I need some rest, but my brain has a mind of its own

I sprang up from my desk chair, remembering that I had left the hose turned on in the pool out back.

I bolted through the house, out the back door, jumped a potted aloe vera plant and shut off the water.

Whew. Half an inch more, and the pool would have overflowed.

I’ve been doing a lot of this kind of thing lately.

The other day, I forgot about the wild rice I had simmering on the stove and burned the bottom of the pan. Then I left the coconut shrimp — um, the crispy coconut shrimp — in the oven a little too long.

I called someone and had to check the phone’s screen to remember who I was calling before they answered.

I forgot that a friend was coming for dinner and was wearing yoga pants and a camisole, with no makeup and my hair in a ponytail when he arrived, a bottle of wine and flowers in hand. I’m a little worried about my brain. Maybe I’m doing too many things at once. Maybe it’s the hot weather, or these hot flashes, baking my brain from the inside.

Or maybe I’m not getting enough sleep.

A new study has found that not getting enough sleep on a consistent basis can adversely affect our memory as we age.

In the study, which included 50 Atlanta-area adults, participants ages 56 to 76 who got better sleep performed better on memory tests.

While we sleep, our brains clean out toxins, lock in what we learn, consolidate memories and make connections.

But it’s my brain that’s keeping me up at night.

I try to sleep, but my brain is making plans for tomorrow, reminding me what I didn’t finish on my to-do list, coming up with things I should write about and ... ... Wait, what was I telling you? And do you hear water running?