the big sleep - Cheaper Than Therapy Cheaper Than Therapy

March 28 08

i sleep with my left eye slighty open.

yes, it’s true. i’m a freak.

and, apparently, a freak that has passed down her genetic gifts to her lovely daughter. (while Isabella fell asleep on our bed on Sunday morning, her father and i pointed and photographed her left eye that was. slightly. open.) i couldn’t pass on my green eyes, eh? she had to get the freaky half-open eye thing????!!

my typical sleep position is kind of a bizarre one. one that’s not even listed on the sleep-position chart. (shut up, you know you’ve googled it too)

anyhoo…i’m none of these. but i do enjoy laughing at all of them.

i sleep half on my side and half on my stomach, with one leg up, sort-of kind-of fetal-like. but only one leg. holy weird random fact: my sister sleeps like this too.Ã‚Â (cue twilight zone music now)

i’ve been told that this is possibly the WORST position to sleep in. bad for your back, for your neck, for your head. so, i’ve decided to change my bad sleeping ways and attempt to sleep on my back. if it’s good for pregnant ladies everywhere, it must be good for me. WRONG. sucks. there’s something, erm, snuggly about sleeping with your arms tucked around a pillow and having a blanket pulled all the way up to your face. on your back…this is impossible. my head gets bobbly and where do i put my hands? down by my side? al-bundy-like?

so, last night i tried the fetal position. apparently, this is the best for you. and i was able to cuddle with my pillow (since i don’t cuddle with the husband in bed. no way. dude, my sleep area is a no-contact zone) but my knees! dear god, my knees.Ã‚Â do i just have really knobby knees? or do you put something between them to keep from the pain? a pillow? your hands?

how do you sleep? is there another position i should try? or should i just go back to sleeping the way it’s comfortable for me and deal with the neck and back pain later?

i mean, if does, after all, give me something to blame everything on. oh, i have a headache…must be the way i slept. my side hurts…must be the way i slept. i ate 84 cakesters…definitely, because of the way i slept. see? easy.

(also…total side note unrelated to anything. why do i love Sarah Silverman so…but the actual Sarah Silverman program blows????)

i’m easily distracted….must be the way i slept.

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The Baby, the girl behind the screen

Comments

I can’t get past the sleep position names. NEVER heard of them. Soldier? lmao!

I sleep like you and need to change it as well – horrible lower pack pain, stiff shoulders etc. I have a body pillow that seems to work, but heck – with all the pillows trying to keep me from rolling on my stomach, my bed is a flippin’ obstacle course!

Holly’s last blog post..The Big 3-0Ã¢â‚¬Â¦
Comment by Holly on March 28, 2008
oh, soother in mouth and soother in hand – cute!

Holly’s last blog post..The Big 3-0Ã¢â‚¬Â¦
Comment by Holly on March 28, 2008
I sleep the same way as you and most days wake up feeling like i haven’t slept at all or have been bashed on the back of my head. although when i first get into bed and fall asleep it’s the best position ever. i also have a weird thing that regardless of the heat i have to pull my blanket all the way and kind of wrap myself or mummify myself in it. very weird, i know. my fiance also sleeps with one slightly open but so that you just see the whites. and my dog does it with both eyes. when we first got him and i noticed it i thought he had died with his eyes rolled back into his head. we’re all crazy.
Comment by Steph on March 28, 2008
I’m still trying to stop laughing at the sleep position names. Give me a minute, OK?

OK.

I actually sleep propped up (like, sitting up) because it reduces the volume of my snoring to “nearly inaudible”. When I remember to put a pillow at my lower back for lumbar support, I’m good, but if I forget? Oooh boy.

SciFi Dad’s last blog post..TPS: The Munchkin’s Thoughts
Comment by SciFi Dad on March 28, 2008
I sleep that way, too. And, yikes does my jaw hurt in the morning!

I have to put a pillow between my knees if I try to do fetal position.

Cristan’s last blog post..A post about the book club
Comment by Cristan on March 28, 2008
My huseband and I sleep the same way! I am always sore in the AM!

I think I started sleeping this way while pregnant, before I was a stomach sleeper so I tried to sort of half-lay on my belly as long as I could.

Dammit, why does being wrong have to feel so right? Until I wake up in the am…

Christine’s last blog post..The mulch saga continues
Comment by Christine on March 28, 2008
Oh my god! I’ve been sleeping exactly like you are for years!! Ever since my first pregnancy, in fact. I have no advice for you as I have no plan to change my own sleep position. Why mess with a good thing?

Besides, by the time you need one, I’m sure back-replacements will be on offer.

Irina’s last blog post..Quick, dirty and pointless
Comment by Irina on March 28, 2008
I sleep the same way as you and your sister do! I think it’s actually called the “flamingo” position. I also crook my arm up underneath my pillow and often wake up with a limp, lifeless arm that I literally have to lift and move with my other good arm. Not healthy.

