The Stomach Sleeper

My mom always said that I "could fall asleep on a picket fence", and she would be right. Put me in the back seat of a car on a long ride and soon enough I will be out cold. When I board an airplane-no matter how long the ride-I always drift off to dream land shortly after take off. So it was much to my surprise that just as this summer had turned into fall, I found myself awake at some strange hours of the night. I go to bed anywhere between 10:00 and 11:00 PM, usually not waking up until 5 or 6 AM. Lately? I'm awake at 12:30 AM, 2:30 AM and 4:45 AM and so forth. I can always fall back to sleep, but the waking up in the middle of the night is becoming more and more frequent.

I did a bit of research and learned a few valuable things:

• I am a stomach sleeper, which could be part of my problem.Sleeping on your stomach is BAD for several reasons, but the one that really stopped me dead in my tracks is this: Stomach sleeping causes WRINKLES!!! OMG! I tell people all day long how to prevent the forming of new fine lines and wrinkles and I just realized that I am putting my face in jeopardy almost every night! I never really thought about it, but I have been seeing those "pillow marks" or vertical lines on my face and cheeks that just don't fade as quickly as they used to.  I also sleep on my side-another wrinkle producer-and the tell tale signs show more on the side you sleep on. Oh the horror!

• Stomach sleeping is also bad for your back and neck. I am always looking for a neck and shoulder massage, now it totally makes sense. This form of sleeping also puts an enormous strain on you spine and spinal strain can cause numbness and tingling. No wonder I sometimes wake up with "dead arm", like my arm has fallen asleep-but I am wide awake. And forget about what it does to your neck? turning your head to the side on your pillow causes your head and spine to be out of alignment, a recipe for more pain. 

• Here's the kicker- AGE and STRESS can be a large contributor to "middle insomnia". Great-I've got both of those in spades and I wonder why I'm waking periodically through the night? Alcohol consumption and an underlying condition could also be the answer to waking in the middle of the night. Let's hope there is no underlying condition because I'm not giving up a glass of wine at dinner. Or two. 

Bottom line is doctors say that waking in the middle of the night is a normal occurrence but that you should be able to fall back to sleep easily. So far I have been lucky to drift back off to sleep, but I have been more conscious of the position I sleep in. While I am sleeping on my back more frequently, I wonder if this position change may have something to do with the middle of the night waking? Back sleeping is not my sleeping position of choice, but if it means a better night sleep, I will continue to try it.

At most, my face will someday thank me for it, of that I can be sure. 

I've Been A Little Wine-y Lately

Nothing says ahhhhh like a nice glass of wine after a long day. Because I have a huge smile full of white teeth, my preference is a white wine but I've been known to enjoy a deep red too. Indulging in an evening glass of wine is like the ultimate little treat. It give me something to look forward to and it kicks off relax time just perfectly.

But lately I've found that drinking my beloved wine makes me sleepy. I never have more than two glasses, and lately even if I have one, I'm out cold on the sofa an hour into my favorite TV shows. Its become a joke in my house, like I have to attend the early bird special and have my wine early in order to stay awake past 8pm. This is sooo not like me. What the heck?

So I tested my wine/sleepy/alcohol after a certain hour of the day theory. I started drinking my favorite cocktail instead, just one or two, to see if alcohol was the sleepy culprit. I like Captain Morgan's spiced rum with diet coke or diet gingerale and a lime. Nothing. I was fine after indulging in more than one and I was even able to stay up and catch a 10:00 Real Housewives of New York episode.

So I guess I need to lay off the grape for a while if I want to experience the next six hours of my life which really sucks because I love my wine time. Is this the result of getting old? I sure hope not. Maybe it's just a phase. Maybe I'll just keep plugging ahead and drinking my wine and see if I get my wine legs back? Maybe.
Cuz I'm thinking no wine at all will most definitely make me a little wine-y.

How Do You Sleep?

My mom always said I could fall asleep on a picket fence, and she would be right.

On a plane, give me five minutes after we have ascended, and I'm out. In a car, especially if I'm in the backseat; good night Candy. I've even been know to fall asleep at a late night party on the sofa of someone's home. Pop in a movie after 9pm and you can bet on the fact that by the end of it, I will be out cold. Most nights I'm in bed by 10 and gone until 6 the next morning, but lately I've been waking up at 3 am, unable to fall back asleep. And it's for a while, like a few hours.

Yes, I've got a lot on mind, and the thoughts keep racing throughout the night, but when I wake at 3am and the moonlight hits my pillow just so, I begin to think about getting up and starting the day. This keeps happening and I'm wondering why.

My friends tell me this happens to them too. "It's our age", they say, and about half have started taking sleeping pills. Almost all of the ones who report to be taking sleeping pills tell me that they now need them to fall asleep. No thanks. I've got enough problems and I don't need to add sleeping pills to that list, but when it's 3am and your eyes are almost glued open, a little Tylenol PM doesn't seem to be a bad thing? Is it?

I exercise, I try to eat right, I don't drink too much caffeine because I am not a coffee drinker but I do drink tea, so why the sudden changes in my sleeping habits? When I go to bed at night, I fall asleep, no problem. But now the stress of worrying about waking up at 3am makes me a bit anxious before bed.

So what is the solution? And how long until I decide this is a true problem? As I said, it's only been a few weeks of this and not every night.

I guess the real question is, how well do you sleep, bloggers?