Insomnia

Years ago, when I was living in New Jersey, I went through a serious bout of insomnia. I could fall asleep at night, but I couldn't stay asleep. I tried all kinds of herbal remedies before finally breaking down and going to my doctor. She prescribed a small dose of Ambien for me and it helped me sleep through the night, but I had weird dreams while I was on it. We all have weird dreams from time to time, but the Ambien made me have weird dreams much more often. I haven't been on Ambien for years, but I still have occasional nights of insomnia and it's the same thing: I fall asleep and then wake up and can't go back to sleep for several hours. I've  read all kinds of self-help tips for falling asleep: only use your bed for sex and sleep, don't watch or read anything with a digital screen before you go to sleep, blah, blah, blah. But what happens when you use these tips and you're still wide awake at three in the morning??? I'm all for the use of prescription and/or OTC drugs to knock me out when I need to sleep and can't. Insomnia is a bitch and that bitch sometimes needs a little help to be taken down.