Even Scholars Need Their Sleep

Image Source: https://www.funnybeing.com/70-most-awesome-sleep-memes/

It is 4:20 am in the morning as I write this post. I have been awake since approximately 1:45 am.

Is it because I was working on a new creative writing piece? Nah . . . I did that at 8:30 pm last night.

Is it because I was re-reading Afrofuturism by Ytasha Womack or Changing the Subject: A Theory of Rhetorical Empathy by Lisa Blankenship for my dissertation? Nah . . . I did that at approximately 4:30 pm yesterday, after work at the Writing Center and then recording a “mini-lecture” for my asynchronous class.

Is it because I was perhaps working on my PowerPoint so that I could guest lecture in one of the professors’ classes at MTSU for valuable classroom experience and teaching advice? Nah . . . I already did that on Monday (it seemed to go well by the way as the students were engaged and really interested in the class).

So, then why am I awake and pounding out a blog post in the middle of the night/wee early morning hours?

BECAUSE A GROUP PEOPLE DECIDED THAT MY FRONT DOOR WAS THE PLACE TO STOP AND “PARTY” (which is, in case you didn’t know, a “euphemism” for doing drugs).

Of Security Cameras and Police Sirens

To set the scene, I rarely stay up all night anymore. After doing some research on the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain and seeing how even one night of missing sleep can do lasting damage to brain and its chemical function, I have tried to make a concerted effort to go to sleep on time.

However, in my neighborhood, sleeping comes with risk. This neighborhood actually used to be a true neighborhood. However, due to the closing of a housing project in the area and the death of older homeowners and the renting of houses, this neighborhood has stopped resembling a true neighborhood and is quickly becoming part of the “Hood.”

On two different occasions, once in 2020 and once in 2021, I have caught people actively rooting inside my mailbox. I have replaced my mailbox twice–both times with a locking mailbox, and the second time with one that is actively designed to not just lock, but deter theft from the mailbox. I have had to fix an outdoor floodlight that senses because a next door neighbor’s shed was broken into. Nothing of value was taken–he’d moved all the valuables from the shed and house while he contemplates what he intends to do with the house, but my light has a motion sensor, and its position on my house means that if it had been working, it would have probably deterred whoever broke into the shed as the light would have sensed movement, and even though the light falls mostly in my yard, it still would have encompassed the area, protecting it. So I had to get that working again, not only to provide my neighbor with some protection, but also to act as a possible deterrent for any who might think of targeting my house next.

I’ve even had to go so far as to install security cameras in strategic locations around the house. I won’t go into too much detail as this is social media, but suffice to say that I now have the capability of both live viewing and recording options, in addition to motion sensing options. Why, you ask? I keep my outer gates locked, but I’ve had to buy new padlocks as I’ve found the old ones unlocked at least twice (and neither I nor my family had unlocked them). I’ve even seen a drug deal go down last week with a dealer riding a bicycle–while this didn’t happen on my street, it did happen on a crossing street at the upper end of the block.

And yet, at approx. 1:45 am this morning, I was awakened out of my sleep. As I lay in bed, I thought that I could hear distant voices outside. Reluctantly, I grabbed the phone, and checked the security camera app. I didn’t see anything, but I still heard the voices. As I was just considering putting on my glasses and grabbing my robe to get and look out the door, I heard a police siren. It got louder and louder (as police sirens do), and then I saw a strange thing. On the camera app, I saw movement, like car doors closing, and then–to my surprise–car headlights flared–RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF MY DOOR/MAILBOX. As the siren got louder, the car pulled away.

At first I was stunned, then annoyed, and then angry. What woke me was the people in the car, I’m sure of it. Why I couldn’t resolve the car in front of my house even looking at it through the camera is a mystery to me. Maybe I wasn’t truly awake, maybe I needed my glasses to resolve the fine details of the dark car on the dark street, but whatever it was, the only reason why they had left was because the oncoming siren spooked them. I don’t think they were thieves or after any property as they were far too noisy for that (unless they were incredibly bold), but I do think they were either on drugs or doing drugs in front of my door and that is a practice that most certainly intend to put a STOP to (there have been on-going issues with drugs on this street for a while now).

And so, as I type these words, it is now 5:12 am, and the birds are starting to chirp, even though it is still dark and raining, heralding the morning. The sun will be rising in about an hour and half/two hours and then my biorhythms, even if they allow me to nap for a couple of hours, will kick in and I’ll be waking up in about two hours or so myself, with only a maximum of 4 hours of sleep after two really intense work days (and having to go to work today as well). And that’s only if I manage to nap–if not, then I’ll be operating on about two hours of sleep.

Yay?

Even Scholars Need Their Sleep

While I was working at the Public Library, and even as a school teacher, especially when I woke up in the middle of the night, say 2am or 3am, and I would get up and play games on the PS3/PS4 for an hour or two (usually an hour) and then I’d go back to bed. This didn’t affect my sleep, nor my quality of work. When Destiny came out for the PS4, I’d often play on my own until 9pm or so, but that’s when the West Coast players would come on and look for people for Raids. I’d often hop in, hoping to be finished by midnight or 1 am, but the sessions would usually stretch until 2 am or even 3 am. One time, I had to teach and the sessions stretched until 4:20 am. I managed to go sleep and get up at about 7:30 am (we had a late 9:00 am start time, thank goodness) for a fairly restful 3 hours of sleep. I didn’t do this often, about once every week or every two weeks, but my body seemed to handle it fairly well.

