Ugly Sleep

I am at times an ugly sleeper. Last night was one of those nights.

I don't snore all the time but when I do, it can be pretty hard on the ears. My snoring requires for me to be on my back with my head slightly turned back, as though I'm looking at something on the bed's headboard. My mouth falls open and some really great snoring comes out. It can get so loud, it will wake me up. Sometimes my eyes will pop open and I'll hear the last few seconds of a snort. That's what happened last night at 3:10 AM, assuming my bedside clock is correct.

I will also talk in my sleep. This doesn't happen very often, but now and then I'll have something to say right out loud while I am snoozing. According to those who have had the misfortune of hearing me, I speak mostly gibberish. Now and then a word can be understood, but generally not much more. It is as though I am speaking my own language. I have tied these outbursts to times of heightened problems with anxiety and depression.

I once had a boyfriend who was a pretty good snorer. I would give him an elbow and that would usually silence him. I can have trouble with clinical anxiety that will occasionally trigger a panic attack in the middle of the night. Believe it or not, the sound of a man snoring can actually be a bit comforting during those times. So there are rare occasions when the low gurgling of male snoring isn't all bad.

I consider myself a pretty deep sleeper, as a rule. I don't awake easily. Unfortunately, when I am awakened in the middle of the night, I often have a tough time going back to sleep. This morning at 3:10 I was rousted by my own boisterous snoring and for the next hour or so I pretty much just laid there, now and then turning to glance at my clock. I know I finally fell back to sleep because I was rudely awakened by the alarm at 5:48, thus ending a night of some pretty ugly sleeping. I'll get another try tonight.