The Sleep Experiment.....

...grinds to an almighty halt.  It's not that I haven't got the desire to sleep well, it's just that the theory of sleep patterns and cycles requires a consistency of bedtime that is just not that easy if you want to have something resembling an actual life.  I'm getting up at 6.30am every morning and my Lumie light is helping to bring a consistency to the time that the sun comes up.  But my bedtime is ranging from 9.30pm on days when I just can't keep my eyes open anymore, to midnight on those days when I've been working, the children have gone to bed fairly late, I've not had tea (or dinner depending on whether you come from the north or south of the country) until late, but I still just want that free half an hour to myself.  A clear block of time to enjoy a glass of wine and maybe, if I'm lucky, catch a decent bit of TV. 

Not you might argue that it's up to me to pull my weight and put in the effort required to be consistent at bedtime if I want to enjoy the fruits of consistent and refreshing sleep.  Well yes.  But this month's not really been the time to focus on it.  You see, those of you who have been regular visits to this page for a while might know that I am something of a dancer.  Or at least I was 15 years ago and despite my body's protests my brain still believes it now. 

So 6 months ago I found an advanced Jazz and Tap class for adults in my area and I jumped at it.  The fact that they were gearing up for their 2-yearly show at the local theatre made it even more enticing.   And before my husband knew it he was being single-dad for 3 Saturdays on the trot for dress rehearsals and for 3 evenings of the show from 6pm until I finally got home at 11pm all excited with adrenaline still pumping from the experience of dancing in front of a sold out theatre of over 500 people. 

I absolutely had a ball.  And we are already back into weekly classes learning new routine for next time.  So with all the good intentions in the world, sometimes life just takes over.  And I'd much rather be reaching for the coffee and living life, than being a wide awake and refreshed bore.

So I'll try and be consistent.  When I can.  And in the meantime, let me know if you find that consistent bedtimes and wake up times makes any difference....!