MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

I am declaring a victory over Ambien. My sleep is not perfect, but it’s pretty darned good, and during this process I have learned that nobody’s sleep is perfect; that’s the way it is.

I have learned that most sleep issues are the result of anxiety. I guess I’m no exception. I thought there was just something wrong with my brain, a postmenopausal glitch – not true. The truth is that I was afraid that I couldn’t sleep without Ambien. That has proved to be false.

I have learned that the whole “sleep hygiene” theory needs to be modified. We should NOT be going to bed at exactly the same time every night. Perhaps our body is not ready to sleep yet. We cannot force our brains to shut down. We should not go to bed until we feel sleepy. That’s the most accurate gauge of readiness for sleep.

I have learned that tracking devices are not very accurate at monitoring sleep. One night, I went to bed, fell asleep, and immediately woke again (my pattern). I would bet A LOT of money that I did not fall asleep again until after 2 a.m. The following morning, my Fitbit showed that I was sleeping before that time. When I researched these devices further. This is what I found:

“…when it comes to sleep, movement and heart rate are not always so helpful in determining sleep. If we are reading in bed quietly for a long period of time, for instance, your device may think you’re asleep. And when it comes to measuring sleep stages, your wearable device is ineffective.“

“Fitbit was inaccurate when measuring things like sleep stages and sleep onset latency, or the time it takes you to fall asleep once in bed.

Alan Schwartz, M.D., director of John Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center at Bayview Medical Center, notes that sleep trackers ‘don’t measure sleep directly.’ Because they are not measuring brain waves, there is no way for a sleep tracker to tell you what sleep phase you are in, for example.”

So, I’ve told myself, as I have with many other old beliefs regarding my behavior, I don’t have to do anything, just let it be.

I had a very pleasant Christmas here. No stress, just heavenly peace. I enjoyed a Christmas Eve breakfast with “most of the gang” at Mike’s Global Grill. Their lox and bagel with capers is fabulous. Then Christmas day evening I joined Jerry and Linda for dinner at a new restaurant called Christopher’s. It did not disappoint.

I continue to enjoy my walks into town; however, I have had to cut back. My knees are not happy. It is just too steep to do it every day.

I do enjoy the images on my way in. I am always impressed by the vegetation as well as the habitation of some of the locals. I’ll continue to do the walk two or three times a week.

As a substitute, I’ve begun doing a pilate’s workout from a YouTube video. Yikes!! It really works the abdominal muscles. It doesn’t feel that hard while doing it, but the next day I certainly feel it.

I’m okay with this schedule to assure that I’m in shape for our walk in May. Dan and I started talking about it yesterday. He will begin in France in April and then meet me in Portugal mid-May. I’ll only be doing about 200 miles over a two-week span. I don’t want to be gone too much during the planting season. I’m going to try to get everything planted before I leave.

I’ve been re-reading The Poisonwood Bible. I read it a very long time ago. I remembered loving it, but the details were forgotten. I did not remember the political part of it, which, of course, is the basis of the book. It sent me to Wikipedia to learn more about the Congo and the colonization by the Belgians. The novel talks about the hands of the Congolese children being chopped off if their father’s did not meet their rubber quota.

The photograph was taken by Alice Seeley Harris, the man’s name is Nsala. Here is part of her account (from the book “Don’t Call Me Lady: The Journey of Lady Alice Seeley Harris”): He hadn’t made his rubber quota for the day so the Belgian-appointed overseers had cut off his daughter’s hand and foot. Her name was Boali. She was five years old. Then they killed her. But they weren’t finished. Then they killed his wife too.

Truly amazing how cruel humans can be to one another.

I’ve also been occupied with watching a number of interviews of Elon Musk. I am very intrigued by this man. I haven’t read Walter Isaacson’s biography of him yet, but the interviews reveal a very complex personality. I was impressed yesterday when he was asked by Lex Fridman how he would recommend Israel respond to the attack by Hamas. He said, “With conspicuous kindness.” This really surprised me. He then went on to elaborate on how this is the only reasonable solution; it’s how karma works.

I actually started watching these videos to become more informed on the future of AI, and that has been revelatory as well. One issue I have heard addressed more than once is the fear of job loss. The answer seems to be that we are moving toward an end of “work for pay.” Everyone will be given enough money to live on. This sounds so bizarre. Yet, he explains that it is already being done in Finland.

Time to do laundry.