Why can’t I sleep? Damn you Covid-19 !

I have always loved sleeping. I think the reason I enjoy the idea of jumping into bed is on most nights I will have sensational dreams. Over the last six months, things have changed, I’m just not sleeping very well.

Waking up at three-thirty has become far too frequent an experience. There are some nights, I’m up at one, three-thirty, five and six-thirty. It is absolute madness. When I wake up I can’t remember what if anything I was dreaming about and it is often hard to get back to sleep.

I have started doing weird things like watching the news from Los Angeles. I am three hours ahead, so when I wake up I can usually turn on KTLA and watch some kind of bizarre car chase. I am starting to believe car chases are the national sport of Southern California. It is always startling when someone throws a gun out of a car while being chased. Doesn’t the perp know that everybody watching the news has seen him do it. There are thousands of witnesses. What Maroons.

I have also started watching reruns of old shows, and movies that were made for low to no budget. I’m amazed that someone actually bought the movie for their station. I bet the Producers laugh every time they hear their film was broadcast. The problem is, instead of putting to me sleep this crappy television keeps me awake.

After thinking about the problem, I switched pillows and even bought a new mattress. It didn’t help, I’ve changed sheets and got a new comforter but it just doesn’t seem to work. I am rapidly becoming an insomniac.

I mentioned my sleep deprivation to a friend who told me that many people are suffering because of Covid-19. Usually, we are out and about, socializing and going places, but the truth is we all have become somewhat stagnant. Covid-19 and lockdown has led to repetition and a lack of motivation and stimulation. When you go to bed at night there are only so many things you can think about, or subconsciously you are overthinking everything. Whatever it is, it’s a new dynamic, not one that I’ve ever experienced before.

Another friend asked me why I just don’t smoke a joint before I go to sleep or take a sleeping pill. I explained that neither of those things appeal to me. My brain is small enough I don’t need to add any foreign substances.

Finally a very close friend told me my problem was a lack of intimacy. The fact I was sleeping by myself over a prolonged period of time was taking a toll on my psyche and I think she was right.

The truth is that during the pandemic there have been a million different things that caused my brain to work overtime and the body to react differently. The fact that I’m not an expert on the subject has contributed to a lack of understanding. There is one other thing, my dog Lucky has been coming and standing beside my bed and barking at me during the night. He seems to do it every two hours. I wonder if that has something to do with my lack of sleep? The pandemic seems to be having an impact on him also. The poor dog can’t sleep.