They say that sleep is important. I couldn’t agree more.

As a lifelong insomniac, I know how difficult it can be to function on meager moments of sleep per night, for many nights in a row. I would love to change this, but after years of trying to develop healthy sleeping habits, In search of sleep, I’ve found NOTHING that has worked.

In some small way, this is a good thing. I’m so much more productive in the dark of the night when the rest of the world is sleeping. But, because I live in the real world this is a huge pain in my arse.

Some days I go to bed at 10 pm like a reasonable human.

I tell myself that I’ll have a good sleep and I’ll wake up feeling rested.

I have a shower, change into my sleeping clothes.

Lay down in my comfy bed and wait for sleep to take me away.

I wait,

And I wait,

And I wait.

Sleep finally comes…

At 2 am.

Thanks for showing up, friend.

Four hours of sleep is really gonna get me through my day.

Except it won’t.

My alarm goes off at 6 am, as alarms do,

and I drag my aching body out of bed.

I am cranky, but I make it through.

The above is an example of a good week.

This week has not been a good week.

The four hours of sleep have been traded for two (at best)

As a result, I’ve been a little delirious, very emotional and I feel like my body is falling apart.

I actually googled all my maladies to find out what was wrong with me.

After diagnosing myself with at least 3 different conditions my friend suggested it could just be the lack of sleep.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.

Blame it on the lack of sleep.

This heightened insomnia is not working well for me.

So instead of accepting defeat, I’ve tried something new, extra long floats.

I read somewhere that an hour-long float feels equivalent to four hours of sleep, so I decided to put this theory to the test.

I did 2 floats this week of 2 hours each.

The difference is astonishing.

My brain is working again.

My emotions have been turned down to a normal level.

My mysterious illnesses have subsided.

And the biggest difference of all is that I’ve been insanely productive…

My house is clean.

My journal is full of new writing.

My ideas are more creative an innovative than ever,

and I have more energy than the Energizer Bunny.

I don’t suggest giving up sleep for anything…

but if you’re like me and your dear friend insomnia won’t let you lose, then I recommend giving floating a try.

By Jennifer White