Trying to Stay Up Late to Watch Hannibal

If you want regular sleep, you need to avoid watching television late at night or right before your bedtime.  I've written this piece of advice in dozens of articles since I became a web content writer in 2006. 

But whoever follows their own advice?

I usually avoid new television series because they take up so much time and energy.  You have to practically schedule your life around them.  And then the series winds up getting cancelled or sucking.  I don't have TiVo or a DVR so if I want to see a new episode as soon as it's available, I have to do it the old-fashioned way and watch it on TV when it is originally scheduled.  (This is now called "watching it live" -- which does not seem right, since the show is recorded.

Anyway, as you've probably figured out from the title, I got into watching NBC's new show Hannibal.  I wasn't expecting  to like it (no Anthony Hopkins?  AHHH!)  but I do.  It's on at 10 pm, when I'm usually going to bed.  Now, I know I could just wait and watch the episodes online the next day, but now I've been infected by what Stephen King calls the "gotta."  I'm dying to find out what happens next, so I "gotta" stay up late to watch the latest episode.

So, how do I stay up?

• Drink caffeinated beverages
• Wake up an hour later than usual every day of the week
• Eat something that gives me heartburn, which makes it too uncomfortable for me to lie down
• Keep on working right up to showtime
• Watch old episodes to keep me jazzed
• Perform light household chores like washing dishes or doing the laundry because exercise before bed can wake up the body.

And the fourth episode of Hannibal sucked in comparison to the first three.  Now that my circadian rhythm has been shifted just so I can watch this show, I hope it picks back up in quality to justify all my effort for trying to stay awake.

Image of televisions for sale by Wags05 for Wikimedia Commons.

3 Most Common Myths About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have been in the Internet a lot lately, but not all of this information is accurate.  Here are the 3 most common myths about bed bugs according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Myth #1: Bed Bugs Only Live in Dirty Homes

This is not true.  Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt or dirty people.  Bed bugs are so thin that they can wedge themselves into tiny crevices and breed in even the cleanest of homes and businesses.  Keeping a cluttered home can make it easier for bed begs to find hiding spaces and spaces to lay eggs, but they can still find plenty of spots in clean homes.  They can get into electronics, in picture frames and in floor cracks.

Myth #2: Bed Bugs Only Come Out In the Dark

You may have heard that sleeping in a brightly lit room will deter bed bugs.  It won’t.  Bed bugs come out to feed whenever a person is sleeping or staying very still.  They are attracted to carbon dioxide, which living beings exhale.  They are also attracted to body warmth.  Since most people sleep with the lights out, it can be understandable for some people to conclude that bed bugs are only active at night.

Myth #3: Over the Counter Bug Bombs Will Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Even though a pesticide product that you can buy at the store may claim it can kill bed bugs, bug bombs or foggers will not get rid of an infestation.  Pesticides need to come into contact with the bed bug in order to work.  Bed bugs simply hide until the effects of the foggers wear off.  They may also flee to another room in the home that isn’t being treated.  Bed bugs in apartment buildings simply move from the treated apartment to an untreated apartment.  Eventually, the bugs will return.

Creepy adult bed bug picture from the CDC.

Need Help Getting Up Early? Get a Pet!

I am not a morning person.  I like to get up about an hour after I'm supposed to -- no matter what time that may be.  I remember for years that I had to get up at 6:23 in the morning.  Why 6:23 specifically?  Because that I figured out that was the latest I could sleep and still have enough time to eat breakfast, use the toilet, dress and catch the bus for school.  Since graduation, I've had to get up at an ungodly time in order to make college classes, begin work or make a doctor's appointment.  I still have nightmares about 6:23 in the blessed AM.

After all of these years, I've only found one sure-fire way to wake up early when you really don't want to -- get a pet.

To learn more about how pets can help you get up early in the morning, please read my article at Helium.  Thanks!

What You Need to Know About Power Naps

Remember when you first heard the term power nap?   At first makes you think you are "extreme napping" (napping while bungee jumping, I suppose).  But actually, they are just the same "afternoon naps" we grew up with and have never quite grown out of.  We are a species that needs a brief afternoon nap of no more than a half hour long, or else we get tired, cranky and stressed out.  A nap can help you relax and recharge.  Here are some tips about using power naps for stress management and for overall health.



Where Can You Find The Time?

Granted, there are going to be jobs where you are just not going to be able to take a time-out.  If you work part-time of five hours a day or less, you should be able to get by without a power nap for stress management.  But if you work seven or more hours per shift, then you can look into when would be an appropriate time to power nap.  If you work the overnight shift, then a power nap will most likely be done at two in the morning than two in the afternoon.

Power naps were designed with cubicle workers in mind, where putting your head down on your desk for fifteen minutes a day is not going to cause all that much of a fuss.  Take a good look at your average work shift and see where a nap could fit in.  If you can only take five, then just take five.  Power napping for stress management should not to add any more stress to your job.

You Don’t Have To Sleep

If you are like me at all, then you will not be able to actually fall asleep in your work place.  Getting a dose of REM sleep is not really the goal of taking power naps.  Getting a chance to relax and regroup is. 

When I took cat naps at my last retail job, I did them in the break room and just shut my eyes and stayed still for five minutes.  Sometimes, especially around Christmas, I could only do this on the toilet.  It was great just to relax.  I could then go through the rest of my shift with better concentration and less chance of going into a panic attack.

More Hints

If you are the type of person who can fall asleep anywhere, use an alarm to get you back awake.  What some people do is nap in a chair holding a pencil or pen in one hand.  When their hand muscles relax and the pencil drops, the noise wakes them up.  And that’s all the nap they need.  Try to nap at the same time every day, so your body gets used to the idea.

Hope this helps.

Power nap image by Lepiedia for Wikimedia Commons.