Jen’s last blog post..Product Review: John Frieda’s Luminous Color Glaze
Comment by Jen on March 28, 2008
Okay. So many things to comment on.

Oliver used to sleep with his eyes open. It freaked me the fuck right out. I have a good friend who sleeps with his eyes open too; he crashed at my pad a lot when I was in college and seeing him asleep, but looking AWAKE, was totally freaky.

I used to sleep the same way you did. Now I sleep on my right side with my arms curled under the mound of duvet I shove under my chin but pull over my left ear.

My sleep area is a no-contact zone too. Fuck that cuddling shit — less cuddle, more SLEEPING, thanks.

And. I love Silverman too, but yeah — her show bites.

mamatulip’s last blog post..Kicking myself
Comment by mamatulip on March 28, 2008
I think I sleep in a cross between your position and the starfish. On my back, arms around my head and under the pillows, one leg stretched out straight and the other crooked–like a flamingo or ballerina. At least that’s what I do when I have the bed to myself. Usually I sleep in whatever position the boyfriend and the cat allow me to sleep in (surprisingly it’s the cat who takes the most room).
Comment by El on March 28, 2008
I sleep like you.
Kinda on my side, kinda on my belly. Top leg bent up, bottom leg straight.
I sleep with a king size pillow length wise, hugging it. It’s perfect – not as big a s a body pillow (too cuumbersome) yet bigger than a standard.
Maybe change your pillow…?
Comment by Christine on March 28, 2008
Those sleep positions are hilarious!

I am half-freefaller, and half whatever-it-is-you-call-Ali’s-sleep-position

We don’t cuddle when sleeping either. Honey is like a blazing inferno of heat!
Comment by Angella on March 28, 2008
Ali, I sleep exactly like you and then I wonder I feel like BARF in the a.m. ???? ROFLMAO…I am going to use that excuse too: “Heidi, why isn’t that report/witness statement/expert testimony/invoices/laundry/dishes/raffle sales…done yet”…”Um, sir, it’s the way I slept!”.

Also, La Bella is way too cute for words – I should e-mail you the pic I have of the Divine Miss M sleeping STANDING UP against her bed, like WTF???

As a totally unrelated aside, is Miss Bella trying to pick her own clothes out yet? M tries to tell me what SHE wants to wear every day, driving me mad, sigh, usually along the lines of “I don’t like THAT” and “I want a PINK dress” (as if there was any other kind?)
Comment by Heidi on March 28, 2008
OMG! I sleep like that too! My husband calls me weird, but I can’t sleep any other way! I used to sleep in the fetal position, but then I got married and had to give up laying DIRECTLY in the middle of the bed, b/c for some reason he thinks he shouldn’t have to sleep on the couch. Pft. So what if I wake up some mornings and my hands are tingling, or I have to stretch my leg back out to get it to function? It’s totally worth it. Now, if I can only get him to see that I need the ENTIRE bed to sleep…

Snappy’s last blog post..Because Everyone Loves a Cute Puppy Picture..
Comment by Snappy on March 28, 2008
I sleep the way you do to0! But I have scoliosis (which doesn’t bother me at at, and apparently I have had since teens year, but only knew when my husband met me at 29 ..he noticed it lol). Annnnyyy hooo ..I try to sleep on my sides, I have an extra long pillow that I hug .. soooo funny!
Comment by Sarah on March 28, 2008
Where ever you end up once you fall asleep is the best position for you and your body. Period. Your body puts you there because it like it. I sleep the exact same way you do, and many people do since I see it nightly in my lab.

WHat do I know though, I only diagnose sleep disorders for a living. 🙂

SleepyNita’s last blog post..Sex Sells.
Comment by SleepyNita on March 28, 2008
my 7 year old sleeps with her eye open sometimes and she creeps the hell out of me when she does it…and all 3 of my girls talk in their sleep which can be quite funny…
Comment by LAVENDULA on March 28, 2008
I’m a half side, half stomach sleeper. I sleep on my right side, right leg straight, left leg curled up. Right arm under the pillow, left arm on top.

Nic’s last blog post..Yep, I’m flaking out, but doing so with teaser pictures
Comment by Nic on March 28, 2008
Ever since my first pregnancy, I sleep exactly like Nic above. but I have a pillow to put my leg on and a pillow to hug. I find the leg pillow really helps to keep the back pain at bay.

