Years take a heavy toll on our night life
“HOW was your night?”
When I said that to someone 40 years ago it related to fun: pubs, nightclubs, drinks, laughter.
These days it is the first thing my wife and I say to each other every morning and I can assure you it has nothing to do with fun.
It is about our obsession: getting a good night’s sleep; something that becomes increasingly rare as the years tick by.
When I turned 63 almost 12 months ago, my wife read me an article which indicated I had just reached the magic age at which point all men become irritable, grumpy and irascible.
“Well of course they do,” I snapped irritably in a grumpy, irascible tone.
“It’s because we can’t get a good night’s sleep.”
Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I clocked off at a reasonable time and woke refreshed, ready to take on the world a blissfully uninterrupted eight or nine hours later.
It’s not for want of trying. I do everything the online know-alls tell me I should. I go for a brisk walk before dinner, avoid caffeine and alcohol
(well, caffeine), sleep with only one pillow and, if I had the slightest idea what petanque was, would play a few hands every night.
All to no avail. I have no problem getting to sleep.
My problem is staying that way. Any time between 1.30am and 3am, it’s like an alarm has gone off. My eyes open and I’m as wide awake as a nine-yearold on Christmas morning. I lie frozen statue-still for fear of disturbing my wife who, unbeknown to me, is lying equally still for exactly the same reason. It’s only the next morning when I ask that question, “How was your night?” that she informs me that her excursion to the Land of Nod was just as disappointing as mine.
We compare notes. “I was OK until 3.40,” I tell her. “I got to 4.05,” she says. The only thing that keeps us sane is knowing we are not alone. In fact, everyone we know is going through the same thing.
And how do we know this? Because it’s our main topic of conversation.
Don’t believe me? Try it. Next time you see someone in their late 50s or older, say these four words — “How was your night?” — and be prepared to listen.