In the most recent Weekend Edition Sunday (NPR), host Rachel Martin did a number of stories about sleep. Do we get enough of it? Why do we need it. What is the purpose of dreaming?

I never really do get enough, but find it somewhat odd that September seems to be the most difficult month in which to grab shut-eye, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. Take a look at Twitter on any given night during this fine month, and you’re likely to see half of your timeline still awake after 2 AM, bemoaning the fact that work the next day will be difficult to impossible.

I know at this time last year, I had some nights that were so devoid of sleep that I actually worried I might have some sort of medical difficulties. I am of course very happy that none of that came to pass, and that my challenge now is to simply maintain enough hours to stay within this early work schedule. I can’t help but to wonder if its lacking contributes to the too-high unemployment rate among many blind folks?

I wrote a piece back in 2010 that explored the how’s and why’s of sleep and its lacking particularly among this group. I kind of wanted to participate in the study that major drug company was conducting, but was afraid I’d find it hard to keep up the fairly strict regimen that was demanded of participants. I also worry about becoming dependent on a pill in that way, although it could be that feeling so tired during the day is making it harder for me to remain as productive as I should be. This last is why I’ve picked up the, perhaps bad, habit of going for a cup of coffee after I get off, not every day but fairly regularly.

While most aspects of sleep drive me a bit crazy and I wish it could be removed with my still being able to function, I do enjoy dreams. I think someone on that Weekend Edition program said that it’s like having a director, film-writer, and actors all in your head, and I very much agree. It’s a movie!

I’ve sometimes dreamt of another verse to a song I and my cousins were in the process of writing, during our o-so-fun days as a singing group. I need to write up another post about those days though, as my last got swallowed in the death of my previous blog. Anyway, I’d wake up and have to pound on the keys so hard and fast my fingers hurt, before those words slipped away.

I’ve also had an NLS (National Library Service for the Blind) narrator read an entire chapter of a book that didn’t exist. On waking, I tried to figure out how I could tap into that creativity.

Sleep is something I think about, struggle with, and just learn to do the best I can on a daily basis. To what extent would you say you get enough, or don’t? How do you cope with the demands of work and school when sleep fails you? I need effective strategies.