The Answer's in the Zzzzzz's

I went to bed last night tired, irritable and with that "what's the use?" feeling when I had an epiphany type realization that hit me like a lightening bolt. Everything seemed horrible because I was sleep deprived. AGAIN! As a result, the day was a wash. I had gone to a midnight movie the night before and was operating on less than 5 hours of sleep. I felt like crap, and it showed in my attitude. Last winter one of my kids did a sleep study for a school science project. What blew us away was that all six of us were severely sleep deprived. Running on empty, the high schoolers never got their 9 hours, the little guys were shy of their 11-10 hours and the adults didn't get 7 to 8. In fact, my husband and I regularly operate on around 6 hours. Five years ago, my husband's commute doubled, so we regularly wake up to the coffee maker chugging away at 4 am. And we rarely get to bed before ten. I grew up in a family where I never slept well. I was also allowed to develop my continuing coffee addiction way back in the first grade. Amazing! But my sleep deprivation didn't really kick in 'till law school. I had flirted with the occasional study motivated all nighters in college and high school, but my three year stint at U of D School of Law rarely offered me more than 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Then there was having our four babies, ... yada, yada, yada. And now, well, menopause regularly has me waking up for the night at 2:30 am. It's amazing that I haven't killed myself with all the vehicle operation I've done while extremely tired. But I guess the point is now I'm addicted to not getting enough sleep. Feeling less than par is my norm. I've never taken amphetamines, but I recall comparing notes about class mates who were stuck on them with my brother who was in med school at same the time I was studying law. In reality, we were no better off because we used (and still use today) caffeine to get the job done. Here's the rub: The obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes that all run rampant in my family genetic pool could all be reduced by getting enough sleep. Of course, the quality of my relationships and my work would also improve greatly if I managed to get myself in bed earlier. But the central issue is really in my head. Sleeping always seemed to me to be a huge waste of time. (Remember my Human-Doings post last June 14th?) Why sleep when I could be getting so much done? Was I really retaining anything when I was reading and studying at 3 am? Did the laundry really have to be done and put away before I honored my exhaustion? Of couse not. Wouldn't I be healthier and more effective in virtually everything I do if I let my body and my mind rest? Of course, the answer is yes. So, Dear Readers, if you're cronically sleep deprived like me or just shy of the sleep you need for for today, take that nap. Get to bed one hour earlier. Watching GLEE! isn't worth it (though I never thought I'd admit it.) Sweet dreams! Lauren