sleeping « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘sleeping’

Sleeping positions

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses，Tags: bed, behaviors, cats, family, home, household, panda, pets, positions, preferences, sleeping, styles

09 May 2015

How do you like to sleep?

Since Panda sleeps much earlier and I sit in bed on my computer, I’ve noticed some strange sleeping habits and positions that he’ll get into. He loves to be tightly tucked in under the blanket, complete with a tight tuck under his chin. It shuts in the hot air so much that he’ll sweat at night and I recently observed a drop of sweat making its way down his face and neck (ick). I prefer more air flow and will sometimes lay on top of the thick blanket with a light blanket or have various body parts sticking out of the blanket (typically my feet or one leg). I also like to have one leg bent up and one straight out. Since I leave a low light on, Panda will sometimes find creative ways to block the light – usually he’ll crook his elbow over his eyes, but I’ve found him with my nightgown wrapped around his head like a turban before.

There are some commonalities we share though – for one, we both like to sleep with our arms laying next to our heads, elbows bent. Perhaps we like airing out our armpits? We also like to take up a lot of space. For me, this generally means spreading out and draping my leg over him if necessary (he hates that). For him, it’s usually some strange contortion he managed to get into while twisting in his sleep. I’ve had to provide photo evidence of his transgressions to prove how he overran the bed and left me no space!

I also like to keep things fresh by changing where we sleep in the bed. At first we’d swap sides every now and then. A few times we oriented our heads and feet the opposite way. Most recently we are sleeping sideways, parallel to the wall that the bed is against. Each time we change, Panda complains and hates the idea, but I’ve found that if I keep pushing, he tries it out and ends up enjoying it. Then that new spot is the default and the next change is another little battle (it’s like he forgot he didn’t want his “spot” the last time we changed either).

Even the cats have their funny sleeping preferences, like Smokey’s “happy nap” where she lays on her back in the middle of the floor, belly up and all paws facing the ceiling. As soon as she notices someone trying to take a picture of that, she quickly rolls over and runs off. When she’s in boxes, she loves to prop her chin and one paw over the edge. Meanwhile Missy is a huge fan of crawling in under the covers to snuggle up next to you. Or, if she’s on top of the blanket she’ll often end up belly up, chest to the side, and head twisted back. That’s when you know she’s really sleeping well. 🙂

So do you also have your own sleeping quirks?

Knackered

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: cats, naps, panda, pictures, sleeping, smokey, tired, work, yoga

17 June 2014

I was going to write a review of my newest subscription box, Love With Food, today, but I am just pooped. Between a day at work that required quite a bit of effort and a night that just kept going, I don’t have enough energy left to finish that post. Tomorrow, perhaps.

Felt much like I did this Sunday afternoon, when we had a little impromptu nap time.

I’ve been running a series of webinars at work to train partners on the features and benefits of our product. It’s surprisingly tiring to talk for an hour and explain things via a presentation, demo, and Q&A session. On top of that, I’m trying to manage follow-up for a set of events that occurred over the past two months, which required a lot of navigating websites that wouldn’t load due to some awful internet connection quality. There are a bunch of other projects I’m supposed to manage too, but those were put on the backburner while I focus on the webinars and events. I’m starting to have trouble keeping up with things.

I left work just before 6:30 and headed off to yoga class. I’m not sure why I’m so tired coming out of it because it wasn’t very difficult and we even spent half an hour meditating. I always fall asleep during meditation, so I got a nice nap out of it. Perhaps the physical exhaustion is from my attempts at headstands after getting home today. I an easily get up into one by the wall, but can’t quite seem to find the strength required to balance straight up on my own. Before I got into that, I had to jump on a call with another partner (out in the Philippines) the moment I got home. After we synced up for the week, I was finally able to eat dinner (but not before I tried those headstands).

