Still Tired ... after all this sleep

Yes I am.

One would think that anyone who spent as much time "sleeping" as I would be well rested, wouldn't one?

But that simply isn't the case for me.

And the reason is easily explained.

I wake too frequently!

My difficulty certainly is not one of getting to sleep.

And there is no problem going back to sleep once I waken.

But I waken, without fail, every two, two and half hours.

Sometimes I have to pee.

Sometimes I'm dreaming horrid dreams (one of these days, I'll discuss here about some of my vivid dreams and why they disturb so much).

Most of the time, I'm waking because I have to turn over.

That's right -- turn over!

My natural sleeping position is on my left side; that is how I am most comfortable so that is where I start the night, at whatever time I turn in.

Then, approximately two hours later, I wake up because I can no longer endure the discomfort of the pressure on my left hip.

And because I can't just "roll over" like most people do quite naturally in their sleep, I have to wake up to accomplish the task.

The pain in both hips prevents me from rolling over easily so I have to brace myself against the sideboard of the bed to help me get into an almost sitting position, switch sides, lie down again, and then get myself organized with my pillows.  The entire operation doesn't really take long, but it does require my being awake.

And of course, once I'm awake, I usually need to go pee. So, I have to get up.

As I said, I don't usually have much difficulty going back to sleep after one of these interruptions, but by the third time, I have to resort to floppong onto my back, which is not a comfortable sleeping position for me.  My left hip hasn't had sufficient time to recover from it's earlier shift so that's no longer an option.  And by this point, I've grown tired of the shenanigans and my mind starts going into gear.

Hence, my days often start sometime between 3:00am and 4:00am.

Which makes for a very long day indeed.

Science dictates that one needs seven hours of sleep to maintain good health.  That sleep is best if it is uninterrupted.  Occasional interrupted sleep won't do too much harm to one's health.  But I can assure you, long-term lack of restorative sleep absolutely affects one's health, totally.

I really have to learn the art of daytime napping.

Obviously, that is the only solution because my need to switch sides is not going to change any time soon.  I have to live with the fact that I am not ever going to get restorative sleep.

So I'd better get whatever sleep I can, whenever I can.