sleep, glorious sleep

There is this article on the Runners World website about American distance runner Tera Moody and her issues with sleep. Many of you know that I cherish my sleep and can nap like a pro, but I have also blogged in the past regarding bouts of insomnia. This article could not be better timed. Over the past week or so, I have been struggling with waking up in the middle of the night between 1:45 and 3:30. Sometimes it is to go to the restroom, but often times I simply wake up from a dream, startled, and choose to get up and go to the restroom for fear of having to wake back up again in an hour. I wish I could figure out how to stop waking up at 2:45am. I stay up for at least 30 minutes, if not an hour. During that time, I try to lay really still in the bed and relax my body and mind.

Marriage sure can mess with a sleep schedule. I really wish Chad and I were on the same schedule. He gets up routinely at 5:45am, but usually doesn't go to sleep until after 10:30. I get up at 4:25 three mornings a week, 4:40 one morning, and try to sleep as late as possible on the other mornings. Really, I'm completely exhausted most of the time. Sometimes in middle of the night, when I am up at 2:45, desperately trying to lay still and fall back asleep, his breathing seems so loud (and he doesn't even snore!). I don't know what I would do if he was a snorer, so I definitely consider myself lucky. In a dream world, I would like to get up at 6:30am each day, get my run in at 7am, and go to bed by 10pm to ensure sleep by 10:30pm. I would more closely match Chad's schedule and still get the long stretch of sleep that my body needs.

Anyhow, I related to parts of the article. I appreciated the emphasis that was put on sleep's role in athletic performance. Seems like most of us could use more sleep.