I may have found a cure...

If you've read my previous post, you'll know I die a lot in my dreams. Well...I think I figured out a cure. Night-lights. I started thinking about what might be triggering them and the nights during which I don't have dreams that wake me up in a panic. The pattern I started to see was lighting.

I have a pretty bad habit of falling asleep on the couch (laptop on lap). However, never during these nights do I have the kinds of horrific dreams I usually have. The only difference is that when I fall asleep on the couch the lights are on. Both my couch and my bed are insanely comfortable.

About a week ago, after I had dragged myself up the stairs and into my bed, I could not fall asleep. I was dreading the dreams I might have. Every movement of my sheet or itch of my skin sent death-dream signals to my brain. In an effort to sleep, I turned on the bathroom light. Worked like a charm.

Now, I'm not afraid of the dark. There isn't anything in the dark that is going to hurt me...but there is something calming about having a light on.

Then I started thinking back to growing up. When I lived in my parents house, my mother was notorious for staying awake into the wee hours of the morning. (A trait I inherited.) So all those nights I was trying to get to sleep 99.9% of the time the hall light shone through the cracks between my door and the door jamb.

The other day I purchased some LED night lights. I haven't had one bad dream or trouble falling asleep since. So...even though I feel a bit like a seven year old...I'm keeping them.