Coping with insomnia as a writer…

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It feels like I’ve had trouble sleeping my whole life. Even as a child I struggled to get a good night’s sleep. I worked odd hours in the navy, and preferred the night shift when I had a choice. As a civilian I also worked nights and partied into the wee hours.

Since I’ve been writing as more than a hobby I’ve used my lack of sleep to help me get words on the page. The house is quiet at night, and the most that might disturb me is walking the dogs once an hour or so. I’ve adapted to all of that, and generally don’t even think much about it.

That is, until my poor sleep schedule intersects with the ‘normal’ routine of day walkers. My plight tonight hinges on that intersection. I have appointments I can’t miss during the day and over an hour of travel time each way. My loving wife has taken time off for the worst of these, but tomorrow comes in about five hours.

I’m hardly complaining, I’ve waited for one of these appointments for over a year. The timing isn’t bad, it’s my uncooperative sleep schedule that does this to me most of the time. I loaded up on melatonin, but doubt it will help me drift off. I wrote all of this to say, don’t be surprised if I am slow to post again tomorrow!

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