Kristen’s last blog post..Trouble in the Neighbourhood
Comment by Kristen on March 28, 2008
I’m all fetus all the time, with a pillow between the knees and a teddybear in my arms (yes I am 38, so shut up). And yeah, don’t touch me when I sleep (unless you are 2 1/2 and warm and smell like baby soap, then you can snuggle under my arm in place of the teddy bear)

Becca’s last blog post..I don’t get it
Comment by Becca on March 28, 2008
I also sleep with my eyes half open. I used to get teased about it at slumber parties 🙂 And totally agree that the sleep zone is a no cuddle zone. Let’s cuddle before we go to sleep. I think Ross had it right in the ‘hug and roll’.
Comment by Sarah on March 28, 2008
Yup, I sleep in the same way, flamingo style, except I adopt the “yearner” position in your sleep position chart with my arms around a pillow.

Oh, and SciFiDad, try Snoreclipse. They’re new and they really work!
Comment by ie on March 28, 2008
I sometimes do that weird position you described, too. But I usually sleep in the “fetal position” and the same problem with the knees. I just squish some of the blankets between my knees so I’m comfy.

Shannon’s last blog post..no wonder iÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m so cranky
Comment by Shannon on March 28, 2008
I sleep just like you. Except with both eyes closed. Its just so comfy!!

Miss’s last blog post..HereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s some funny
Comment by Miss on March 28, 2008
I sleep freefall and completely covered up. Including my head. Apparently, this means that a) I am brash and b) I was scared of vampires as a child.

Rebecca’s last blog post..Villainy
Comment by Rebecca on March 28, 2008
I sleep like that too! Its the most comfortable way to fall asleep but I never wake up in the same position. I also often wake up with a “dead” arm from sleeping on it under my pillow. That really is the oddest feeling in the world. And I’m with you on the cuddling- I need my own breathing area, thankyouverymuch.
Comment by Joscelyn on March 28, 2008
I sleep in the fetal position most of the night but with one leg up, one down. Then I have to flop over and “do the other side”… as I have neck problems that makes my arm fall asleep. Okay, that’s weird… and I love your “no touch zone” comment. I can fully relate to that!

Maureen’s last blog post..Spring Cleaning
Comment by Maureen on March 28, 2008
OMG! I sleep like that too!! Weird thing is…so did my mother…as well as my brother and his son.
Must be genetic.

Clink’s last blog post..It’s Not Easy Being Green.
Comment by Clink on March 28, 2008
Try a pillow between your knees. I sleep on my side and I use a king size pillow to cuddle. It is just long enough to go from my knees to my arms. My husband affectionately calls it my cooter pillow.

Megan’s last blog post..The EmilyPie Photo Challenge
Comment by Megan on March 28, 2008
Well, if you’re a freak, than so am I, so is my hubby and so is our oldest. May we join your freak club?
Comment by PamperedBunz on March 28, 2008
I sleep the same way! I thought it would alleviate the pressure off my hips.
Comment by maria on March 28, 2008
I’m a freefaller. But with both of my eyes closed.

Chris’s last blog post..The Weeklies #29
Comment by Chris on March 28, 2008
I sleep like you described yourself, Ali, only difference is I have a pillow under the one bent leg. I didn’t realize this was as bad as full-on tummy sleeping where your next is completely sideways. If I ever sleep like that I can’t turn my head straight for 2 days!
Comment by Jen on March 28, 2008
I sleep the same way! And also: sleep zone=no contact zone. We must be separated at birth…

Kathy’s last blog post..Is there life without Cheerios?
Comment by Kathy on March 28, 2008
I’m pretty sure I sleep in all the positions and am a pretty active sleeper.
At least it appears that way from the look of my hair every morning.

Very funny re: your personal sleep zone.
I am the same, no one can enter “the zone”
Comment by petitegourmand on March 28, 2008
i sleep exactly like that! half side/half stomach with only one leg curled up…it’s pretty much the only position i can fall asleep in!

we are not freaks, it is a perfectly reasonable sleeping position.
Comment by katie on March 29, 2008
Aren’t you glad you are not alone??? I also sleep the same way. When I sleep in the fetal I need a pillow between my knees. This is fine until you want to turn over. Then you either need to move the pillow, turn over and reposition. This is annoying, so the other option is to grip the pillow between the knees and then turn. This is really awkward(and solicits weird comments from husband) so I usually go back to painful sleep.
Another note, my husband sleeps with his eyes half open and I always think it is so creepy! I think it is because his eyes are so huge that it is too much effort for his eyelids to close all the way. My daughter has the same massive eyes and guess what? She has been sleeping with her eyes half open since day one! Ewwww!
Comment by Arica on March 29, 2008
I sleep like you do. From the comments, it looks like a lot of people do, so maybe it SHOULD be on the sleep position chart. Also, I feel the same about Sarah Silverman and her show.

