonyms. Heck, even the dictionary uses the word sleepy as part of the definition. I don't disagree that they are similar but I find myself compelled to clarify whenever encountering the word tired.

People ask, "Are you tired?" and the answer is "yes". Always "yes". But not sleepy" because, for me, tired doesn't mean sleepy. In fact, I can be exhausted and still not be sleepy.

Sleepy, can be an elusive sensation. Far too often I struggle to fall asleep at night or find myself waking up in the wee hours decidedly not sleepy. When the sleepiness finally sets in, I try to take full advantage. But it's a delicate state that easily subsides. I must be careful to not interrupt or jar it in any way or it will be gone.

Then there are days when sleepy is the prevailing sensation, as if the flood gates have been opened. The entire body is weighed down by inescapable sleepiness. On these days I may take 2 or 3 naps and still sleep through the night.

This back and forth sort of makes me long for pre-chronic pain days when I was awake during the day and sleepy at night. Regularly.