However, once I started in the PhD program, this all changed. I noticed that the more I tried to do this, the worse the effects would be the next day. Trying to pull an all-nighter, like I had in my undergraduate years, and even into grad school, produced even worse results, so much so, that I could barely function the next day and couldn’t even think about trying to pull an all-nighter on days that I taught. I’ve gotten to where I don’t even try to do an all-nighter, even when I’ve not finished a paper/work. I just work until my normal bed-time, sleep, and then try to set my alarm for an hour earlier wake-up. I can so much more done if I’ve slept than if I haven’t that even one hour or so is equivalent to what I could accomplish if I tried to stay up all night.

So, I’ve learned to try to get to bed at a reasonable time and while I don’t always sleep perfectly (who does?), I have managed to become much better at going to bed at a good time and waking up refreshed . . . that is, until this past year or so thanks to people “prowling” much more and now, people “partying” in front of my door.

If it happens again, I intend to confront the individuals and to call the police. And I intend to call the police again and again, until the “party-goers” get the message. Find some place else to do your “partying.” In front of my door is off-limits.

Why? Well, even if you do think that “partying” in front of someone’s house isn’t a sufficient reason, I can give you another one:

Because even scholars need their sleep.

Sidney

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Currently Working On (March 2021):

• Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
  In for Revision & Editing
• Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
  In for Revision & Editing
• The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
  Out to Market
• To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
  Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress

Writing Without Sleep

I don’t know about you, but when I don’t get enough sleep, my writing (& thinking) tends to suffer.  I feel as if there is a “blanket” (sorry for the stretched metaphor) between my brain and my fingers.  I can write, but it is much harder to think, to find the perfect word, to extend my vocabulary, or to make connections in a meaningful way.  This was brought home to me this morning as I tried to write a “response” to the reading for my class today.  I did not sleep well last night, so I got up early to finish my reading and to write my response.

I might as well have been a zombie for all the effectiveness that I had.  I finished my “response,” but I do not feel proud of it.  It seems like the connections that I would have made simply would not come. I have a study that I cut from my local newspaper that showed that research has shown that sleep is essential for creative thinking.

But what happens when circumstances do not allow you to get the sleep you need?  Life isn’t always going to cooperate with your need for sleep to enhance your creativity (or to keep you creative if you’re already creative).  I did the only thing that I could, I plowed through the best that I could, but I don’t really feel satisfied with the results.  This is a question that I’m going to have to work through as a writer, how to do my best work when life won’t allow me to be at my best?  I didn’t waste time and I scheduled my time as best I could, but even now, as I write this, I’m wondering (in the back of my mind) is there a better way of expressing this, am I being too pedantic, does this blog entry even make any sense at all?

Unfortunately, I won’t know until after I’ve rested and looked over it.  And what will I find when I do?

Creativity–Sleep and the Writer

So, this is only my 2nd blog post of a very long month because I haven’t really been creative.  I’ve been stressed, sleep-deprived, challenged, and many other things during this month that are the stuff of nightmares.  Thanksgiving Break was MUCH needed.

I have a clipping from the Times-Freepress (my local newspaper) that talks about creativity and how important sleep is to the equation.  Supposedly, the periodic table came to its inventor in a dream as to did the riff for the song “I Can’t Get (No) Satisfaction.”  In that article, it talks about how the memories consolidate in the brain and allow the brain to make connections that would otherwise be impossible without (enough) sleep.

This month my sleep patterns have changed.  I find myself going to bed extra early sometimes before 8:30 pm and waking up extra early (often as early as 3:30am -4:00 am).  I’ve found that my creativity (for creative writing) was completely lost during this month.  I tried to work on a short-story, but it has not “slotted in” for me.  I have, however, managed to work on the applications for graduate school, but I haven’t really done much of anything else.

The Star Wars Equation

So, I also haven’t really been watching any movies or anything that I would normally do.  I have a pretty sizable bluray collection and I regularly watch a movie at least once a week, but this month I didn’t really do that.  For the first time this month, I grabbed a movie off the shelf (The Empire Strikes Back) and watched it.

Sleep, plus the movie, really made the difference.  I wrote down an idea for a short-story that’s been in my head for a long while and while it may not be the next thing I write, I do know that I WILL write this story (even for no other reason than to get it out of my head and on to paper).

It is like the dam has been broken and I now the ideas feel like they are able to flow freely.  I think the next thing I will write will be a short story, but I think I need to try and spread my wings and attempt longer works.  I also need to be more conscious about my sleep choices, especially on weekends.  The extra rest that I was able to get really helped me get back my creativity.

I will make sure to watch Return of the Jedi next week and probably the original Star Wars the week after (& of course the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens the following week after that).  If there is anything that can spur creativity for me, it is the Star Wars movies.  After all, I am a “child of Star Wars” (my most favorite trilogy of movies of all time).