The Russian Doll Phenomenon...

The article in which I tell you some personal stuff...

Do you ever have nights (or even weeks) where no one in your household sleeps? We’re 4 people all together- Sam, me, the two boys (3 and 5 years)- and last week, no one slept.

For weeks we’ve had blissfully quiet and uneventful early hours and then last Monday night, something or somebody flicked The Nocturnal Switch. One by one, we alternated between us, passing the baton of restless wakefulness. Jude had bad dreams, Valentine was sleepwalking, even the dog was padding around the kitchen- each hour brought with it a fresh exasperation.

Usually I blame the moon. Fidgety nights usually mean a Full Moon. Not the case. Tuesday morning arrived, and with no full moon to curse, I battled my way through a disorganised and chaotic morning, chased my eldest through the school gates juuuust in the nick of time and arrived, blinking as if stunned to find myself there, sat at my desk at ten past 9. One of my lovely employees had left a frothy and steaming cup of coffee under my nose- perhaps they saw my eye bags as I stepped over the threshold and knew how to medicate me.

I get this fizzy feeling when I’ve not had enough sleep. It’s like genuine exhaustion mixed with the fear of genuine exhaustion. I’m not yet far enough away from the torturously sleep deprived days of early parenthood to have the swagger to propel me through a working day on next to no sleep. I fear the worst and as such, I compound my situation. It’s on these days that I rely the most on the concept I am about to describe…