Keeping Busy in the Middle of the Night

Nighttime is meant to be for sleeping. That is my philosophy in life, at any rate.

I enjoy a few hours of television or a bit of light reading. There is nothing happier than a nice soak in a hot bath, but at the end of the day, when it gets dark, I am very fond of pajamas and bed.

It is unfortunate that I have had such a love-hate relationship with sleeping.

What are we supposed to do when we can't sleep?

I was diagnosed with restless legs syndrome (RLS) when I was about 40 years old. But in hindsight, I can see that it has been a part of my life since day 1. I was an active little possum growing up.

I also have complex insomnia issues, so sleep has always been problematic. And when you can’t sleep in the middle of the night, what are we supposed to do instead?

With RLS there is always that irrepressible need to move, move, move – which contradicts sleep’s imperative to stay very still. Before I had a formal diagnosis of RLS, I just thought I was a weird soul. Other people lay down and went to sleep; my legs just kicked and jerked all the time, accompanied by irksome creepy crawly sensations.

A nice long walk usually helped with my RLS symptoms

In the early hours of the evening, I would always try and walk a lot. Exercise is a much-talked-about subject with RLS, and it can be tricky to find the balance – some people need more exercise than others.

But for me, a nice long walk in the early evening seemed to distract me from the growing sensations in my legs. When my RLS has been really bad, I have also gone out walking in the middle of the night – midnight, 2 AM, 4 AM. Whatever works to get that reprieve. But midnight walks are not always practical and rarely very pleasant.

Stretching and using exercise items

I have developed a habit of stretching that has seen me through many an evening. It is hard to stretch for hours on end, but I can fill up a good solid 30 minutes with some long stretches, and they feel so satisfying while I’m doing it. A couple of hours later I can do another round.

I find stretching on foam rollers or massage balls or draping myself over a big FitBall to be particularly helpful. The muscles seem to relax, just for a little while.

Finding other nighttime distractions

There are always the time-honored favourites of reading, watching television, and playing games on my phone. When I have nothing useful to do, I can rely on them to keep me distracted as I curl up in my comfy chair and let my toes wriggle away.

I have often done a lot of writing or journaling, but other than that, I find it very difficult to be productive in the middle of the night – I feel somehow resentful that other people are enjoying some hard-earned shut-eye while I have to keep my body focused on trying to stay calm. I don’t want to do housework at 2 in the afternoon, and I certainly don’t want to do it at 2 in the morning.

Nighttime activities are just part of my life

I find with enough stretching and some alternating hot and cold compresses I can eventually get to sleep – usually in the wee hours of the morning. I am also fortunate to have medications that work these days – a modern miracle for which I am very grateful.

But despite all the best practices, there are still nights where I’m walking the floorboards and wondering what to do with myself.

Keeping busy in the middle of the night has just become part of my life.

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