Have you ever eaten a light salad on an empty stomach? If you’re hungry enough, it’s kind of nauseating. So I asked Panda to make me some ramen, which is helping. But boy am I absolutely knackered! Not even mentally, mostly physically. So much exertion today. I hope I can get up tomorrow.

Our cat and us

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: animals, bonding, cats, home, pets, pictures, resting, sleeping

04 April 2014

Smokey has been great at night, though hard to get warmed up again when we get home from work. When we come home, she’s all skittish, probably from a day being alone with scary construction and airplane noises. When we finally coax her out from her hiding place, she’s quick to run back under the bed at anything that frightens her. A few hours into the night, she’s rubbing all over the place and jumping on the bed to hang out with us. By the time we sleep, she’s happily finding various spots on the bed where there are no blankets. In the morning, she follows us around as we get ready for work and then who knows what happens while we’re away. Tomorrow will be the first day we’re home during the daytime! I think she’s learning that when we leave, we aren’t abandoning her. She’s really starting to make this place her home now. 🙂

cat laying on blanket on top of person's legs

She chills on my legs.

person laying on bed smiling at cat sleeping

She rests on the bed.

She peers outside.

Exhausted sleep

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, experiences, pictures, sleeping

04 October 2013

Are you ever so exhausted you lay down on the bed, fully-clothed with the lights on (maybe even the TV blaring) and pass out?

I don’t know what it was about this week, but I am worn out! I totally collapsed into bed even as Panda was trying to drag me out to shower for the night. I mean, I was even sleeping with my mouth open. Sometimes you just need to shut down… and I’m feeling a lot better now, though still weak. It’s crazy! I hope the weekend will offer me the recovery I need. So for tonight, you get this lovely picture of my purely worn out sleeping self.

Deep food coma

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behaviors, blankets, experience, habits, panda, patterns, pictures, products, sleeping, travel

10 September 2013

The first few days we got back from the UK, I was doing pretty well with the getting up in the morning thing. I’d wake up around 5 or 6 and decide that it was too early, so I’d let myself slowly drift off again until about 7. By then my body couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to get up. Because of these earlier starts, I also got tired earlier in the day. In fact, as soon as we’d get back from dinner, I’d jokingly wrap up in my new sherpa throw and say, “Good night!”

Next thing I knew, Panda would be getting ready for bed and turning off the lights. For some reason that always woke me up, though I very easily slipped back into sleep. Then another hour or so later I’d wake up and force myself to get up to blog for the night. I am dedicated to my craft, after all! If the only thing I get right is that I post every time I tell myself I will, at least I will have that. Most recently I have a goal of one post a day in addition to my 365great post at the end of the day. I’ve been doing quite well and throwing in posts about random things, mixing in reviews and pictures and whatnot. I was not about to let some strange sleep schedule jeopardize that! 😛

But what I’ve learned is that jetlag + sherpa + dinner = major food coma/crash. I mean, 8 PM I’m sound asleep as if I’m 5 again. Actually, I’m not even sure I slept that early as a child. It’s just not my thing! So I’ve got to say, this sherpa and plush blanket is one magical thing to get me to fall asleep so well. I can’t get enough of it and I’m already thinking about getting more (much to Panda’s chagrin, lol). I’ve had to resist using it tonight for fear of falling asleep before either of my blog posts are up. Alas, work now keeps me busy in the day and I need to write posts at night! This will take some getting used to.

Getting optimal sleep

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: cats, experiences, habits, missy, panda, pictures, pillows, sleeping, travel

02 September 2013

After staying at so many hotels on the UK trip, I’ve learned quite a bit about what I like when it comes to my sleeping arrangement. I’ve also been noticing I need more sleep while traveling – at home I’d settled into a routine of about 6 hours, but when on the go I could sleep on for 8-10 hours if I didn’t have to get up. It makes sense since I spent so much of my day on my feet, walking for hours on end.

