The life of an insomniac night shift nurse is one that is truly misunderstood. Tomorrow for example, I have to attend a work related class that starts at 7:30am which means I have to "get up" by 5am due to the commute. Sadly, after a few hours of attempting to sleep it's 0107 and I can tell already that tomorrow will be a day filled with me consuming enough caffeine to turn my heart into a drummer for a heavy metal band and that by tomorrow evening when I make the hour long trek back home my driving will be comparable to that of a 94 y/o with Parkinson's and dementia. Despite all this, want to know what makes me irritated? My partner is sleeping without difficulty, snoring ever so softly enough that you just know he's have wonderful dreams about grassy fields and Unicorns with pretty white wings.
Oh yes it's very petty of me, indeed my irritation boils down to one simple thing: Jealousy... because my partner can get 8-9 hours of sleep no matter what's happening in the world or his life without pharmaceutical intervention each and every night, and myself? Nah, I get the luxury of unintentionally frightening young children because I look like a Zombie thanks to the effects of my sleep deprivation.
But honestly whether you're a night shifter or prone to insomnia or both, we always get phone calls right when we finally DO fall asleep and it's always from someone who knows us well enough to know what our sleep schedule is like, or our partners/wives/husbands etc. never have difficulty "accidently" waking us up right as we doze off, but God forbid we accidently wake THEM up or we get snarled at.
What is the point of this thread? Good question, and honestly I don't quite know myself haha, just thought I would share my thoughts as I'm sure many of you can relate. Time for one more cup of herbal tea then attempt one more time to get at least a couple hours of sleep. Although the selfish, petty, cynical side of me wants to run through the house screaming and laughing obnoxiously as loud as I can, and when my partner crankily demands me to explain my behavior, simply say, "If I can't sleep NOBODY CAN!!"