According to wikipedia, transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress.
A little while ago I discovered mindWave, an iPhone app available in ye olde itunes app store. It’s a collection of binaural sound loops designed to sympathetically coax the brain into certain patterns promoting focus, acting as a stimulant or inducing sleep. I thought this was the bee’s knees when was I first told about it and happily listened to the sleep induction loop for 15 minutes before, and just after climbing into bed. It was working for me too. A feeling of drowsiness would creep over me, and drifting away was effortless.
This has not been the case the last two nights, and I think I know why. One thing wiki doesn’t mention about insomnia is diet, or rather what you ate for supper. I’ve been doing pretty good watching what I eat for the past little while. I put an end to McDonald’s breakfast every morning so as not to lose a competition with a coworker which results in granting the winner full rights to punch the loser in the face (Thanks for the fabulous incentive Ellen). I didn’t go back to not having breakfast, I’ve been mixing up a little granola and yogurt before dashing out the door, seemed like an easy place to start. I’m actually pretty good with lunch typically, the favorite office destination is Subway or Quiznos and I usually opt for the healthier alternatives.
Supper is where things normally fall apart. By the time J and I have made it home there just isn’t time or inclination to devote to a good home cooked meal so more often than not it’s fast meals from a collection of packages (where would I be without Lipton’s SideKicks and some defrosted, fried chicken breast?). If we don’t feel like doing that then it’s fast food or dinner out.
That’s a really roundabout way of saying we had been doing better, however last night a friend called at the end of the day looking to have dinner with us and we hopped off to Spadina Garden for some Spicy Peanut Chicken, Crispy Ginger Beef (also spicy), complimented with some stir fried string beans (you guessed it, also spicy). Finish that one two punch with a nice meal of Dirty Bird ™ this evening and this is where you’ll find me. Awake, bloated and nothing in my medicine cabinet to deal with my ill advised gastronomical dilemma. It’s depressing a spicy meal and some rotten KFC are apparently to blame for my lack of successful slumber. I can see 35 pretty easily from here, guess I’ll have to suck it up and start stocking my medicine cabinet to better care for my superannuated organs.
Well I’ve been listening to my sleep induction loop while I’ve been writing this, and even though I still feel like I’ve got the mother of all burps waiting to surface, I’m hoping my noggin’s received enough aural persuasion to overcome my discomfort.
The only reason I posted this is it’s supposedly a good idea to distract yourself for a while if you’re having a hard time falling asleep, tossing and turning only frustrates you. Hurray for my first 500+ word post!