So what’s the best thing to come back to after a long, tiring day? Well, a cozy and warm bed. The weather is nothing like the California heat my body has gotten accustomed to and even the winter is Virginia was pretty mild so my body tends to be cold (especially with some of that crazy wind in Edinburgh!). Thankfully, the coldest place had the warmest blanket – a down comforter that kept me nice and toasty. I definitely want to get one of those for my own bed sometime! However, when I’m that snug, it’s sooo hard to get out of bed so perhaps that isn’t the best idea…

sleeping with cat resting in crook of arm and head resting on chest

I love snuggling with Missy.

Back in college I got an amazing body pillow and between that, the down comforter I was using as a mattress topper, and my cozy blanket, I couldn’t drag myself out of bed for a week. Now that’s the sort of sleep I like best. I enjoy being in a super cush environment surrounded by soft blankets and pillows. That might be why I love having my cat sleep with me – she’s so soft and warm! Plus, she purrs and that is very soothing – great for lulling me to sleep. 🙂

In high school and college I could sleep like there was no tomorrow. I’d easily stay in bed until the early afternoon and then saunter out around 1 or 2. Now that I’ve been getting enough sleep at night, with no more all-nighters to pull, I’ve discovered that 6 hours of sleep is the magic number. I wonder if it’s also partly due to changes from aging? I mean, older people do seem to sleep less, it seems. Still, that might not be accurate since Panda manages to sleep a good 10-12 hours on the weekend if he gets the chance. It’s funny how different our bodies are. I can operate perfectly fine on almost half the sleep that he needs!

What I’ve learned and relearned over the years is that if you wear yourself out during the day, you crash hard and fast at night. I sort of miss those days when I was too busy to stop and treasured my precious little sleep. I don’t enjoy my sleep nearly as much now and if I do get really deep sleep I tend to dream, which doesn’t give me as restful sleep. Ah, the intricacies of trying to find the optimal zone of getting enough restful sleep… it’s all so complex!

Are you the same and don’t need much sleep or could you win a sleeping contest?

Sleeping ways

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, cats, habits, missy, panda, pictures, sleeping

02 June 2013

How do you like to sleep?

I’m a pretty wacky sleeper. I usually start on my back and have my legs splayed every which way, then throughout the night I toss and turn to either side, legs swinging along with my torso. I also have a tendency to kick the blanket off my legs – they like to “breathe.” Usually the only part of me that needs the blanket is my tummy. The rest could be with blanket thrown off at any point. Only in the colder months do I calm down a bit and keep all but one leg, foot, knee covered.

I tend to take up a lot of room too, with my legs bent out to either side or my arms out or above my head. And since I move a lot I tend to need a pretty wide area to move about. I never stay on my sides for long because of the pressure on my hips. About two years ago I suddenly couldn’t lean on my right side anymore because it was so uncomfortable on my hip. Things have eased up since then but it’s still pretty uncomfortable for me.

Meanwhile, Panda likes the blanket tucked in tight, especially under his chin (I can’t stand that). He will often sleep with his arms up over head but rarely out to the sides. He also rolls to either side, but doesn’t quite flail like me. He does tend to take up a lot of blanket though!

My cat Missy? She’s a belly-up, arms up, waist twisted kind of sleeper. 😉

This little piggie… (canine edition)

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: animals, behavior, dogs, napping, pictures, resting, shopping, sleeping

27 March 2013

small black dog standing up in shopping cart at market

This tiny doggie went shopping.

white fluffy dog laying on floor at bookstore

This medium doggie guarded the bookstore.

giant black dog standing by outdoor table at restaurant

This giant doggie slobbered everywhere.

brown dog napping on floor at conference booth

This little doggie took a break.

big black dog resting head on person's lap

And this big doggie stayed home!

Kitty snores

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: amusing, behavior, cats, sleeping, snoring, videos

14 March 2013

Ok, so it’s more like squeaking than snoring, but can cats actually snore? She may not be able to breathe (easily) like this, but boy is she sleeping well.