A Bottle Of Wine

I've been having trouble with my sleep patterns - or lack thereof. I'm exhausted, yet even on nights when I don't have to work all night, my body has decided that it needs to stay awake that late anyway. But then I fall asleep at my desk during the day. Not good.

My doctor gave me a couple of sleeping pills. A couple isn't going to cut it but I wouldn't want to take more than a couple anyway because I'm worried about becoming dependent on them. Actually, I don't want to take any sleeping pills because of the side effects. They stay in your body for a long time and I don't need a drug hangover.

I've worked shifts in the past and have done okay with it, but this is different because I'm not merely working shifts; I'm working night shift AND day shift. The body and brain are NOT liking this.

I talked to some friends who work shifts to see what kinds of problems they face and what solutions work for them. More than one has recommended a glass of wine. I don't have any theological problems with having a glass of wine, but I am concerned about alcohol's depressant effect. The last thing I need to do is knock myself into a clinical depression. Been there, done that, never doing it again.

The doctor says a glass or two of wine is okay. My friend brought me a bottle of wine.

Tonight I thought I'd give it a shot (pun intended).

I had a glass of wine.

Nothing.

Not tired. Not feeling it.

Is there alcohol in this?

I had another glass. (For those of you who don't know, not only do I not drink, but one of my nicknames in University was "Half-beer Laurie")

I'm feeling relaxed for a change, but is it the wine or the fact that I'm not actually doing any work?

I waited for the effects of the alcohol to make me sleepy.

Nope. Nothing, save for a warm feeling in my face.

I had another glass.

Um... This isn't working out.

I'm feeling like I want to turn this music up.

Who can I phone?

No... It's too late to be phoning anyone.

I want a bag of chips. Okay, I'm going to die if I don't have a bag of chips right now.

No - I'm on a strict budget. Besides, it's not like I can be driving anywhere anyway.

Okay... I felt kinda good for about ten minutes, but still not sleepy. Wasn't this supposed to make me sleepy?

I'm feeling a little dizzy. My head kinda hurts and my stomach isn't liking this. But still not sleepy.

Well, if three glasses didn't work, a fourth is not going to do me any good. This didn't work so well.

People actually do this to themselves on purpose. hmmm....

Really I should have known better... I think so, anyway. Remind me to tell you my two NyQuil stories - one where I got an award and the other when the OPP confined me to the law library in the Crown Attorney's office.

Nope. I won't be trying this again. Gotta find something that works, though.