Karen’s Note: Let Me Sleep On It

By Karen Gerwin

Insomnia scenario #1: I’m sleeping, but I can hear the freight train that runs through our backyard blasting its loud, low horn. Why is the freight train making so much noise in the middle of the night? And why is it blasting its horn so rhythmically? And how is there a freight train between two apartment buildings in Brooklyn?

Oh, wait. I’m awake now. And it’s not a freight train. It’s my husband, on his back, snoring. I shove him onto his side, grab my iPhone and scroll through Facebook, maybe play some Solitaire and pray to the sleep gods for a few more hours.

Insomnia scenario #2: I wake in the middle night of the night to find myself fully clothed on the living room couch, after falling asleep watching Scandal or This Is Us or Mozart in the Jungle or The Crown or The Santa Clarita Diet. (Yeah, yeah, I watch too much TV). I brush my teeth, change into pajamas and put in my TMJ-preventing mouth guard, hoping that the hours I slept without it won’t cause a migraine the next day. I get into bed and try to fall asleep, but thoughts about all of the ways in which I’ve disappointed people over the course of my entire lifetime run circles in my head. I attempt to mentally force myself out of that headspace, only to remember that Trump is President. I grab my pillow and head back out to the couch to hopefully fall asleep to something I don’t really want to watch, like CSI: Miami.

Chances are, if you are part of the over-40 set you’ve had your share of sleepless nights. I belong to a few FB groups for our demographic, and this is a recurring hot topic. Don’t even get me started on the night sweats!

This week, we try to catch some precious zzzzzzzzz’s:

• Beth Arky founds a Facebook group for fellow insomniacs
• Melissa Rayworth shares her secret to sleeping well on airplanes
• Diane DiCostanzo reveals what’s keeping her up at night
• Annette Earling loses sleep over a home renovation
• Jody Jones helps us build the perfect bed
• Rachel Kramer Bussel falls asleep in her clothes… on purpose

Now get some rest!

Karen

P.S. We had an amazing time last week at The Wren for our  TueNight Live: SISTERS event. Check out the photos here! And make sure to mark your calendars now for our next event, March 7. The theme is… FAIL.