I had lots of problems with insomnia in past years, partly due to depression, chronic fatigue and grief after losing my Mom. It took me a long time to recognize that another contributing factor was that I was going to bed too early! I used to go to bed at the same time as my husband, who goes to bed quite early (9:30!) I would sleep for a few hours, then wake up around 2am and be unable to get back to sleep for the rest of the night. It was so frustrating (and I didn't know about this place back then!), but once I began to use that time for prayer-time, it actually became something I looked forward to.

But when my husband went away for a couple of weeks about 2 years ago, I found that if I stayed up til 11pm or midnight, I slept straight through the night and woke up in the morning with lots of energy. Ever since then, I go to bed with him for a bit of cuddling, but when he falls asleep, I get back up and come here, or read, write letters, or play computer games until I'm tired (usually around 11pm). Then I'm usually able to sleep through the night.