I, am an insomniac. My brain often doesn’t allow me to sleep. I have, for most of my life considered it a gift that I didn’t need much sleep. But, alas now at the tender age of 47 I find myself not quite functioning as well on 4-5 hours of rest as I did when I was younger…and my creative life is suffering. I wish I could say that this is a new issue for me, but it is not. I walked in my sleep as a kid (sometimes waking with swimsuits on, or having made myself a quart of ice tea, or once even walking home from a “lock in” (allegedly locked in) at my church one block away from my home. That night I didn’t awaken until I was knocking on the door.

I am going to explore the depths of my sleep (and lack thereof) with a cognitive behaviorist who specializes in sleep issues. I am writing about this today because my focus is beyond fuzzy. I couldn’t possibly get to a place of insight right now. So, now I am about to res. I feel quite guilty about resting in the middle of the day. However, I’m a menace to society if I’m driving and not very pleasant to be married to or parented by. FATIGUE. REST. INSIGHT.

I think this is a common problem with creatives. Occasionally I wish that I didn’t see so much potential in everything, but I don’t know another way and all these possibilities keep me awake. I would be curious if this is an issue you’ve dealt with. Please e-mail if you have a story or a trick about what worked for for you. Sweet Dreams.