*yawn* Yeah, that’s how I feel every evening. And partly throughout the day. And it’s killing my productivity. By the time I’m ready to start working on my WIP, I’m too sleepy to write anything. And I know this is probably my own fault. You see, I fall asleep on the couch every night watching TV, then I wake up sometime in the middle of the night and go to bed. And I know I’m not getting good sleep while I’m on the couch with the TV on. So why do I do this? Well, I actually enjoy falling asleep while watching TV. I don’t know why; I just do. And there’s something that I don’t like about going to bed IN the bed. I can’t explain it. Part of it is that I just feel so LONELY. My husband works third shift, so I sleep alone five nights out of the week. And I don’t like it. So I fall asleep with the company of the TV, then when I wake back up and go to bed, I’m too sleepy to worry about being lonely. This whole thing is quickly becoming a habit.
I really don’t know how to break this habit. The simple answer is JUST GO TO BED. But I don’t WANT to. I keep wondering if there’s some way to make my bedroom more of a haven, something pleasant and enjoyable. A peaceful place. Should I redecorate? Add some plants?
Does anyone have any ideas?
lauralynnelliott.com 
Well, can you watch TV in the bedroom? Do you have a TV in there? A different look may be good too. Move stuff around maybe? Not sure if you have room to rearrange or not though. I might have to come take a gander at the room again and see if I can think of anything to help. 🙂 That is when the hubby is not in there sleeping. hahaha He might not appreciate that.
I can watch DVD’s or local channels (the satellite isn’t hooked up i there). I have been watching Buffy DVD’s in there occasionally.
Can’t move stuff around. Definitely not the bed since it’s a waterbed. Maybe I should just dust. Hahahahahaha.
As someone who’s dealt with insomnia since I was a teenager, I feel qualified to give a little advice. 🙂 I don’t think TV in the bedroom is the way to go, because the sleep quality issue will be the same. You don’t get as good of sleep when you fall asleep that way.
What I would suggest is a self-hypnosis for sleep script. You can find them on the internet, and there are even apps for your smartphone or iPad. Two benefits here: it is basically retraining you to get to sleep in a way that will lead to better sleep, and if you find a script you’re comfortable with, having that recording playing as you lie in bed might help with the loneliness factor. Maybe this dovetails nicely with a little prayer of gratitude, giving you the sense there’s no reason to feel lonely — your life is full. In my experience, after I use a script for a while, I eventually don’t need it anymore. Good luck, Lauralynn!
Thanks, J.R.! That sounds like really good advice. I think I’ll check the scripts out and see what happens. 🙂
I always say prayers before I go to bed, but I think I spend too much time asking and not enough time thanking. I need to look at that, too.
My first thought was putting a TV in your bedroom, but if it will interfere with the quality of sleep, then it’s not going to help…unless you can put a timer on the TV?
What I do is listen to a book on the Kindle (using the text to speech feature) or I listen to the ipod (either white noise, a podcast, or soothing music). I can’t stand to fall asleep when it’s quiet. Once I’m asleep, I’m fine, but I need some kind of relaxing noise in order to get to sleep.
I don’t blame you for having a hard time going to sleep alone in the bedroom. While my husband was in Korea, I had one of the kids sleep in my bed so I had someone there. LOL Now that my husband is back, I have him again, but he stays up later than me (since he’s not working anymore), so I have learned to finally fall asleep in bed without anyone in it. But it’s taken the Kindle or ipod to do it.
I hope you find something that works for you soon. It sucks feeling tired all the tim
Yeah, I’m probably better off not watching the TV to try to fall asleep. But, you know, I think my TV DOES have a timer on it. I need to check that. I think I might try J.R.’s suggestion about the self-hypno script. Or maybe download some soothing sounds on my iPad. Not music, but the ocean or crickets or something. 🙂
My husband tried first shift for awhile, but it really doesn’t suit him. So he leaves about 10:00 or 10:15 every night. I should be used t it by now, since he’s worked that way for most of our married life, but it feels worse now than it used to.
Take a well deserved rest for yourself this weekend. You must be tired after working so hard on Soul of A Vampire. I have a tiny TV set in my bedroom. Sometimes I put the timer on and I fall asleep to Buffy episodes!
Oh, I read The Gnome in bed last night and I’m sure I head the evil, little thing giggling in my sleep!
I’ve fallen asleep to many Buffy episodes. 🙂 Just not lately.
LOL, Emma. The Gnome isn’t really super scary, but it’s creepy with the lawn ornaments going all wacko. Especially creepy reading in bed at night. I really hope you enjoyed it, though. I enjoyed writing it.
I did and I loved the scenes of magic at the end with Tara. I could really imagine it all happening. I went to see Paranormal Activity 4 with a friend last night and told her afterwards about gnomes that come to life. She told me to shut up as she was bad enough already after watching the horror 🙂