Goodnight. Or is it?

It's ten minutes from tomorrow and I've been up since 5:14 am. I know it was 5:14 am because twitter told me there was a huge thunder clap around that time. I don't know that because I actually heard the thunder but because I awoke to frightened felines outlining their escape from the great unknown with their claws into my legs.

Why don't I let myself sleep? Two days, 5 hours sleep, and I worked for 12 hours today. It's not even that I can't sleep because I know I'll be out in seconds as soon as I hit the hay (or as soon as I turn on the latest episode of Treme, which is more likely...)

The science of sleeping interests me due to the nature of my work which requires a mix of night shifts and day shifts. I used to think having to stay up all night for work purposes was about as low as you can get. But now that I've been doing it for four years I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Me work 9-5? EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK! That's crazy. I don't know how you people do it.

So, yeah, the science of sleeping interests me. I watched a clip the other day about what causes us to lose sleep, what effects how long it takes us to go to sleep... all that good stuff. As a kid I went to bed because it was 10pm. Some days I'd fall asleep easier than others, but I still went to bed when it was 10pm.

Now, I only drag my sorry self off to my bedroom when I'm so close to sleep I can barely stand-up and as a result I think I've lost the ability to actually go to sleep. I don't lie down on my bed until I'm absolutely sure I'll pass out in seconds. I rarely go to bed before midnight. I rarely get more than 6-7 hours sleep. I can nap like a mo-fo likely due to sleep deprivation but when it comes to a situation where I don't control when I go to bed (visiting, traveling) I almost panic (I use the term panic lightly, more like, worry or even ponder).

Whatever. In the end I just have to put myself to bed and commit to better sleeping habits. Get a new mattress, buy new bedding, vacuum under the bed (upgrade from a swiffer vac), get a better white sound machine, get light canceling curtains. It's so simple!