Writing Prompt: What do you think about when you can’t fall asleep?

I have a lot of trouble sleeping, so there’s a lot I think about when I can’t sleep.  Mostly I worry and stress out about stuff when I can’t sleep.  Sometimes I think about why I can’t sleep and when I will fall asleep.  I think about why I can’t have a normal sleeping pattern.

I also think about things I need to do and things I should do.  Like go to the gym, or work on my novels.  Lately it’s been about how I’m ever going to read 100 books this year, and also how I’ve been putting off finding places to volunteer.

And like I said before, I tend to do most of my worrying at night.  I do worry/feel anxious throughout the day, but for whatever reason, it’s just terrible at night, and while journaling helps to a certain degree, it doesn’t completely make it go away, so I’ll still be awake at 1 or 2 in the morning, worrying about how I can’t go to sleep.  Perhaps I need to journal before I go to sleep instead of the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.  Knowing me, I probably need to change my getting-ready-for-bed routine.

We all know sleep is important, and when you’re writing, or in my case, attempting to write, getting a good nights sleep is a really good idea.  This is especially evidenced in this post I wrote back in November.  While it makes rereading my writing entertaining, it makes writing a bit harder.  I’m more distracted than normal, and it’s harder to focus on writing when I’m trying not to fall asleep.  It’s definitely a lot easier for me to get my thoughts onto paper if I’m well-rested.