Short Sleep Cycle Cure?

I have had insomnia for years and years. It started long before I retired and has continued into retirement. I should probably clarify that I fall asleep easily enough when tired. (I don't go to bed unless I feel very tired.)

But a few hours later, I wake up again, as alert as can be. At this point, I usually get up and start my day. But a few hours later, I'm ready to go back to bed again and sleep for a few more hours.

Now that I'm retired, my interrupted sleep cycle isn't really a problem. Most days my schedule is flexible enough to accommodate a nap here and there.





But during my working years, it often meant that I went to work tired. At 5 am, I didn't feel it was wise to go back to bed again, so I made lunches and graded papers before leaving the house, exhausted.

Now that I'm retired, I've built my life around this strange sleep pattern. In fact, I quite enjoy being up alone when the house is quiet.

But recently, since I started spending a few hours every day moving boxes in the basement (in my efforts to organize that space) - coupled with a few hours of walking in a shopping center - to get me away from all this sorting, I've been sleeping better! I wake up, as usual, at 2 or 3 am but I'm too tired to get up, so I roll over and fall back asleep again.

I never really thought of organizing the basement as hard "manual labor" - but perhaps it is! Perhaps this is the "cure" I need to sleep better!

I know Terry will be happy if it is! Once he reads this, he'll suggest I continue spending several hours daily doing housework! (To sleep better, of course!)