So I had some dental work done yesterday. Nothing major, just a couple of fillings, but because of nerve damage in my face from an old cheekbone fracture, dental work for me is like getting hit with Klingon pain sticks. Even cleanings are torture. It hurts to floss some days. So I go under IV sedation for anything more serious than a cleaning.
The procedure went fine, but apparently the anesthesia decided to mess with my sleep cycle. I got home from the dentist around 10 AM, crashed until 1 PM, felt fine, then went to bed at midnight-ish and woke up wide awake at 6 AM. Which is weird, because I am not a 6 AM kind of guy.
At first I felt great, energized, and ready to go this morning. But now it is noon and I am dragging. The caffeine from my morning cup of coffee (or three) is already in my system, but it feels like I am just going through the motions. And that is a bust for my creativity, which is kind of essential since my job depends on being in full performance mode.
So now I am debating: do I eat some lunch and take a short nap, or push through and get just the day over with? It's a workout day today, but I don't know if I can do that either feeling like I'm in a fog.
Have you ever dealt with this? What do you do when you hit that mid-day wall?
I usually feel tired during the day if I didn't sleep well the night before. If I have 7-8 hours of continuous sleep, I usually feel great the next day. If my sleep is interrupted (waking up, bathroom needs, etc.), it's usually because my dinner wasn't fully digested.
Coffee doesn't help me if I'm too tired, and my coffee can't be too strong nor too frequently consumed. The only thing to fix lack of energy is rest. Also, I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 40.
Sometimes I take a midday nap of 1-2 hours. I'm retired, so this is not a problem. But having to take daytime naps usually means I didn't sleep well the night before.
When I first started working (in my 20s), I asked for 10am-to-6pm work hours, and my boss approved. That was mainly because I wanted to make sure I slept well before going to work. During much of my career I worked 10-to-6 instead of 9-to-5 like most people.
Matt Hall
@Reply 7 months ago
I usually go for a cat-nap in the recliner or a physical project. If I nap, I will wake up before long from household noise, like the dogs. Unless I am sick, I don't go to bed because I will end up getting too much sleep and being up at some strange hour.
Took a 45-minute nap and woke up feeling like a new person. Exactly what I needed.
When I first moved to Florida in 2013, I used to soak up a ton of sun. Coming from Buffalo, it felt amazing to wake up to blue skies every day. I'd get up around 8 or 9, grab some coffee, do a little work, then head outside for an hour or two. That daily sunshine would knock me out by mid-afternoon, so I got in the habit of taking a 2 p.m. nap. Forty-five minutes later, I'd wake up refreshed and ready to go again.
That routine lasted until the rainy season hit, when the afternoon skies start opening up like it's the end of the world. Great for productivity, not so much for sunbathing. Over time, I stopped treating the sun like a novelty. These days I actually avoid too much of it. I try to keep exposure under an hour so I don't end up looking like one of those leathery retirees who worship the sun all day.
Still, an occasional Old Man Rick nap? Highly recommended. I feel great, got some website updates done, recorded a bit of video, and now I'm about to walk the dog. Not a bad day at all.
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