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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Plaza fencing is ugly and wasteful ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Require national service ... Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... Guest Opinion: Plaza fencing is ugly and wasteful ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Require national service ... Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... Get A Life: Get some sleep Comment By Loretta LaRoche More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Loretta LaRoche More Content Now Posted May. 11, 2015 at 6:51 AM By Loretta LaRoche More Content Now Posted May. 11, 2015 at 6:51 AM » Social News Every morning my partner, Kenny, asks me how I slept. He has gotten accustomed to my laments about my sleep patterns, but to his credit, he keeps asking. I often think of using Steven Wright’s response when his girlfriend asked him, “Did you sleep good?” He said, “No, I made some mistakes.” My sleep began its fractured journey when I became menopausal. I would fall asleep and then awaken two or three hours later and not just be awake but hyper-awake. I would stare at the ceiling for hours while listening to the myriad irrational thoughts floating through my mind. It seems that lying in the dark precipitates the need for the mind to share all kinds of information that you’d like to forget. Some of my typical thoughts were: “You should clean the refrigerator,” “Why don’t you lose some weight, maybe then you’ll fit into your clothes better?” “Shouldn’t you call your mother more often?” “Why can’t I sleep, I just don’t understand!” Round and round they’d go. Thoughts that were filled with guilt or injustices committed against my person. I was at the beginning stages of my career at that time in my life, so I didn’t have the awareness I have now on how insidious the mind can be. I have a better tool box to work with now, but my sleep is still not the best. I have also recognized that most of my women friends suffer from sleep irregularities. It seems men can sleep through most anything and on any surface. Women seem to ruminate more. However, there appears to be a new reason sleep is becoming more allusive, and it has nothing to do with hormones. According to a colleague of mine, Rick Clerici, a sleep specialist, our lives are filled with too much light, which suppresses melatonin, a hormone that influences sleep patterns. Too many of us have become invested in watching television or being on our computers, sources of blue light, before bedtime. Before the advent of electricity people went to bed when it got dark and woke up when it was light. We are now signaling our brains that we are living in the light which shortchanges our sleep and can lead to disease. Our culture has a plethora of individuals with sleep problems and an inordinate amount of them are on sleep medications. It becomes a vicious cycle since the medications can be addictive. After my last conversation with Rick I decided to make a concerted effort to turn of the gadgets, dim the lights and read something soothing like a cookbook. I’m not promising complete compliance, however, I think It might be worth a try. I’m also looking forward to not hearing myself say, “I’m so tired!” And If worse comes to worst, I just might be up around 2 a.m. making lasagna. Author, humorist, PBS star and Fortune 500 trainer Loretta LaRoche lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts. To share your pet peeves, questions or comments, write to The Humor Potential, 50 Court St., Plymouth, MA 02360. Visit her website at stressed.com . By Loretta LaRoche More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Loretta LaRoche More Content Now Posted May. 11, 2015 at 6:51 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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