Coffee. Where would I be without you?
These days especially, caffeine is a bit of a lifeline. The average weekday has me at work from morning to early evening, then straight to class, then squeezing in a couple hours of homework before bedtime. The average weekend is homework, homework, homework. And coffee.
Today, being my day off and a day I didn't have to be anywhere, involved three naps. Such luxury. Unfortunately, however, it was less luxury than necessity--I started taking a muscle relaxer that doubles as a sedative for some neck pain problems, and while the drug did nothing to help me sleep at night (dang thing) it did plenty to help me sleep during the day. Productivity? Ha. Coffee to the rescue, but even four cups of coffee can only compensate for so much.
It would probably help the drowsiness situation immensely if I'd stop reading before bed. Google "how to sleep better" and a relaxing activity such as reading is bound to be on the list. Relaxing? Have you tried reading a heck of a good book that gets your heart racing when the characters face mortal danger and fearsome beasts? Relaxing--that's child's play. I have yet to read a Stephen King book (shame one me. It's on my to-do list) but I get the feeling that it won't lull my brain into sleep.
Kidding aside, even though reading often is relaxing, I'm still encountering a challenge to its usefulness in improving my sleep. After all...sleeping better may not balance out sleeping less because you stayed up turning pages. You did that, not me. Definitely not me. Definitely not every night for the last few weeks...actually, every night for most of my literate life.
But, that problem isn't going away anytime soon. So coffee it is.
Consequently, I've noticed I've been acquiring larger and larger mugs. One of the first mugs I ever used, back in my early days of developing a taste for coffee, is a petite thing. Really more suitable for a shot of espresso. These days, I have mugs big enough to double as mixing bowls and dog dishes. And in a variety of sizes. The end result is that they take up a lot of cabinet space. I now have three locations for coffee mugs. I'm about to need another bookshelf, too. The two seem to go hand-in-hand.
Tonight, I should probably get some sleep. After one more chapter.