Too Little Sleep and Too Much Think-Time

Think-time is important – really important. The more we have, the better we are at making decisions and coming up with solutions. At the same time, you can have too much time to think, and that’s when things become a little sticky.

Too much think-time

Those of us who have insomnia know what it’s like to have too much time to think.

Last night was 1 of those nights for me. You name it, and I thought about it. The following list might make you laugh, and there’s a possibility it will make you cry. When it comes to insomnia, there are no rules, and the thoughts can be fast and furious.

My nighttime thoughts with insomnia

Last night, I thought about…

• How sad I am that my kids are far too old to care about trick-or-treating and how much I miss their little costumes
• How strange it is that I used to hate scary movies but now prefer them over most dramas
• Gas prices and my half-tank that needs topping off
• Driving my kids to their elementary soccer games
• Driving them home from the soccer games and how the smell would almost knock me down
• How many hours I have spent doing yardwork when I could have been spending time with my kids
• All the Christmas gifts I have not even thought about buying yet
• A new hairstyle
• Cleaning out my closet and donating another bag of clothes
• Buying more clothes
• The wrinkles above my lips and how, in the name of all that is good and holy, am I going to get rid of them
• Making an appointment with the dermatologist for the new spot I found on my arm
• That day on fall break when I forgot my sunscreen and came home with a light burn
• How proud I am that my kids aren’t tanning
• How proud I am of my kids in general
• Looking through baby pictures tomorrow
• What it was like to have 2 babies so close together (11 months apart) and how I could never do it now
• How old I feel
• How old I look
• Those lip wrinkles again and the bags under my eyes
• The fact that I look as tired as I feel
• Sleep and how much I miss it
• Checking the time and how that would be a mistake
• How difficult the morning is going to be…

Finally alseep

At some point, I drifted off thinking about the sound of my noisemaker and how, if I listened hard enough to the white noise, I could actually hear a pattern in the sounds. Maybe I should have started the night by thinking about that. It seems it was just boring enough to do the trick.

Hopefully, tonight will be different. Different in a better way and not just different as in a new list of random but related thoughts. If I am going to lie awake for hours, the least I should be able to do is make the most of my think-time.

Perhaps tonight I can at least plan my retirement…

What random thoughts keep you up at night? Does anything bring you relief? Share your story with us!

Please comment below.