Help me, Mr. Sandman

Waking up from a nightmare is already bothersome but waking up from a night slumber for no apparent reason is truly uncomfortable. You may have this experience before of coming out of a deep sleep minus loud noises or physical intrusions from parents, siblings, friends or strangers.

Last night, I suddenly popped back into reality after 2 and half hours of sleep after I retired to bed at around nine in the evening. I couldn’t remember if I have dreamt anything. I could swear I didn’t hear any loud source to wake me out of my slumber. Everything was clearly silent inside and outside of my room.

I am aware that I have some form of sleep deprivation disorder for the past six years since I started to live in a province so far from the city where I work at. But I don’t have any for m of insomnia. With varying shifts of work depending on a current project, I would (sometimes) automatically wake up at a designated hour in time just before an alarm would go off. Only on weekends do I get a good span of forty winks and yet I still find myself waking up at odd hours in the morning, especially if I have some activities I need to accomplish the next day.

So, what I must I do to go back to my much needed slumber? I picked up my cell phone and started playing my favorite game of gem game. I planned to tire myself to sleep, yet being so engrossed with the game I soon found myself feeling more rested than tired (I was able to beat some old records). Doing this reminds me of the hyped sleeping technique of counting sheep which I tried before but failed to make me sleep. I would lose count or rather lose interest in counting those jumping sheep. To make matters worse, I am more awake than ever. It is really frustrating.

Eventually, I decided to enjoy the temporary moment of awareness and wait for my body to naturally relax back to its state of sleepiness. Slowly and surely, I finally succumbed to Somnus. The more you struggle your way to sleep the more you become tense, perturbed, and awake.

Any other techniques out there?