adventures in narcolepsy

My errant holidays caught up with me this week. Most days I get up psycho early to teach a class of sleepy teenagers. This forces me to go to bed early-ish because they are rabid dog style grumpy if they haul their butts out of bed and I am running late (I have discovered). So during school holidays I tend to go to sleep later and later because I know that if I roll out of bed by 8.30am I can still make it to work by 9.

This is a very bad idea.

You see, I can get to work by 9am. What I can't do is stay awake all day until 5pm. And if I prop myself up with caffeine (Coke that is, not coffee) I still can't really function. In particular reading is impossible - I immediately start drifting, nodding - I cannot stay awake.

This week I'm back to pre-dawn rise, but I just couldn't get myself back into the swing of being in bed early. Four nights in a row I fell asleep in my chair in front of the computer, waking up early but with my neck muscles crying out for mercy. Three days this week I took myself to the sick room at lunchtime and fell asleep, each time slinking back to my desk around 2.30-3pm hoping that everyone assumed that I was working in the room where I do web work, or had gone to a meeting. On one embarrassing occasion I actually managed to fall asleep in a meeting for a few minutes. That was fun. o_O

What is it that makes going to bed so unappealing? It's like the bed and I are two oppositely charged magnets. I want to get enough sleep but I just can't lay down.

Actually this topic reminds me of a fabulous Curly Pyjama letter I have filed away somewhere, all about resting. (I want that linked book so bad now! haha...I had no idea the Curly Pyjama letters had been compiled in a book - I was just looking for a picture.) I'll see if I can find it and post it tomorrow. Given the week I've just had, I think I need to revisit the concept of 'rest as a positive thing' again. Maybe twice.

Anyway, it's Friday night now and I'm off to a video night with the girls, so getting to sleep early is not going to start tonight.