It's not as much that I've had "problems" sleeping for the past few years, it's just that I rarely sleep at the same time two weeks in a row. And, many times, I sleep in shifts, like two four-hour naps per day. That was really doing bad things for me.

Earlier this year, I got some medicine to help me regulate the sleep cycle, but I found it to only be marginally effective, so I got permission to increase the dosage. (I am, after all, a fairly large fellow.)

I didn't actually do that until this past week, though, and what a difference it's made - when I go to sleep, I sleep for 7-8 hours at a time, very little tossing and turning, and when I'm awake, I'm focused and ready. It's been a great help.

The downside is that after I've been awake for about 16 hours, my body just stops. If I just need an extra 60-90 minutes to get something finished, like an issue or a project, it doesn't matter - I'm out. That's hard to get used to, but I'm trying. On the other hand, going to bed when it's dark and waking up when it's light outside (instead of the other way around) has been a pretty refreshing experience. I haven't done much of that in the past eight years, and I kind of like it.