I often suffer from insomnia.
I go to bed and just lie awake for hours.
Sometimes I might fall asleep for an hour or two and then wake up and be unable to fall back asleep. I try to make myself stay in bed with my eyes closed and rest. It gets boring. Rather than just do nothing, I often get up and get things done. I might clean out the refrigerator, wash the floors or do laundry. I might read, watch a movie or play around on my computer. It’s not unusual for me to decide to workout at three o’clock in the morning. I am fortunate to have a home gym where I can exercise without disturbing anyone else. I can turn on the lights, play music and jump around and not wake up the rest of the family. Although I start out feeling tired and sluggish, I usually end up having a really great workout. I’m so frustrated at not being able to sleep, I have a lot of excess energy to get rid of. I spend about an hour going through a dedicated warm up, weight lifting, crunches, various types of lunges and different styles of cardio. I might run on the treadmill, pedal the stationary bike or jump rope. I make the workout count and push myself until I’m out of breath, sweating and my heart’s pumping hard. I’m careful about drinking plenty of water. I then take a shower and crawl back into bed. Although I’m wide awake, I am less frustrated about the insomnia. At least I know I’ve been productive. I can also allow myself to sleep in a little later than usual because I’ve already completed my workout.