Caffeine Free Day 5 Through Day Day 11

Waking up on the morning of day 5 was really hard. I woke up 7 times in the night.  While sleeping on the twin bed in one of the foster kid rooms was better than the couch, it was not nearly as comfortable as the bed I normally sleep in.  Besides, sleeping alone seems weird to me after being married for 12 years. I ended up getting out of bed about a half an hour later than I should have.  I was awake and alert over the course of the day. No more headaches and I didn't get the shaky hands that I have read about in some of the reading that I have done. We ended up going to bed at about 11 that night.  It was Friday. Best part was that my wife was starting to feel better, so I slept in our bed that night.  One more variable removed.

Got up at about 8 on the morning of Day 6. I think I only woke up once or twice.  We didn't have a very productive day with my wife feeling under the weather.  Watched movies most of the day.  I did do some housework, so the day wasn't a total loss.  We ended up going to bed at about 11 that night also. I don't remember waking up at all that night.

Day 7 was about the same as day 6. Up at 8, watched movies most of the day.  Felt pretty guilty being that lazy. I did go to bed earlier that night though. I was in bed by about 10:30.  Slept through for the second night in a row.

Day 8 was pretty routine for a Monday. 4 am felt like it came too early and it was a really busy day at work.  A quick sidebar, I hear a lot of people use expressions like "I have to go to work." I stopped using that a long time ago. Losing a job with little warning and going over a year without any work changes your perspective on things like that.  My attitude about going to work is more along the lines of "I get to go to work." One little change of word makes a huge difference. I stayed up way too late for a Monday night and was in bed by 11.

Day 9 made me regret going to bed so late. I came to the realization that i live a lot of my life on a similar schedule as my friends on the East Coast. My 4 am is the same time as their 7. and I work from 9 until 7:30 East Coast time.  Difference is that I go to be at about 1 am East Coast time.  Think that may be a clue to my problems.  Still no headaches or tremors. I was in bed at 11 again that night.  You would think I would learn by now.

Day 10 was my wall.  I ended up getting up closer to 4:30 than 4 again this morning and the day was pretty uneventful as rest goes.  The big difference was in the evening when I got home.  I could not keep my eyes open.  I went to bed at 8 and was asleep almost instantly. I only woke up when my wife came to bed.

This morning, Day 11, was a very different feeling kind of day. I actually felt pretty good getting up. Better than I have in a long time.  Still haven't had any caffeine in this time. and I really haven't felt like I needed it. I am writing this post at about 9 pm.  Usually, I am ready to go to bed by now. I am still planning on going to be no later than 10 tonight. I wonder if I am on to something here.

Photo: One of the Coffee Stations at my office.