Drifting Alone In The Silence Of The Midnight

Using sleepless hours happily.

- Rameeza A. Rasheed

I have always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner. Their floor boards of the skull well swept and all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed • David Benioff (author).

I always have the same feeling as David Benioff since I have always suffered from sleeping disorders. I often feel very fresh after midnight and feel very drowsy during the morning hours. When I was discussing this problem with my family doctor once, the doctor quoted the following sentences to me while attempting to make me understand the mechanism involved in a healthy sleeping pattern

He said that “the biological clock, or 24-hour cycle (circadian rhythm) can be affected by light or darkness, which can make the body think it is time to sleep or wake up. Body clock sleep problems have been linked to a hormone called melatonin. Light and dark affect how the body makes melatonin. Most melatonin is made at night. During the day, light tells your body to make less melatonin. If you work at night in artificial light, your body may be making less melatonin than it needs”

He further said , “Some people – such as those who can't sleep until very late and those who go to bed very early – have circadian rhythms that are different from those of most people. Other people with sleep problems may have regular circadian rhythms but have to adjust them to new situations, such as working a night shift. When you work at night and sleep during the day, your body's internal clock needs to reset to let you sleep during the day. Sometimes that's hard to do. People who work the night shift or rotate shifts may have trouble sleeping during the day and may feel tired at night when they need to be alert for work.”