Insomnia

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Insomnia.
Insomnia who?
At this hour of the morning, who really cares? Slam the door shut for heaven's sake.....

So, tonight is like many nights. I fall asleep relatively early and then wake up a couple of hours later (usually after the baby makes some noise on the monitor). And then.... I toss and turn and breathe and try and fall back asleep but the hands on the clock seem to be turning faster than usual and I lay there awake for 1...2...3 hours... until I finally get up or read and give in to my new, unsympathetic and unrelenting friend.... Insomnia.

Some nights I think I am just filled with too much energy and excitement to sleep. Thoughts of new things I'm learning, recipes I want to try, what the next day holds... it's like a lightening bolt of pure energy racing through me and my mind is running.... Other nights, I seem to be thinking out of exasperation at my failure to reenter that ever-elusive sleep state once more. So, is it a physical, biological thing? My body acting as a middle of the night theif of slumber because it doesn't want or need the rest or has better things to do at those wee hours? Or is it my brain dragging and torturing my weary body awake in order to act out the "wild monkey" dance of a mind filled with anxiety and searching for answers and new ways to distract itself? Chicken or egg theory I suppose. Interestingly, on my post-insomnia days, I tend to feel that live-wire electrical energy throughout the early part of the day... even though my eyelids feel like they weigh ten pounds and seem to be begging to close.

Will training my mind through meditation and learning to relax more deeply with my yoga practice ease the insomnia? Will I simply need less sleep on a mostly raw food diet? (I've heard testimonials that people require as little as 4 hours sleep when eating purely live food). We shall see as this journey continues.

What I'm proud of today:
Fresh juice: red kale, collard greens, celery, apple, lemon
Meditation (5 minutes)

Maia's Food:
8 oz raw milk
prunes and mixed cereal
NAP
Fresh juice: collard greens, grapefruit and orange juice
Homemade puree of chicken, pasta, peas, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower
tangerine slices
5 oz raw milk
NAP
Smoothie: 2 soaked dates, 1/2 banana and plain yogurt
Slice of quesadilla made with sprouted tortilla and raw cheddar cheese
7 oz raw milk
BEDTIME