Over the course of my content writing career (going on five years this May, how weird is that?!?) I have had to write dozens of pages about sleep–sleep cycles, lucid dreaming, sleep disorders, how to get a better night’s sleep, etc.  You would be amazed at how many people want pages upon pages of tips on how to have an easier time falling asleep, how to have better sleep once they do manage to fall asleep, and so on and on and on.

You would think that with all of the research and writing I’ve done about the subject that I’d be prepared for those times when my own sleeping turned erratic–that I’d know exactly what to do. And, okay so I did know exactly what to do but that doesn’t mean that I DID it. That? Would just be too easy.

About the middle of last week the weather got cold enough that the pipes got cold enough that trying to take a shower with water that stayed hot long enough to get everything done (at least, everything you need to get done when you’re a girl which is significantly more than when you’re a boy) started to become pretty difficult–especially as my roommate is also a fan of the lengthy shower. So, kind of arbitrarily, last Sunday night I decided to take an evening shower–and do all of those…let’s just call them “maintenance” tasks that need to get done, so that on Monday morning I wouldn’t have to worry about the water turning icy before I’d gotten around to washing my hair.

I had an easier time falling asleep on Sunday night than I’ve had in months. The hot water had relaxed my muscles which helped to relax my brain and with all of that relaxing going on, I barely made it to 11 PM before I was starting to drift off.

On Monday I night I decided to try the evening shower routine again… and again–super relaxed. No troubles falling asleep. Tuesday, same. Wednesday, same. Last night, same.

I have to say that I’m starting to enjoy this evening shower thing–not just because it helps me get better sleep at night but because it’s a nice way to put the other bookend on my day. The first night I did it it was about finding a way to get all the way clean and…uh, “maintenanced” (ladies, you know what I’m talking about). In just the almost week that I’ve been doing this, though, the evening shower has become not at all about getting clean (although that is nice) and entirely about telling  my body and my brain “Okay, no more work now. Just chill out.”

This? Is something that I have really needed to figure out how to do….oh, the whole time I’ve been working for myself.

Or, okay–my whole life.

I really should listen to my own knowledge more often.

*Big Bang Theory