Insomnia!!!!!!!

Insomnia.  Just typing that word and/or saying it makes me wish it never existed....especially in my own home!  You see, for the last 2 weeks I've been waking up, for no apparent reason, at 3am.  Which is why I laughed so hard when I found this image on Google:

I mean, really??  Could it be ANY more perfect for me?!!  

This is definitely not the first time I've had issues with the dreaded "insomnia monster", but for some reason this time...it kicked my effing ass!!!  I'm already used to getting up at 4am, 3 days a week, to coach classes, so one hour on those days isn't a big deal.  It was the EVERY SINGLE NIGHT of going to bed at 10:30pm and waking at 3am that completely ruined me.  I felt like a zombie moving through my day.  My workouts weren't good and my attitude was poor.  Spark and coffee were my best friends - for those of you not already addicted to Spark, it's an energy drink made by AdvoCare and it's AWESOME!  (If you 'd like to try some, I'll give you a sample!)

I can already hear all of you, "Well there's your problem, you were drinking too much caffeine.".  Nope.  Sorry to disappoint you, and not give you the satisfaction of being right, it wasn't the caffeine.  I made sure to only have my caffeine fixes in the morning when I needed to be "chipper" and "bouncy" to motivate everyone in class (sorry 5:15pm, you missed out on the cracked out version of coach Aggie- ha!) or I drank some right before my workout, but never anything after 1:00pm.  I STILL, went home completely exhausted, falling into bed, sleeping as hard as a rock until - BAM! 3am.

It' SO frustrating to be that tired and exhausted and not know why you can't stay asleep.  You look at the clock and think "I've got 3 more hours to sleep" and then before you know it, you're looking at the clock again and it's been 15 minutes and you've pretty much just laid there staring at the wall.  Thirty minutes goes by, an hour goes by...same thing.   Last night I finally slept for 9 hours straight and I did nothing different - WTH??!!  But...that's pretty much how it's always been for me.  Insomnia comes and goes as it pleases, leaving me wondering what the heck I did to make this happen again.

Everyone knows insomnia can be caused by stress and caffeine, but there are some other factors that I had no idea could affect the way you sleep.  Like, eating too late in the evening, there's even a cause called "learned" insomnia.   Huh...who would want to LEARN that!?!  Click this link to read an article by the staff at the Mayo Clinic, it's filled with tons of info, even some home remedies.  

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187 

If you're suffering or have ever suffered from insomnia, I hope this helps even a little bit.  Learn to push that stress out of your life, eat well, and take care of your body - it's the only one you've got!  And if you just happen to be awake at 3am...call me, we'll chat - haha!!  :)

Much Love,
coach Aggie
"Strong is the New Sexy"