Writers and Sleep

No apnea or nightmares, but when I have a lot on my mind I can't sleep... and that's when I get serious writing done... clicking away at 3 a.m. as my husband and children snooze.

It would be a lot better for my checkbook if my mind was overburdened more often, LOL.

Audrey

Sleep? Whassat?

I work two nights a week, from 11 - 7. I go to school--college--four days a week. I also work from home a lot, and have a side business of my own. Between my son's homework and mine, between regular chores and cooking, shopping, laundry, cleaning, and reading textbooks, I don't sleep much. I catch up on Sundays; I sleep from about 7 am until noon, then go to bed early, and sleep again until 7 am on Monday. That's my catch up day. Otherwise, I nap a lot, whenever I can, like a cat.

If I feel any difficulty falling asleep, I simply tell myself a story. Write the dialog, do the proper punctuation, imagine scenes, play around with plots, or review background for characters. I also consider various changes in things I've already written. Whenever I find myself saying, "you can't do that," it's exactly what I do. I love a challenge. And I love to challenge my characters, too.

That's my sleeping pill. It's lots more fun than studying the French textbooks. I do despise an irregular verb.

I write during breaks and summer vacation. Until I graduate (I'll be 45 when that happens) this will be my writing life. About five months a year, total. The rest is school and chores.


Hope this helps.
ned

Interesting thread! Sadly, I am quite nightmare prone and have them almost every night. But at times they do provide inspiration for book ideas.

I don't have trouble sleeping, unless I take a nap or eat too late. I don't have nightmares either. I do have reoccurring dreams, though. Nothing bad. I dream both vaguely and so vividly, I'd swear it was all real. I dream in color (mostly), in grey scale, and in some kind of outlined shapes.

I don't eat for several hours before I go to bed and I try to stick to as regular a sleeping schedule as possible - seven to eight hours a night; six at the least.

I've learned that sleep is so important to good health. I don't sacrifice it anymore. Does that help?

What's sleep?

Even when exhausted I take at least an hour to drop off. Usually longer. What sleep I do get is broken. When I set my alarm for something I wake up an hour before it's due. Once awake it takes an age for me to drop off again.

I'd give anything to know what it feels like to have seven or eight hours' unbroken sleep but it hasn't happened in years.

I rarely if ever have nightmares but I do dream - so I'm obviously getting REM sleep when I am 'under' and I remember all my dreams too. I'd just like to get more sleep.

I haven't had a night of unbroken sleep since I became pregnant with my eldest 10 years ago. I go to bed around midnight (in 15 minutes!), wake up with my autistic son around 2:30 to 3:00 am, usually get him back to sleep by 3:30 to 4:00 am, and then sleep until 7:30. Some days I sleep in till 8:00. I do have apnea and very vivid dreams, but not really any nightmares.

I have a high metabolism so I don't sleep until the energy wears off. Unfortunately, in order to keep weight on, I have to eat about six times a day, which just adds fuel to the fire. Once the sandman hits me over the head, I'd better be within 5-10 minutes of where I'm sleeping for the night because it's like someone just turns off a light switch. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I will sleep an average of 6 hours a night, and won't hear anything until I wake up in the morning. I rarely have nightmares, and have realistic dreams in vivid color, with the occasional "what the heck was that" dream thrown in.

I typically fall asleep thinking about my work in progress. I dream, but seldom remember them long enough to tell anyone. A good morning for me is when I wake up hearing one of my characters speaking in my head. When they butt in like that they're telling me they want the floor. I never get in their way...just write down what they're saying. Clearly the seed I planted the night before took root.
Years ago I read somehwere that when you have something troubling you, think about it for a few minutes and then forget it. Your mind will transfer it to your subconcious, develop a solution and push it back upstairs. Sorta like when you can't remember a name or word and it comes to you out of the blue half an hour later.
When I absolutely can't get drop off, I usually pray myself to sleep. Like that old song: "When I get worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep."