+1 to adrenal exhaustion. I've suffered from that in past, and it's well worth following up on. Glad to hear your sleep is improving, LightGroove!
I've just gotta share this because it's too ironic: speaking of outside factors, no sooner did I make that long post with all my remedies and suggestions for better sleep last night, than I was woken up at 4 am by a powerful smell of gas! And I'm not talking about the emissions from my bf's butt, either! Just as the potential urgency of the situation was sinking into my sleepy brain, I saw beams of light bouncing off the walls in our darkened hallway. Flashlights. Followed by the sound of rather authoritative knocking. I opened the door to three burly firemen who informed me that that there was a major gas leak right out front that was venting into our building (the incompetent construction crews replacing the water mains on our street had done it again, apparently - I think this is the fifth incident, and the second that has affected our building directly). The guys trundled in with all their gear and meters and determined that the concentration was not dangerous enough to evacuate - yet.
What followed was three hours of me standing outside in the cold (sustained by hot tea), staying within calling distance of the emergency crews in case the gas levels got dangerous enough that I'd have to evacuate my bf and step-daughter (who, amazingly, slept through the entire ordeal - you have to admire their capacity for sleep, it must be genetic!). I called our landlord, who arrived with keys for the restaurant downstairs, so the fire crew could monitor the levels down there, too. Our landlord isn't in good health, so I borrowed his keys, promising to lock up his restaurant when the drama was over, so that he could get back home to bed. The gas was finally shut off at 6 am. I stayed up for a further hour, at the advice of the fire crew, letting the restaurant and our apartment vent out the gas, and guarding the doors for both places. I got to lie down for about an hour before having to get my step-daughter ready for school, as my bf has leave for work much earlier than school starts.
After she left, I finally got back to bed at about 9:30 and had a fitful sleep until about 1 pm. Disoriented and groggy, I made myself get up, thinking I'd never be able to get to sleep tonight if I didn't. I ended up working from home (too much to do to take the whole day off) until about 9 pm. Now I'm wide awake, don't cha know.
So here we go again. Adrenal overload, over-tired, with a very busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Some things never change and I think this is an all too common problem with our society these days. Once again - and this time I hope it sticks - I'm off to bed shortly. Wishing you all a good sleep when you get there, and hoping there is no reason for firemen, police, or anyone else to come knocking at our doors this night! Bon nuit et bon chance! (I'm studying French at the moment, can you tell?)
