Switching the Brain On...at the wrong time

So much have been going on in my life in the last 30 days, that I'm starting to be physically exhausted at the end of the day. Logically, I would be sleeping well each night. But I'm not and I'm blaming my brain.

I've talked about all I've learned about ADD and the brain from the books written by Dr. Daniel Amen. His research shows the difference between the ADD brain at rest and when trying to focus. Instead of kicking in when trying to focus, the prefrontal cortex of the ADD brain shuts down when it's supposed to power up. And the reverse is true - when you're not trying to do anything, that's when your brain starts to fire up.

Starting a new job means that I've been learning so many new things and trying to absorb it all. Now, I've been doing okay staying focused during the day thanks to my friend, Mr. Ritalin. What goes wrong happens when I'm trying to sleep, my brain won't shut down.

Tuesday morning, I woke up at 3 a.m. with my brain going full steam, obsessing on leaky bath tub faucet. Seriously! And I couldn't get back to sleep. I would try to push the leaky faucet out of my head only to have it replaced by moving the furniture out of the condo and then to skating stuff.

www.nataliedee.com

I've had episodes of my brain switching on in the middle of the night before. I had many sleepless nights during the months leading up the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (I was the event chair) and my doctor wrote me a prescription for Ativan. I took it only when I was desperate for sleep. I didn't want to become one of those people who started the day with a stimulant and then end the day with a downer. 

Even worse, Ativan seems to last into the morning and I'm just as tired as I would be if I hadn't taken the medication. Maybe even worse.

I don't hear many other people talking about this type of thing happening to them, so I wonder if it is strictly an ADD issue? Whether it is or not, it is certainly a pain!

I guess I should really take the time to learn meditation to help me on nights like these. Meditation not medication. Ommmmmmm...