Anyone have a clue as to why I can’t sleep at night? I can go through the normal questions, environmental factors (huge factor), stress, medical, psychological, but will it help. Let’s see.

Simplest one first, environmental factors. Of late I have become very sensitive to smells. The only reason I can think of as to why this may be the case is because I quit smoking about 9 months ago and my nose has finally cleared up and now I am experiencing a normal level of smell which seems exaggerated. If this I what normal smell is like, give me the muted smell like when I was smoking. The smells that get me the most are those of mold and mildew but I can’t track down the sources of the smell. There are no obvious “patches” of exposed mold or mildew to generate the smell. This is frustrating to say the least.

One other change in the environment has happened. We, meaning me and Nan, think that our new neighbors are a pair of hooker. Why? Well, parties at odd hours lasting for about an hour or two, lots of heavy noises on the roof, activity at all hours, and other things that lead us to this conclusion. Also, someone up there smokes in the bathtub or something. Once in a while I can smell cigarette smoke drift through the exhaust fan vent and into our bathroom. Turning on the fan only seems to make it worse. Is it possible the moldy smell is coming from up there? I don’t know, but the odor is strong enough to wake me up and hence one reason why I can’t sleep.

Stress if course is another factor. I admit, I have a lot on my mind and worries to drown a wet rat in, but usually this is not enough for me to loose this much sleep over. Yeah, I have the tension headache, the acidic stomach sometimes, but again, these have never been enough for me to not sleep with. Hell, I used to be proud of the fact that I could fall asleep just about anywhere and anytime. Now, this is not the case.

I would consider medical as one of the causes for sleeplessness, especially if I have not taken my meds, but even when I do take them I still cannot sleep well. As for other medical considerations, I have just gotten over a long recovery from appendicitis, but that does not feel to be the answer as to why I can’t sleep.

Earlier in the week we could have used muscle aches and pain as an excuse (though when was pain ever a reason for me not to sleep) since I had “worked out” last weekend and pushed myself to far. But as the week went long that became less of an excuse.

One last medical thought is that I am detoxing after months of sustained medicine use. I had this happen once already as I experienced a week of withdrawal from the morphine I was taking. Then after I stopped my antibiotics it experienced strange tastes and such as those meds washed out of my system. Now I am slowly lowering my use of Soma and Lortab (hydrocodone) because I just don’t need them (Not that I did not like the loopy feeling I got on them). So there may be a reason for the restlessness, but it does not feel like that is the reason.

So that leaves psychological, gee, who’da thunk it.

I know I am messed up in many ways, and maybe just maybe one other the demon I have to deal with is prodding me in my sleep. Dreams have been a mix of good and bad so maybe there is another issue I have to work out sooner rather than later. It would not be the first time this has happened to me. I remember years ago there was something bothering me and I could not sleep for almost a month. I was going bonkers and finally I figured out something and came to grips with it and finally I was able to sleep again. So maybe that is the root of my insomnia.

So we wrap it all up: Odors are killing me at night, hookers are making a lot of noise at all hours and smoking and I my inner demons are once again on the warpath till I find out what they want and fix it.  I eliminate stress because I have never lost sleep over stress before (although a psychologist would say that it could be affecting me now) and medical because I have the diagnostic assurances that this is under control,.

So here I am, at 4:30am entering a blog post because I can’t sleep right now. Even though I had a good day, got some exercise, relaxed, and did things to relieve my troubles, I still can’t sleep.

But maybe I should clarify sleep… I do not get the sustained eight hours that most people require for a good nights sleep. Even with sleep aides I can’t manage more than about six hours at a time. I drift off during the day, even in the car going places (I am not driving), or after a paragraph or two when reading. But then again, I experience micro-sleeps and that that is not beneficial. As I stated in another entry, I have drifted off several times while writing this only to be snatched from slumber awake again. It is annoying to sya the least.

So maybe now I will crawl back into the bed and try again because I can’t hold my head up any more. Tomorrow I think on it some more and try to figure out why nox can’t envelop me and restore me whole.