Insomnia

By: Manas Chaturvedi

Everyone’s asleep at home. No wonder. It’s 3am in the morning. 3:02am to be precise. I just woke up. Just like I woke up yesterday night at the very same time. It’s the same old story with me for the past two weeks now. And the funny thing is the the fact that I wake up each time at the exact same time range.  Sort of like Mother Nature has set a permanent alarm for me at night. The moment I open my eyes, I know that I have screwed up yet another good night’s sleep. And I can’t help it. Nature’s alarm clock does work! It’s been about two weeks now. I have lost the count for the number of nights that I have had to wake up in the middle of the night for no plain reason.

I am afraid I have insomnia. Wikipedia defines insomnia as “Insomnia is most often defined by an individual’s report of sleeping difficulties.” I was always under the impression that being an insomniac must be cool. I could wake up all night doing all the things I ever wanted to do, and still not get tired or exhausted. I mean, who would not want a few extra waking hours? I could eat, pursue my hobbies, play, surf online, watch all my favorite movies, read all the latest books, and after all that, still find time to study…all in one single day! But alas! It’s said that you don’t understand the magnitude of a problem until you actually encounter it. I finally have insomnia. I can’t sleep for more than 2-3 hours a day. But that is actually doing me more bad than good. I have encountered dark circles for a start. I am rarely in a good mood these days. I have problems concentrating on studies. In short, I have become frustrated, moody, exhausted and helpless. Even though I want to, I can’t rest. My body doesn’t allow me to. Studies show that an individual needs at least seven hours of good sleep to be mentally as well as physically fit for the next day. And been an insomniac, I have been deprived of my natural right to sleep!

I have tried closing my eyes and focusing on the darkness that follows with it. I have tried exercising at the middle of the night. I have tried to wake up and study in order to catch some sleep. But all these methods have not been able to put me in the world of dreams. And as I am writing this, I could hear a dog barking in the nearby lane. A bike just went past my house. I could hear the crickets chirping. And all that makes me feel better. For I have the satisfaction that at least someone’s there who;s still awake in this lonely night with me..