Sleeping Habits of an Insomniac

I'm not a good sleeper.

This isn't a new thing. It stems all the way back to childhood, when I'd make my dad stay up and watch television for hours and hours until I'd finally fall asleep in my bed. You see, I was the only one with a bedroom downstairs and I didn't like being alone, in the dark, completely wide awake. My room was just down the hallway from the family room so I'd listen to whatever he was watching and eventually go to sleep.

Falling asleep is still a struggle today. In fact, the only time I remember sleeping well was when I was on my mission. During that 18 months I was incredibly tired by the time I went to bed. I'd lay down and desperately try not to fall asleep so that I could relish in the calm after a busy day of proselytizing. Unfortunately I only ever lasted a couple of seconds and then was out until morning. Sometimes I really miss those peaceful nights. One of the personal blessings for going on a mission, I guess.

Nowadays it still takes me quite awhile to fall asleep and even then I wake up multiple times during the night. It can be very annoying and frustrating. But there are a few things in my arsenal for combating the natural tendency to stay awake. There's always the obvious over-the-counter help; but I try to only use that as a last resort. As a kid, my dad would always suggest that I take a shower. It worked then and it still works now. Over the last few years, however, I've started flipping on a movie when I climb into bed. I think this stems back to those days of listening to my dad's television in the family room. It's truly the best thing for falling asleep. At least for me.


I remember one year in particular that I watched Ocean's Eleven every night. You heard me right. I watched that movie at least 365 times in 1 year. Suffice it to say, I can quote Ocean's Eleven from beginning to end without thinking. From there I moved onto National Treasure. I'm not much of a Nicolas Cage fan but the role of Ben Gates is one he pulls off pretty well. And I totally dig the American history references that play such an integral part in the plot of the movie. Then there was the Rio Lobo phase. During this time I was living at my parents house and my bedroom was in the basement, across the hall from my brother's bedroom. We each had a television, a DVD player, and a copy of Rio Lobo. We'd head to our rooms and turn on the movie, in perfect synchronization. It was totally awesome. He'd recite the parts of Pierre Cordona and Tuscarora Phillips and I'd do the part of Cord McNally. And then we'd laugh ourselves to sleep.

Cord: I'm glad you two weathered the storm.
Pierre: Well, it's a simple life. No wine, no women, no song.
Tuscarora: And no whiskey!
Cord: Well, I can remedy that. If you two don't mind drinkin' with a bluebelly.
Tuscarora: Colonel Suh, I'd drink with the devil himself!
Pierre: I feel just like he does!

After moving out, I rotated between a few different movies. There was The Moon Spinners, an old Disney movie staring Haley Mills. There was National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the second installment in the National Treasure series. There was El Dorado, another great John Wayne classic. There was Alex and Emma, one of the few chick flicks I really like. Stay with me boys! And there was always the stand-by goodie Return of the Jedi, that is until the VCR ate my VHS tape.


But recently I've migrated to watching television shows on DVD. My favorites? Psych, Castle, and Burn Notice. It's been a couple of years now that I've gone this route and I don't plan on changing it up any time soon. Even at this moment, I'm eagerly waiting for Season 4 of Psych to arrive from Amazon. And I'm counting down the days to September 21st when Season 2 of Castle comes out on DVD. It's all so very exciting!

So what's the point of writing this narrative and sharing it with the blogging world? Well, I can't really think of one. Except that right now it's the middle of the night and I can't fall asleep. So I had to find something to do . . .