The benefits of getting the appropriate number of hours of zzz’s is getting ample air time these days. If it’s not news reports, it’s articles written in newspapers or magazines. Most of these studies are related to the needs of children and the career crowd below “FREEDOME 55”. What is NEVER mentioned or commented upon is the menopausal woman’s angst over sleep deprivation.
That’s right people, we women who have raised families, worked incessantly throughout our careers, and are just settling into our blissful stage of relaxing retirement, are probably the most sleep deprived age group of all. It’s true! Regardless of our ability to call our own shots regarding our waking hours versus snoozing hours, we can’t get enough sound sleep! BUT (and that’s a BIG BUT!), no one ever mentioned that retirees don’t actually sleep the sleep of the dead. Oh no, the reality is that they must grab snatches of it whenever they can.
Unfortunately, the road of life keeps moving along and suddenly you realize that you haven’t had a solid, uninterrupted sleep in over a week. So what’s causing the problem? The list of causes can vary with each of us. Here’s mine:
· having a husband snoring loudly towards my side of the bed, blowing air at me, and rocking the bed with the force of his snorts (Did I write that? I better not let husband Ryan read this post!)
· constantly needing to run to the washroom (But we’re supposed to drain 8 glasses a day, aren’t we?)
· watching Netflix or reading eBooks on my iPad in bed tends to re-energize me, rather than make me drowsy. (It’s so hard to be disciplined and turn them off!)
· carefully monitoring caloric intake throughout the day with small portions, resulting in the “GROWLIES” setting in around midnight. (I really need to eat that banana!)
· knowing I shouldn’t get up and wander the house while my fatigued partner is blissfully snoring (I mean sleeping …) beside me, holds one prisoner, counting backwards and breathing deeply from 300 (And still no zzz’s!)
· re-arranging all my pillows to get the exact perfect indentation to ensure more wrinkles don’t sprout overnight and finally settling in, just to have “snortface” roll over and face me… OMG!
· and if you read my MICE CSI post, you’d know that although the mouse problem has been resolved, there is just a tad of paranoia hanging on that keeps me feeling held captive in my dark, dark bedroom, on the bed, with my husband, just in case …
I’ve only scratched the surface of the challenges the menopausal woman experiences in her attempt to get a good night’s sleep. How about you share some of yours with me? I’d love to hear what’s keeping you up at night. Just add your comment at the end of the post. I know you’ll have lots to share …
The less people know about how sausages and
laws are made, the better they’ll sleep at night.
I shall need to sleep three weeks on end to get
rested from the rest I’ve had.