Restless Tonight
Everyone makes fun of Restless Leg Syndrome, just because it sounds so ridiculous. But I totally have it! Last night I was awake for about an hour and half (from 3:30 to 5 AM) feeling twitchy. It’s hard to explain, but it’s real.
I looked it up on the internet, and apparently there’s a website and a whole community for talking about your “RLS” (which is what you should call it if “Restless Leg Syndrome” embarrasses you!). This seems extreme to me. I’m not of the opinion that anything this minor should ruin your life or take over your thoughts to the extent that you have to go online and join a support group and exchange emails about it. Yeah, it’s annoying. Yeah, it keeps me awake when I want to be sleeping. And I suppose if I had trouble sleeping EVERY night, I might be more anxious. But really, to fix it all you have to do is MOVE YOUR LEGS.
On Monday evening (note: a night when I didn’t wake up due to twitchy legs) I went and played for 2.5 hours with three toddlers. They’re exhausting, in that they have the attention span of fleas (until you find something they like to do, and then you have to do it over and over and over again) and they’d probably run off a cliff if you didn’t watch them. But they’re also fascinating as they learn to say words and climb things and absorb concepts like little sponges. We went outside, which is much more exciting than being trapped in the house, and played. They like to “chug-a-chug” along and then make the “choo-choo” sound. And if you sing to them, they just stop in their tracks and stare at you (which is a handy power to have).
So, what I’m saying is maybe I should play with toddlers every night, roll around on the grass, fall down over and over again, and THAT would solve my “sleep disorder.”
I looked it up on the internet, and apparently there’s a website and a whole community for talking about your “RLS” (which is what you should call it if “Restless Leg Syndrome” embarrasses you!). This seems extreme to me. I’m not of the opinion that anything this minor should ruin your life or take over your thoughts to the extent that you have to go online and join a support group and exchange emails about it. Yeah, it’s annoying. Yeah, it keeps me awake when I want to be sleeping. And I suppose if I had trouble sleeping EVERY night, I might be more anxious. But really, to fix it all you have to do is MOVE YOUR LEGS.
On Monday evening (note: a night when I didn’t wake up due to twitchy legs) I went and played for 2.5 hours with three toddlers. They’re exhausting, in that they have the attention span of fleas (until you find something they like to do, and then you have to do it over and over and over again) and they’d probably run off a cliff if you didn’t watch them. But they’re also fascinating as they learn to say words and climb things and absorb concepts like little sponges. We went outside, which is much more exciting than being trapped in the house, and played. They like to “chug-a-chug” along and then make the “choo-choo” sound. And if you sing to them, they just stop in their tracks and stare at you (which is a handy power to have).
So, what I’m saying is maybe I should play with toddlers every night, roll around on the grass, fall down over and over again, and THAT would solve my “sleep disorder.”
Labels: Hypochondria, Lancaster Life
posted by Melanie at 1:10 PM
