I've heard about that from a number of sources: the idea of first sleep and second sleep. Apparently, the time between was very productive (meant non-euphemistically) for a lot of people. ISTR Jefferson being cited on that.

Isn't there some traditional middle-of-the-night (or, early morning, depending on how you think of it) prayer time for some Christian monks? Not sure why I think that.

During which they would... I dunno. Hang out, eat, have sex?

According to the book I read about it, yeah, pretty much. It was called...something with Sleep in the title. Helpfulness, I haz it.

[eta: That said, I'm not sure the idea of first sleep / second sleep is so much relevant to modern day insomnia, though, because people used to go to bed a lot earlier. It's not like they were staying up to watch The Daily Show back on the savannah.]

the myth of the 8-hour sleep

Ooh, I need to read that article about GABA, because as Pix said:

That describes ALL of the depression, anxiety, and insomnia issues I have struggled with since I was a child.

Nowadays I get okay sleep thanks to Ambien and Xanax, but I'm not thrilled with that being the solution, y'know?

Nowadays I get okay sleep thanks to Ambien and Xanax, but I'm not thrilled with that being the solution, y'know?

Ambien and Xanax and similar drugs *do* have properties that enhance GABA, or maybe help in the production/release of it (I can't remember), but only to a small extent, so that's more of a gift-with-purchase than actually being the purpose of the drug.

So they *are* GABA-ergic (which is a real word), but they don't specifically target GABA. Drugs that specifically target GABA would (I assume) lead to higher levels in the brain without (or with fewer) side effects of drugs like Ambien and Xanax (and, incidentally, GHB).

I wouldn't be able to get out of bed to be productive in the middle of the night because the bed's against the wall and Hubby's on the outside. Apparently he must sleep between me and any door. Sweet, but inconvenient.

I'm going to email my awesome doctor and ask her if GABA would be okay to add to my bedtime routine. I bet she'd rather I took that instead of half a Xanax almost every night.

In other news, I woke to gutters running with rainwater from overnight and brilliant sun. In an hour, the sky was solid grey and in another hour it was raining, then sleeting, then snowing. It quit, and the sun came out all innocent as the day. I looked up a few minutes ago and big fat snowflakes were pelting down. It's still snowing, but now the sun's come out as well. All I need to make my weather experience for today complete, is thunder.

Or a rain of toads.