Just in the past year or so, I have really noticed the full moon's effect on me. I don't sleep much on or around the full moon. It's not insomnia, exactly. More like a strong unwillingness to go to sleep. The dogs are definitely more restless around the full moon, too. I don't know if I picked it up from them, or if living with them has somehow put me more in touch with the lunar rhythm. So, two nights ago, which I think was the night before it was technically full, I was up until 5. Last night I managed to turn in around 3, which isn't totally unusual for me anyway. I aim for 1 or 2, but if I get that second wind, then sometimes I'm just up.
But any new change in my sleep patterns gives me a little bit of anxiety, because I have a fear of insomnia. I've never had it, I don't think. But my mother & brother had it, and my dad certainly had very peculiar sleep patterns. I've always been a sound and heavy sleeper. I can drink coffee at 10 pm and go to sleep a couple of hours later. Usually, my issues result from just not getting enough sleep due to scheduling, rather than any other sort of concern. But I know that all sorts of things are changing in my body as I get older. Sleep seems to be one of them. I wake up more easily in the night (partly since I'm the on-call dog mom, so if either of them needs something, they come to me to wake me up) and I have a harder time sleeping past 10 in the morning. Though today I managed to loaf around til 11:30.
So at least figuring out the lunar connection gave me some peace of mind -- for a few days each month, if I just can't seem to go to bed, I have a reason for it, not just general decrepitude and aging.
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