JMC’s last blog post..Numerology
Comment by JMC on March 29, 2008
You crack me up!

lamberrymer’s last blog post..Earth Hour Tonight
Comment by lamberrymer on March 29, 2008
Try sleeping with a box of fiddle faddle under your pillow.

works for me

Stephanie’s last blog post..Chunks of straw stuck in my teeth
Comment by Stephanie on March 30, 2008
I totally sleep the same way…. didn’t realize it was the worst position to sleep in, I will just pretend I didn’t read that part, la la la.

Betsy’s last blog post..Egg hunting….
Comment by Betsy on March 30, 2008
I totally sleep the same way…. didn’t realize it was the worst position to sleep in, I will just pretend I didn’t read that part, la la la. And I thought I had the only kid on the planet who needed two binkies for bed, one for the mouth one for the hand! lol

Betsy’s last blog post..Egg hunting….
Comment by Betsy on March 30, 2008
We seem to be in the majority here. Been doing it that way over 6 decades and that’s the only thing that DOESN’T bother my back.

ABSOLUTELY no cuddle zone! Play is play, sleep is sleep.

Sleep VERY lightly with both eyes about half open. Always been that way too. With the high number of feline family members, cats are a no-no too, unless we want a nightly circus.

Mike S’s last blog post..Addendum To Nash-Metro Tales
Comment by Mike S on March 30, 2008
I sleep the exact same way you do. And I agree, back sleeping is uncomfortable. However I do now understand why I always have such a bad back…

theotherbear’s last blog post..Brief Hiatus
Comment by theotherbear on March 30, 2008
My fav sleep position is exactly the same as yours!!! I thought you aren’t supposed to sleep on your back when you’re pregnant?!? Right now, unfortunately, that is the most comfy for me cuz my belly hangs to much on the side and it’s uncomfy.

Multi-Tasking Mommy’s last blog post..Birthday Prep
Comment by Multi-Tasking Mommy on March 30, 2008
Oh, and to help with the back/neck pain from your fav position, have you ever tried putting a pillow under your bent leg? I have a really squishy pillow that I sort of hug and put under my knee.

Multi-Tasking Mommy’s last blog post..Birthday Prep
Comment by Multi-Tasking Mommy on March 30, 2008
I sleep just like you !
Comment by Heather on March 31, 2008
I sleep like you, only with one arm above the boobs, and one below them ’cause they hurt way too much!

Visit me @ http://www.momontherun.net

Mom On The Run’s last blog post..About Mom On The Run:
Comment by Mom On The Run on March 31, 2008
I sleep with my bottom half in foetus and my top half in soldier. How weird it that? Insanely comfortable, though. It’s actually a great stretch for the lower back. Although, I doubt you’re supposed to do it all night long.

nomotherearth’s last blog post..Losing Myself
Comment by nomotherearth on April 1, 2008
I love that you tell me you sleep with one eye open after I book our hotel together for BlogHer.

Also, I sleep 1/2 fetus, 1/2 freefaller, but my knees don’t touch. Like one leg is bent and the other is only kind of bent.

Dude, I’m a sleeping position freak! But it is oh so comfy!

Kristabella’s last blog post..Bad Blogger
Comment by Kristabella on April 1, 2008
I try to sleep on my back, per my massage therapist, Soldier with my hands up on my chest. But I usually end up in fetus, with one leg stretched out straight and one leg curled up over a pillow.

Aimee Greeblemonkey’s last blog post..April Mixes Ready to Go!
Comment by Aimee Greeblemonkey on April 1, 2008
I’m pretty sure my sleeping position is the same as yours. From time to time I try switching to my stomach but as soon as I get sleepier, I invariably switch back to the regular, twisty position.
Comment by Tali on April 2, 2008
I sleep the same way you do! But at a diagonal too! My husband sure loves that 🙂

Katie’s last blog post..In Pursuit of a Beautiful Bedroom
Comment by Katie on April 3, 2008
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Comment by Letha Jimenez on November 12, 2008
Flamingo Position. Thats what its called. One leg up, one leg long. Laying on your side.
Comment by Nicole on May 12, 2009
He he he .. interesting topic this is. when i turn to bed, i know i am always a starfish. But eventually somehow, in the middle of the night i become a flamingo. perhaps i should ask someone to take of pic of me then i will know my actual position.
Comment by cutecute on October 25, 2009
Back then computer printables were not in the vocabulary, in case you can believe it. We bought the old fashioned boxed cards that you tore apart on the perforated lines. They loved to pick out their own themes, be in Ninja Turtles, Super Heroes, Care Bears, or Cabbage Patch Kids. Yes, I am undoubtedly dating myself as I believe back on those years! Then we would take boxes and every one would wrap and decorate their own individual mailboxes! As Valentines began arriving from relatives; into the box they would go till Valentines Day.
Comment by Fletcher Deily on December 1, 2010