New Goal for the Rest of 2012

It is the beginning of October.

Since the very beginning of the year, I have problems with sleep and getting to sleep. It was even the very first week of January when I first noticed my sleeping discrepancies. One night after watching TV, I couldn't shut my brain down to fall asleep. This problem continues to come up every once in awhile: I go to bed and I stare at the ceiling all night.

It's getting to be to a point where there's no rhyme or reason for the sleepless nights. Sometimes, it's because I'm facing a stressful or physical day. Other times, I went to bed too late and my brain thinks the effort to go to sleep just isn't worth it. A couple times, it's because I just read a book or saw a show and I can't stop thinking about it.

For the majority of my life, sleeping hasn't been an issue. I was able to fall asleep at a drop of a hat. In the past few years, I've had cases of insomnia but those were in times of extreme stress.

Now, I'm relying on Tylenol PM every night and this has to stop. 

So Goal Time: To get 8 hours of sleep a night for one full week by the end of December.

This may sound easier than it will be. The challenge is that I have to completely change my views on sleep. I can no longer function on just 4-5 hours of sleep. I can longer fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Lack of sleep will affect my waking hours.

Also, based on experience, when I can't sleep or when I don't want to go to sleep, it's usually my first indication that's there's something wrong in my life that I'm trying to ignore for as long as possible. So the questions is: What am I trying to ignore?

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A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky -
I've thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless...
~William Wordsworth, "To Sleep"