Things to do when insomnia strikes

Ever had one of those nights when you wake up at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. and then can't get back to sleep? I guess most of us have at one time or another.

I've had 3 a.m. awakenings that lasted until my regular rising time of O dark thirty, usually 5:30 a.m.

What do people do when they have these insane insomnia attacks?

When it comes to recommendations, I've heard them all. I have a friend who cleans her house. When she can't sleep, she gets the vacuum or the dust mop out and goes at it.

Another friend said she gets on the Internet and surfs while yet another said she watches television.

Actually, I've performed a variety of tasks during what I consider to be unearthly hours of the night, including all of the above and more. I have found myself writing a column as it seems there is something about insomnia that stimulates my brain and allows creativity to reign for the moment.

Sometimes I blame insomnia on eating too late at night - true story. For instance, I'm told what you eat can affect your sleep pattern. Louisiana Hot Links are not a good choice for me to snack on at 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. if I expect to get a good night's sleep. But, every now and then the notion strikes and I pay the price.

Typically, physical exhaustion seems to encourage a good night's sleep. My dogs are living proof. If they go on a big horseback ride with me one day, all is quiet on the home front that night. There are fewer barks at imaginary phantoms lurking outside our property if the dogs have had a big day. And, believe me they have been known to bark out of the clear blue sky at the dumbest things startling me out of a good dream.

Let's see, what are some of the things that cause us to wake up at night? Toilet water running in the bathroom next to the bedroom because of a slow, seeping leak. The nocturnal hamster ripping around in a noisy exercise wheel is another strong possibility. A cat that sleeps on the bed and screams out and claws in panic when accidentally rolled over on can bring a person to that wide-awake mode. Then, there's leg cramps. I cannot describe the excruciating pain they can cause. Sometimes, all you can do is get up and walk around the house or yard until they subside.

One night there was a screeching of tires and a thud outside my house that brought me wide awake. A drunken motorist had taken out the power pole at the corner of my property. Another time, police searching for a criminal in my neighborhood woke me up from a perfectly good night's sleep and refused to let me back into slumber time.

How about the smoke detector going off because a spider decided to take up residence there? Mine usually chirps when that happens or if the battery is going dead.

One night it actually happened to me and I was up all night disconnecting all four of the blasted units that decided to have issues at the same time. You just want to rip them out of the ceiling, but you know you need them in good, working order.

For whatever reason, we find ourselves awake when we desperately need sleep. Many of us seem to resort to some unorthodox activities for that time of night.

One time I got up, went out to the barn and visited with the horses. They seemed to welcome the company probably because they thought there was something in it for them - like hay or grain. I once found myself on the back deck staring at the all the stars in the sky.

Television in the wee, early hours is interesting. Some of the things that are promoted in advertising segments are not seen during primetime viewing. In fact, you can find advertisements on television then for products that help a world of problems. But so far, I haven't noticed a solution to insomnia among them, when it's the perfect time for it. All I can say is when insomnia strikes and we finally get back to sleep, thank goodness for dependable alarm clocks or we'd all be late for work.

Oh, yeah, then try to stay alert and up on your game for the day at the job.

Face it, life doesn't always play fair.