On Sleep

It has come to my attention that my whole life currently revolves around sleep. This is, perhaps, an exaggeration. Yet, with the evolution of an increasingly night-based work schedule, it is hard not to spend much of the day pondering how to score enough sleep to survive the nights.
 
With my new focus on sleep, I believe I have learned a few things worth sharing. After all, in a world that increasingly twenty-four hour and a work world that is coming to have few to no boundaries, I may be the only one in my social circle working overnight now, but I won't be the only one for long. So, here goes...
 
1. That old new mom adage "sleep when the baby sleeps" really ought to say "sleep whenever you can." That would leave us all much better prepared for sleeping enough, even when there's no baby.
 
2. Sleep is more important than answering every call that comes during the day (90% of which are telemarketing calls). Even if you wake up, look before you pick up.
 
3. There's no shame in going to bed before your children. As long as they're safe. Whether you're working nights or not. End of story.
 
4. There is no wrong place to sleep. As long as you don't mind being stepped on (if you sleep on the floor), sat on (if you sleep on the couch), or laughed at (if you sleep in a place or position that leaves unbelievably amusing table or sweater marks on your face), it's all good.
 
5. You will catch up. You will. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even this week, but you will.
 
6. You will always be in good company when you talk about lack of sleep--everybody's got it, and even if it's nothing like yours, it's something to talk about, especially during those hours you aren't coherent enough to talk about much else.
 
7. Uneven sleep makes you appreciate a solid, in the dark hours, fuzzy pajamas sleep more than you ever imagined you could. It's kind of like a tray of brownies after a week of celery.
 
Now, having written an entire blog about sleep, I would like to think that I can make my life revolve around something else. And I guess if that's not possible, I'll just take a nap...