Insomnia is a medical disorder. At least it is listed in medical journals and studied by medical researchers. It can be the inability to fall asleep or the inability to stay asleep or both. There has been increasing research into a wide variety of sleep disorders in recent decades because of links between sleep disorders and a wide variety of other medical conditions and illnesses. Treating sleep disorders can help prevent other major illnesses.

Diagnosis of sleep disorders is, however, an inexact science. Sleep patterns can be disrupted by a wide variety of situations and conditions. Individuals vary dramatically in terms of the amount of sleep that they need. A general rule of thumb is that most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to maintain optimal health.

I’ve never been among the best sleepers. When I was a child there were great rewards for being able to wake up and get going first thing in the morning. Our father was an early riser. Flying in the mountains in light aircraft is a tricky adventure, and the cool, calm air of daybreak presents the best conditions. There were plenty of opportunities to go flying with Dad, if you could get up in the pre-dawn hours and get out to the car before he left for the airport. I taught myself to listen for the sound of his boots on the stairway. I could get up, get dressed and follow him out the door.

When we were first married, I used to drive my wife up the wall because as soon as I woke, I jumped out of bed and got dressed. No lying around for me. I had to teach myself a calmer method of getting up in the morning, but I still rise before she gets up, even when we both are awake. I have, however, learned to make a little less noise as I get up.

I have generally felt that the best cure for insomnia is simply to work hard and get tired. But I know that there are times when one cannot sleep, even when one is tired.

So I am writing today’s blog at a little after midnight at home. It is after 2 a.m. here in Cleveland. I’ve had a long day. My flight from Denver arrived in Cleveland at 12:30 local time. It was nearly 1:30 by the time I got to the hotel. I put away my things, got ready and crawled into bed.

No sleep.

I read a book. Not even remotely sleepy.

I have a very busy day tomorrow with some major presentations and the need to be alert and open to people. And it will be a long day, with meetings starting at 8 a.m. and going well into the evening. I need to sleep.

I have a list of tricks that I haven’t tried: warm bath, relaxation exercises, and visualization. I just decided that writing the blog would save me some time in the morning and l would be able to sleep in a little bit once I get to sleep.

As far as I know the condition isn’t chronic with me. I’m probably a person who can get on with just a little less sleep than average. And I’m pretty good at taking a nap when the occasion presents itself, so some days I get in an extra hour in the middle of the day instead of taking all of my sleep at night. I don’t have any of the other symptoms associated with insomnia: depression, stress, heart condition or breathing disorders.

It is what I think is called transient insomnia – that is the inability to fall asleep that comes and goes, but doesn’t persist for multiple nights. I already know that I will not have trouble falling asleep tonight after a night that was short on sleep and a long day of working and trying to stay focused. I can’t really imagine what it would be like to have the condition persist for weeks or even months as happens to some people.

Travel is a well-understood disrupter of sleep. In our modern age, we can transit several time zones in a short amount of time and find ourselves in a place that operates on a different schedule than our own. Even though I have traveled to a place where it is later than it is at home, it is different. Furthermore the activities of travel, including the need to be alert for a taxi ride after several hours in airplanes and airports, keep me from sleeping at times when I normally would.

When I taught stress management classes, I worked with students on developing rituals and routines for their bedtime that signaled to their bodies that it was time to be asleep. Obviously whatever routines I practice are disrupted by the simple fact that I’m in a different place with a different schedule.

The sounds of the hotel are different than the sounds of home as well. I am used to a place that gets pretty quiet at night. The heart of downtown Cleveland never really gets quiet. There are activities and sounds that carry on though out the night. There is a steady stream of cars going by on the street. I guess all of those cars mean that people have somewhere to go. The bed is different. The pillows are different. The heating unit in the room is noisy.

On the other hand, it must be relatively boring to read my “rant” about insomnia. There isn’t much news for those of you who were expecting some pithy thoughts or deep reflections when you read my blog of the day. I spent yesterday afternoon and evening traveling. I haven’t got things from Church House and our meetings to report yet.

I suppose it depends what time of day you are used to reading the blog. A few pages of rambling about sleep disruption might not be the best way to begin the day. However, it might be used as a sleep aid at the end of the day.

Maybe I just need to read my own words . . .

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