There is something as bad as not sleeping - taking Ambien. You might most heartily dislike the common side effect of getting up and doing things in a sleep daze - in my case, eating in a kind of helpless way. This morning I got up and put the Lay's potato chip bag, and the rest of the chips, in the trash. That won't solve the sleep-eating problem, but should cut down on the salt. And it could be worse - some people drive in their sleep. I'm probably lucky that it's cold out and I don't have a convertible anymore.
But there's something else with drugs that help you sleep, including our old friend Benadryl: they have a hangover worse than anything in your wasted youth. Or maybe you care more at my age. It's a kind of dumbness, haziness, and significant memory loss (not always a bad thing). Thus this morning, I find myself working on an elaborate columned list with the following headings:
things you ought to do
things you'd like to do if you had the time/energy
things you'd be glad you did
other things on your mind.
There are not too many items on the lists. But the odd phenomenon is already happening: everything on the lists - and I put these things on the lists because I wanted to do them but usually forget - has become unappealing. It's magic. What I should do, maybe, is make out a list titled
things you really don't feel like doing
Then maybe I'd react against that and do them. Well, it's a thought.
