In my youth, I was a champion napper. The Queen of sleep in general, to be honest. Parenthood and perimenopause changed all that.
About 10 years ago I lost my ability to nap. This was most alarming as a devoted napper. Despite my ability to not actually sleep, I would still lie down and rest or meditate in the afternoons. At least I chilled out for 30 minutes and felt a little reinvigorated. It was better than nothing.
About five years later almost all sleep became allusive. I was not sleeping at night or napping during the day. I was miserable. I went on Ambien and it helped—some. Luckily, I had no weird side effects like night eating or driving. I may have done some internet shopping, but that was a side effect of my insomnia as well, so it was hard to tell.
I was hesitant to go on Ambien. The main reason is my sister was on it and did some crazy shit. She shopped for everything, but the real red flag was the day I opened her fridge to see a bottle of half-full white wine with the cork floating in it and the top of the bottle wrapped in duct tape. As one would, I asked, “What the fuck happened here?” She replied casually, “Ambien.” Wow.
In desperation, I took the Ambien and seemed to handle it well—till it stopped working. Then the night sweats began in full force. I wanted to die. In desperation, I went to my gyno and begged for hormones. She knew crazy when she saw it and prescribed that shit immediately.
The hormones have not been all sunshine and roses for me. I believe they have increased my anxiety. However, I can sleep most nights. That is a major win. It really has taken about a year and a half to figure out the best mixture of things for me. It’s still not perfect. I’m very jealous of people who tell me hormones made them feel 25 again. Fuckers. I feel a good 75 most days.
However, in the last couple of months, something exciting has happened. My ability to nap has returned and is in full force.
At first, I was overjoyed by this development. I went to lie down and do my 30-minute meditation and woke up two hours later. I was like, “What the hell just happened!?” I felt like a new woman. The wonderful napping memories came flooding back.
Since this first napping day, I have been napping most every day since. This has pros and cons. Pro: I fucking love to nap! Con: it’s cutting down on my daily productivity. I’m getting all my work done, but my house is messy AF. Would I give back my ability to nap for a clean house? I think not!
I get up early, and I work most of the day (from home). If my body needs a nap in the afternoon, you know what? I’m giving it that.
Menopause is fucking hard y’all. My body is struggling to cope. I’m always tired. I have brain fog and I won’t even discuss weight. If I can get a couple of peaceful hours at lunchtime and enjoy a solid nap, I’m all over that shit.
Older friends tell me it gets better. God. I hope so. Until then, I will be hitting the hormones and napping whenever possible. I just hope the trend continues.
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
