Gazelles don’t sleep when Lions roam. I can’t sleep now.

I can’t sleep. Or at least that’s how it feels. Maybe I am but I don’t feel rested in the morning and I’ve started to dread going to bed at night. And guess what? Most of my colleagues are saying the same things.

I’ve stopped watching the news before bed. I don’t have caffeine late in the day. My room is a moderate temperature. It is dark. But my thoughts are dark too and so are my dreams. And on some levels, I think that must be triggering a threat response in my brain. So, just like the gazelle, I’m staying alert.

I reached out to noted sleep expert and clinical psychologist Dr. Beverley David for some ideas on what’s going on. Turns out, the whole “alert” part of the equation is exactly right.

“It always starts with the brain. Our brilliant brains are designed to help us survive. And that includes being on the look out for danger.”

So….what can we do? Apparently our sleep is governed by what we do during the whole 24 hour day. How much exercise, daylight, news, our routine – it all matters. And since it’s pretty much changed for everyone, we’ve got a lot of tired people around. 

For now, the lion isn’t going to disappear. So, I’m working on a new routine in amongst my new routine. And every night before sleep, I spend an hour, looking at the stars. Constellation LEO twinkles brilliantly in the sky. And up there, he’s my protector and my friend. A gentle thought to close out the day.