To sleep, perchance to dream

Oops, forgot to press "publish"...

I've had trouble sleeping - getting to sleep, staying asleep and waking up - at various points through my life. The last bout started around 2 years ago, and I decided to try a wind down routine at the end of the day - fingers crossed, it's still working. These are some of the instruments of my routine:

1. a soft lamp for reading (which is the last step)

2. candles as an optional extra

3. a notepad and pencil to write down things that occur to me when I'm on the edge of sleep, or when I wake up at 3am (a more regular occurrence than I'd like!)

4. at least three books (see 1 above lol) - the one I'm reading, another one for when I finish it and one for weekends when an early night isn't as important.

I've been going through a David Eddings phase since I got back from holiday - he wrote (amongst other things) four series of fantasy novels and I've had them all for nearly 20 years - an old boyfriend suggested I might like them, and he was right! They would be battered and bruised, I've read them that often, but I had the foresight when I bought them to also buy some sticky backed plastic (I was a student, Blue Peter was a staple!). They are to me the literary equivalent of tomato soup with melted cheese (my comfort food).

I'm also looking for my next holiday destination - would it just be simpler to go through the book page by page I wonder? Next stop Strasbourg? I'll think about it tomorrow night.

x

ps the alarm clock is not part of the routine except on a Sunday evening. Otherwise it's the token necessary evil!