Laurie Stevens on Her Wake-Up Call
Laurie Stevens, the author of the Gabriel McRay thriller series, talks about embracing her insomnia and making the most of an alternative sleep cycle.
For many years now, I’ve been waking up at 3:30 am and struggling to go back to sleep. I stress out about this because we’re supposed to sleep through the night for eight hours, right? At least, that’s what I’ve been told. Eventually, I’d fall back to sleep and feel fine when I woke up, unless I struggled too much and became anxious.
I hated my insomnia and tried all kinds of sleep aids. Apparently, I’m not alone. There’s even a horror movie about the phenomenon called “3:33” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13782132/), and Reddit threads fill up on the subject. In folklore, the witching hour is considered to be between 3 am and 4 am when hauntings are most active (great news for us insomniacs…).
From a physiological standpoint, The Sleep Foundation says, “Waking up in the middle of the night tends to occur with mental and physical conditions and often increases with age. Factors that keep people waking up in the middle of the night may intersect with natural body rhythms like your circadian rhythm or sleep cycle. Insomnia, stress, aging, hormones, medications, and pain are among the possible factors impacting your nightly sleep.”
Good to know, but how does that help anything?
Mark Wahlberg has embraced his 3:30 am wakeup call and uses it as “me” time (working out, etc.). He simply goes to bed early – at 7:30 pm. For some of us, going to bed right after dinner isn’t so easy. Still, I admire his attitude. If you can’t beat ‘em, why not join ‘em? I find if I’ve hit a wall with a writing project, I put out a silent plea for assistance before I go to bed, and usually, the answer will materialize during that pre-dawn wakeup call. I keep a pad of paper near me or my cell phone and take notes. How do you do this with a spouse trying to sleep next to you? Very quietly and carefully! If I need to, I’ll get up and do my writing in another room and then return to bed. The amazing thing is, I can go back to sleep.
This type of sleep pattern is known as biphasic. Here’s what the Sleep Foundation has to say about it:
“Biphasic sleep is a sleep pattern in which a person splits their sleep into two main segments per day. They may sleep longer at night and then take a nap during the day. Or, they may split their nighttime sleep up into two segments. In monophasic sleep, a person attains all of their sleep in one block of time, typically at night. Researchers hypothesize that monophasic sleep became the dominant sleep pattern during the industrial era when artificial lighting began enabling people to stay up past sunset. Prior to that, many people across different continents and cultures followed a biphasic sleep schedule. They went to bed in the evening and slept for a few hours, waking up around midnight. Then, they would stay up for a few hours to eat, tend to their children, or add wood to the fire, before finally falling back asleep for their second sleep phase. As artificial lighting became more common, humans adopted a monophasic sleep schedule. Since then, we have considered ourselves unique among animals for sleeping in a single stretch at night.”
However, The National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information, says that exposure to more artificial light, especially at night, can “decrease melatonin levels and negatively impact our sleep.” Does that mean we should stay away from our computer screens, maybe even the TV, before sleep? Good thing most of us writers enjoy reading a hardcopy book before bed. I find I get really good ideas at night, and I’m curious to know if other authors burn the midnight oil. Do you?
Laurie Stevens
Laurie Stevens is the author of the Gabriel McRay thriller series. Laurie lives in the setting of her books, the hills outside of Los Angeles with her husband, two snakes, and a cat. You can find out more about her on her website, lauriestevensbooks.com, or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram
Oh, man...... I could write a book about this (actually I'm including a mention in the memoir I'm writing).
I worked overnights at CNN for 17 years. Most of us who worked that shift talked more about how much sleep we got than the news of the day. The people who washed out were the ones who worried so much about sleeping through their alarms that they didn't get enough sleep.
In my case, I fell into the habit of sleeping in shifts, but could never get more than 5 hours at a time. Worried that I wasn't getting enough protracted sleep, I talked to a neurologist who specialized in sleep disorders. He told me that as long as I got REM (dream) sleep, I'd be fine. When I asked him, "What does it mean if I can nap for 25 minutes and wake up refreshed?" he said, "It means you're a good napper." I never worried about sleep after that.
Now, in retirement, I've almost reverted to my overnite sleep sked: Lights out about 10; Up about 3 or 4 with power naps when needed. I do most of my best writing in the pre-dawn hours.
Thanks for your very practical piece. ~JD
Laurie, thanks for sharing about monophasic and biphasic sleep. That’s news to me. I’m usually a monophasic sleeper unless I get too much stimulation, e.g., from a movie, television program, or computer work right before bedtime. I think what has helped me sleep through the night are my morning walks, reading a hand-held book after dark, and putting my detectives to bed early. Otherwise, they call to me to get up, come out, and play.