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Pinegrove at the Observatory North Park (Taken 4.5.22)

Today KHN has an article about an Italian study about how night owls actually benefitted from the pandemic in as much as it allowed work-from-home flexibility. And though it isn't peer-reviewed, reading the analysis of it was a bit of an a-ha moment, though something I've kinda known all along. Everyone thinks it's hilarious to make fun of my sleep habits, but insomnia is anything but funny and at times downright miserable, not to mention depressing, alienating and lonely. So reading it at least gave me that comfort of knowing I'm not the only one.

I try to counter it all the time, too. There is a real thing called "sleep debt" and you can never really catch up, but you can try. Like Sunday, for example. My brain was racing all night and I couldn't get comfortable and didn't sleep a wink until I finally fell asleep at 7am on Monday morning. I slept while Nova was at school and Darren at work. But then that night, I popped 20mg of melatonin to try to sleep "normal" hours. This resulted in me falling asleep around 1:30am, but then waking up wide awake at 4:45am.

And when you wake up at 4:45, you have big visions of the day, while trying not to wake up your fellow humans or animals. I can go to Sea World AND the San Diego Zoo in the same day! I'll get my listings done a day early! I can do a Costco run and be the first one there! I'll make myself a big breakfast! I'll do my taxes!

In reality, I made an order online for Costco. I checked email on my phone...those east-coasters love west-coasters to wake up to an already full inbox. I read the news. By 6am, Nova was up, by 6:30am, so too was Darren. I tore apart my room looking for my W-2s to do my taxes (to no avail.) Then Darren mentioned he needs a watch for work, so he doesn't use his phone for time. I again, tore apart my room looking for a specific bag I have of about a dozen watches that I gathered at the beginning of the pandemic to take in for batteries. Again, couldn't find it anywhere. Then I told Darren about the order I made for some shorts and got the wrong size, so I attempted to cancel the Costco order, but it was too late. All this to say that I was NOT actually productive at all, the whole morning was a fail, and I would've done anything to have just slept through all of that wasted time.

Eventually they left, I couldn't go back to sleep so I did in fact, make that big breakfast. I did some work. I finally got about an hour nap in. And then I forced myself out of bed, into the shower, and to the San Diego Zoo, where my day got infinitely better, went home after for a quick bite, and the three of us went to the Pinegrove show at the Observatory. But now I'm right back in hell because I will be up until sunrise working on my listings. This cycle is torture, but at least I don't have a 9 to 5 that, according to the study, could literally kill me. And at least I can attempt to sleep through the heat wave.

Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:

Several San Diego leaders test positive for COVID-19 after lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. Those infected include San Diego council members Elo-Rivera, Whitburn and Campbell. - San Diego Union Tribune (4.3.22)
Losing Sleep Over the Pandemic? Work Flexibility May Be a Boon for Night Owls’ Health (Pre-print, Not Peer Reviewed) - KHN (4.5.22)
The 'so what wave': Why the US is so blasé about BA.2 - Becker's Hospital Review (4.5.22)
White House Rolls Out National Plan to Fight Long COVID- MedPage Today (4.5.22)
Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 5 April 2022 (who.int)

"The number of new COVID-19 cases has decreased for a second consecutive week, with a 16% decline during the week of 28 March through 3 April 2022 as compared to the previous week."
"The number of new weekly deaths also decreased sharply (-43%) as compared to the previous week, during which an artificial spike in deaths was observed."