Patricia Hinkley - Chasing Sleep

CHASING
SLEEP
LONELY TUSSLES IN THE DARK
PATRICIA HINKLEY

Chasing Sleep. Copyright 2018. Patricia Hinkley. Produced and printed by
Stillwater River Publications. All rights reserved. Written and produced in the
United States of America. This book may not be reproduced or sold in any form
without the expressed, written permission of the authors and publisher.
Visit our website at www.StillwaterPress.com for more information.
First Stillwater River Publications Edition
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017961790
ISBN-10: 1-946-30034-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-946-30034-8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Written by Patricia Hinkley
Published by Stillwater River Publications, Glocester, RI, USA.
Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Names: Hinkley, Patricia.
Title: Chasing sleep : lonely tussles in the dark / by Patricia Hinkley.
Description: First Stillwater River Publications edition. | Glocester, RI, USA :
Stillwater River, [2018]
Identifiers: ISBN 9781946300348 | ISBN 1946300349
Subjects: LCSH: Hinkley, Patricia--Health. | Insomnia--Alternative treatment--
Popular works. | Insomnia--Psychological aspects--Popular works.
Classification: LCC RC548 .H56 2018 | DDC 616.84982--dc23
The views and opinions expressed in this book are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Supplements mentioned are from the authors personal experience and may not apply to
you. Please consult with a qualified physician before taking any medications or supple-
ments mentioned in this book.

GRATITUDE
Many people helped bring this book into reality.
Bonita Osley is my good friend and a dedicated reader. My words
without her edits, reassurance, and thinking through concepts
might have led to a murky business only understandable to me.
Thank you, Bonita!
I am grateful to the people who willingly answered my survey
questions and to those who spoke with me. The wisdom in their
stories enriches Chasing Sleep with their thoughts and desires in
the search for a delicious and much longed-for state of sleep.
Loving support and wise words from my family sustained me
along the way in writing.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: O sleep, O gentle sleep ............................................ 1
CHAPTER 2: Sleeping Through the Centuries ............................ 15
CHAPTER 3: Modern Looks at Sleep .......................................... 27
CHAPTER 4: My Journey into Sleeplessness
Began Innocuously Enough ................................... 39
CHAPTER 5: Why Interview Other People? ............................... 59
CHAPTER 6: What Others Say .................................................... 67
CHAPTER 7: Attitudes and Balance ............................................ 81
CHAPTER 8: Reflections on the Blessings of Nighttime Waking 89
CHAPTER 9: Change, Cope; or Cope and Change? .................... 99
CHAPTER 10: Influences on Sleep ............................................ 109
CHAPTER 11: What to Do, What to Do? .................................. 127
CHAPTER 12: CBT-I ................................................................... 155
CHAPTER 13 : Perspectives to Consider ................................... 163
CHAPTER 14: Taking Care of Yourself ...................................... 179
CHAPTER 15: The Big Picture ................................................... 191
POSTSCRIPT ............................................................................. 199
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................... 201

CHASING
SLEEP

CHAPTER 1
O sleep, O gentle sleep
O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down
And steep my sense in forgetfulness?"
William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I
Oh, how my wilted eyelids pop open when my head hits the
pillow. How I rue the wretched nights of skullduggery. Sleep is
indeed precious to millions of us who are intimately attuned to
the significance of its loss and interruptions. While this may not
console you (or me), we sleepless ones have good company, as
fewer and fewer modern people enjoy a full night of sleep.
The National Sleep Foundation finds 32% of American adults wake
repeatedly and sleep less than six hours a night. This effectively

CHASING SLEEP
triples the number of wakers in 1942. Even six hours may count as
a blessed event for the 24% of this total who wake early and can-
not get back to sleep. 38% begin several days a week unrefreshed
from fragmented sleep which does not restore them. A Consumer
Reports article, Why Americans Can't Sleep"1, counts 164 million
Americans who encounter sleep difficulties at least once a week.
Why Consumer Reports? Because they have gadgets and pills to
market.
This is an enormous amount of people awake in the night! We
may as well have non-coffee klatches in the wee hours. However,
you might lose a friend by letting her know you are awake, only to
find the next day you disturbed your formerly dear friend.
Besides, if you get up in the middle of the night, your animals for
sure will excitedly take the slightest bit of activity as a sign the new
day has arrived. And woe unto you.
Do Ray Bradburys words about his lovely times in the night sound
familiar?
Oh God, midnights not bad, you wake and go
back to sleep, one or twos not bad,
you toss but sleep again.
Five or six in the morning, theres hope,
for dawns just under the horizon.
1 2/16. Consumer Reports, Why Americans Can't Sleep

LONELY TUSSLES IN THE DARK

But three, now, Christ, three A.M.!
Doctors say the bodys at low tide then.
The soul is out.
The blood moves slow.
Youre the nearest to dead youll ever be save dying.
Sleep is a patch of death,
but three in the morn, full wide-eyed staring, is
living death!
You dream with your eyes open.
God, if you had strength to rouse up,
youd slaughter your half-dreams
with buckshot!
But no, you lie pinned to a deep well-bottom
thats burned dry.
The moon rolls by to look at you down there,
with its idiot face.
Its a long way back to sunset,
a far way on to dawn,
so you summon all the fool things of your life,
the stupid lovely things done with people known
so very well who are now so very dead
And wasnt it true, had he read somewhere,
more people in hospitals die at 3 A.M. than at
any other time...
Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes

CHASING SLEEP
Do you remember when once you fell asleep quickly and slept like
a baby and woke early, refreshed and ready for the day? I do. It
was deliciousand I took it for granted. I never gave sleep a
thought except for gratefulness on feeling so good the next morn-
ing. Well, this is not entirely so. When my babies woke me at night
I walked through the days gritty-eyed. Other than those times
which had good reason, I remember reflecting on how great I felt
upon awaking. Sweet awakenings became a reference point and
place to revisit for rejuvenating the rest of my day. These early
moments of feeling great were a worthwhile way to step back mo-
mentarily from challenges. I assumed this was the way life went.
Sleep well each night and wake up refreshed, and now, according
to a posting on the social network Pinterest, my bed is a magical
place where I suddenly remember everything I was supposed to