Cold weather makes me want to hibernate. Four days from the winter solstice, I start yawning by mid-afternoon as the sun slips past the trees beyond our home.
Fortunately, the cold weather also makes it easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep most of the night. I may be jinxing myself by writing this. I sure hope not. Sleep is what’s saving me these days.
I’m also having a lot of very strange dreams. These usually surface just before dawn, when I have to make the inevitable trek to the bathroom. But I’ve been able to drop off again, because it just feels so good to get warm under the covers. And the strange dreams typically dissipate soon after I wake for the day. Which is a good thing. Because they are really strange.
In about a month, daylight will feel longer once more. It will get easier to drive home from Boston on the Mass Pike in the afternoon by late February, when the solar glare going west is less severe. I’ve been noticing buds on the trees and shrubs around our home, always an encouraging sign of new life to come.
And, if I’m lucky, I’ll continue to sleep soundly, regardless of the onslaught of bad news that floods our world. It’s essential to my health and well being, to my resilience and ability to cope. All the more so in such stressful times.
I hope, Dear Reader, that you are sleeping well, too. If you’re struggling, here are some helpful tips from the Mayo Clinic.
Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.
Image: Daniele Levis Pelusi
I’m glad to hear you are sleeping well. I do better when the weather is colder but rarely have a really good night’s sleep any more. It’s the “manage worries” part that stumps me. I’m already doing everything else the Mayo Clinic recommends. Thanks for that link, anyway!
Yes, “managing worries” is a bit of a throwaway line. Definitely the hardest part of insomnia. Hope you’re able to get better sleep sooner than later.