I only sleep a couple hours a night, but I’m never tired. I am what you would call a high-functioning insomniac.
I’ve tried everything to help me get to sleep: doctor visits, a sleep study in the hospital and even hypnotherapy. I was prescribed medicine even though nothing was medically wrong with me. I simply cannot sleep. I remember my parents staring at me in disbelief after a prescription sleeping pill had absolutely no effect.
Since then I’ve created rituals for myself before going to bed. I make a cup of Sleepytime tea and then proceed to lay in bed for as long as it takes, sometimes doing breathing and relaxation exercises. I still feel like I benefit from this nightly form of restoration even though it isn't sleep.
I fear that when I go to college next year my irregular sleeping habits will bother the people around me. More importantly though, I’m concerned that a lifetime of sleepless nights will cause serious health consequences. But with my hectic schedule and college applications due, my sleeping problem is the least of my worries.
And at 3 am while my peers are sleeping, I’m getting work done.