I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones…..

"And I try, and I try, and I try, and I try,” wails Mick.  And I don’t think he means sleep, either. However, that is what this post is about, to sleep or not to sleep, that is the vexing question.



Not being able to sleep is one of the Seven Curses of Old Age.  What are the other six curses? Wait and see.  But not being able to sleep is a major one.   Finally, after years of never being able to sleep long enough, kids, work, you name it, you find that now, in your old age, you can stay in bed for at least eight hours every night, and no decent sleep happens, or, if it does, it is, at best, broken. 



Well, you can always take sleeping pills I suppose. This is the easy way out, but I don’t, as I find myself becoming  addicted very quickly and have  to increase the dose.   Instead, what I do is listen to an audio book or tune into the BBC World Service (there is an app for this radio station) .



 How much sleep is enough?  Is it four hours, five hours, six hours?  Who knows? Finally, if nothing lulls me back to the Land of Nod,  I surrender and go and make a cuppa.  I prop myself up on my pillows, tune into the BBC, and eventually nod off. 



 The best way to treat your inability to sleep, is not to worry about it.