Rather too much of my writing is happening after midnight at the moment. But as I’m not getting a lot of time to write in general, better now than not.
Equally, better something productive and hopefully sleep inducing. I’m not planning to write put myself to sleep – or you, gentle reader, for that matter – but to calm the overactive synapses.
I used to love being awake at night after the rest of the household had gone to sleep. It’s easier as a teen, when you naturally want to sleep long and stay up late. (And when your mother is still doing the chores, I might add.)
As a parent, it’s harder. I still have to get up in the morning, and that includes morning chores. Harder to duck out, and harder to get back to sleep when the ‘to do’ list starts playing on auto, after you’ve just woken up a fraction.
I’m finding that I really need to hit that first wave of ‘I’m tired now’ and try to sleep then. Otherwise, I wake up again, and then it’s harder to go to sleep later.
My mother has an occasional not-sleeping habit: she loves parties and get togethers with others, but she usually finds it hard to sleep afterwards because the conversations are still going round her head.
In my case, it happens when there’s been a good day. When things have gone right. When life is in alignment, and I’m excited about having a tiny amount more energy at the end of the day.
Brain and body seem to pick up on that and – ding! – my brain is back on, whether it’s a sensible time or not. Grateful for the good day – less grateful for not being able to get to sleep.
On the plus side, it’s the school holidays. Slightly easier to attempt the crafty post-lunch nap if I run out of steam later on in the day.
I’m trying hard not to get into nocturnal habits – too easy, as I’ve discovered. Great for the ‘I’ve finally got space to read! And write! And (possibly) think!’ moments. Not so good for managing a peaceable mood all through the next day.
The wee sma’s, for those unsure, are otherwise known as ‘the small hours’: those hours after midnight when the clock is in ‘small; numbers. But for now, I think it’s time to try again on sleep, before the no so sma’ one decides it’s time to get up.
Writing in the wee sma’s – asserting night owl behaviour. The morning lark still gets up in the holidays and needs to be fed cereal at the usual time, but every now and then, I pretend I am back in my teenage writing years. With no cereal dispensing duties.