Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care
Sorry for posting a bit late today. I find that one of the many things that happens to me lately is that my sleep has been somewhat more disturbed. I either have trouble falling asleep, or I wake up in the night thinking and then start to read my phone. I figure I’m up anyway, but it’s probably a bad idea because it only sparks more thoughts. And many of the thoughts aren’t what you’d call soothing.
I wonder whether a lot of you might be feeling the same way.
So here’s some Shakespeare for all of us:
Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.
[NOTE: I first studied “Macbeth” in high school. It wasn’t my favorite Shakespearean play and still isn’t. But I love certain passages, and that’s one of them. Note that the word “raveled” is used the way we’d use “unraveled.”]
I’m exactly like you with respect to Macbeth — not a fan of the overall play, but there are diamonds of linguistic perfection to be found there. I’d say that over the years, King Lear speaks to me as a powerful statement on human nature.
I generally make it a point not to use an electric device an hour before bed otherwise I’d be up all night. I finally got my mom to do it too and she has been sleeping better. (Though she still has problems that might be the resort of aging.) I don’t know if that’s your problem.
“… and then start to read my phone. I figure I’m up anyway, but it’s probably a bad idea because it only sparks more thoughts. ”
It sparks because it’s like shining a flashlight into your eyes.
About a year ago, long before this pandemic was on the radar, I was getting a bunch of colds and sinus infections. So I resolved to change my sleep patterns.
Up until then, I slept from about midnight to 5am, everyday. For no particular reason other than I was really psychologically/mentally busy. But after talking with my doctor I realized I needed to change my sleep habits. A lot.
So, I made a very concerted effort: I stopped all electronics at least an hour before I went to bed. I brought one book to bed. And, because of my own personal quirks, I made it non-fiction because that never holds my attention after the sun is down. Then, and this was the absolute hardest part; I made sure I was in my bed by 8:45. 9 at the latest, unless we had some kind of special thing going on.
I started sleeping from 9-9:30 to 6:30. Its made a world of difference. When I look back, the electronics, be it phone, tablet, PC or Amaflix, were nothing but chronological and emotional sinks.
If you must use your phone late at night and Macbeth comes to mind then do a search for “Black Adder and Macbeth. ” It is better than politics to help you get back to sleep.
Vanderleun:
Actually, by the time I’m reading my phone like that it’s almost always early morning and it’s light in the room anyway, so the phone doesn’t add all that much light.
Lately, I’m getting about 5 hours sleep with nearly the same MO.
Fractal Rabbit:
The last time I went to bed at that hour – without being ill – was when I was about 3 years old. And I resented the early hour even then. I am a very extreme nightowl and have been from early childhood. However, I usually am not looking at my cell phone or computer any later than an hour or so before bed. My problem is a compulsion to check the phone when I can’t sleep – when I’m lying there, thinking a lot anyway. And the cell phone makes it worse, I know. But at the time I look at it, I’m in a sort of half-asleep mode when my willpower to resist is just about nil.
It’s a problem.
Neo, I have much the same problem. Although I haven’t tried Shakespeare, maybe I should with the early am internet check. Thanks for that great selection above.
I am not a morning person either, although the idea always sounds good in theory. Coffee in bed at 7:30 is usually the best I can muster most days.
I usually also say silent prayers which are rote and tend to lull me to sleep. Or at least some peace with the current situation.
I also read Macbeth in high school, along with half a dozen or so other major Shakespeares. I loved it. It was my favorite then and remains at least among my top few. We saw a movie of it and I’ve sometimes wondered if that had something to do with the impression it made on me.
Maybe all was not as well as it should have been with a sixteen-year-old who thought the “Out, out…” speech was just the greatest thing in the world. 🙂
Mac:
The “out out” speech is one of the passages I was talking about when I wrote “I love certain passages.” I think it’s one of the most brilliant things ever written, actually. It expresses what people can feel – then and now – when they’ve lost faith that there’s any meaning in life.
The lovely description of sleep by Macbeth is the more poignant when we understand that it is fed by his apprehension that sleeping is past for him. How awful to realize that the blessing of sleep is forever past.
‘Still it cried, “Sleep no more!” to all the house.
“Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.”’
Nothing knocks me out faster than trying to listen to a book on tape. In the morning I have to rewind to the same chapter I started on.
Neo,
I understand completely. I was a night owl for many years. And one that bordered on an insomniac. I averaged 5 hours of sleep a night from my teens to my 40’s.
But I could tell my health was changing and not for the better. Not saying that yours is!
Changing my sleep habits however has been one of the best decisions I ever made. Also one of the most difficult.
Neo: “one of the most brilliant things ever written, actually”
Yes indeed.
but it’s probably a bad idea because it only sparks more thoughts. And many of the thoughts aren’t what you’d call soothing.
As you reject the light of wisdom, so shall it reject you and turn elsewhere.
As for me, the peace that surpasses all understanding is not to give up. If anything, my spiritual progress, my heart chakra, and my sleep has been slightly better than recent years.
Geoffrey Britain on March 24, 2020 at 7:38 pm said:
Lately, I’m getting about 5 hours sleep with nearly the same MO.
Congratulations on the media, for helping to shorten the life spans of humans, using fear pron.