Sleep Hangovers

Two weeks later, and my strangely normal sleeping patterns continue. Hmm. But the side effects are starting to add up.

The morning nausea isn't going away, it's getting worse. Much worse. I wake up every morning feeling hungover, even though I haven't had any alcohol since The Blindside. This, of course, is despite strong encouragement from my friends who truly believe that booze is the cure for whatever ails you. Not so. Alcohol is a depressant and that is exactly what I don't need right now. If I drink when I'm already depressed or stressed out about something, it just intensifies the feeling and makes everything worse. So I don't. Besides, I already feel like crap and I don' t need to feel worse in the morning.

This time though, I can't seem to avoid that sick hangover feeling. Yes, I'm waking up really, really, super early for me. (I'm working on this blog before 9:00am!!!! Never in a million years thought that would happen.) At first, it almost seemed worth it. A couple weeks in, and I'm not so sure anymore.

Not only is the nausea getting worse, but so are the general signs of sleep deprivation. I'm waking up earlier than usual, but not falling asleep earlier. I'm usually a long sleeper - 9 to 10 hours is ideal, and I feel pretty good when I can get that in at the right time of day. Since The Blindside, I'm only getting about 7 hours a night.

That's clearly not enough. I'm exhausted in the afternoon, and I'm starting to lack focus throughout the day rather than just in the mornings. I tripped carrying groceries up my three steps yesterday. Damn that hurt. I've become a total klutz All. Day. Long. My house is a total mess because I just don't have the energy to do anything more than the basic survival stuff. I have piles of books all over the living room floor that I pulled out for work, but I just don't have the energy to lift them back up to put them away. I managed to assemble (and use) the Spinning bike I bought on that fateful day, but the box is huge and needs to be torn down, cut up, and hauled out to the recycling bin. I just can't do it.

I'm torn. I love being up early. I truly love mornings. That surprises me as much as anyone. But I want to be able to wake up early and not feel like I downed a few shots of tequila and mixed it with a whole bottle of Napa cab the night before. All the hangover, none of the buzz. It's just not right.