chapter 1

QualityEver since I can remember I have always been afraid of the dark, especially sleeping alone in the dark. Although it may sound silly because of my age, it is very much true. It is not the darkness that scares me so much, it is being in a room alone, in the dark, with open doors. Whether it is my bathroom door, closet door, or room door, they all have to be shut tightly and my main room door must be locked. I also have to sleep against the wall so I know nothing can creep up behind me. In a sense I feel silly and paranoid but doing these actions give me a sense of safety. Maybe I watched too many movies growing up about monsters, murders, and kidnappings.

Every night after showering and my other nightly routines, I lay down. Sometimes I forget …show more content…

We are eight years apart and like normal big brother and little sibling relationship, he messed with me all the time. One thing he loved to do was push me in dark rooms in our home and come in and laugh in an evil voice. I couldn’t see where he was, or escape because he would lock the door. I was so young at the time that I was too frantic to unlock the door. I would jump on the bed and hide under the blanket hoping I’d be safe in there. He would continue to laugh in his evil voice as I could hear him get closer. When he reached where I was hiding, which was basically in plain sight, he would pull me out by my feet under blanket. I would yell for my mom and it felt like an eternity until she came to my rescue. She would scold him for scaring me and he would laugh. I knew it was my brother but it still frightened …show more content…

The only way I could manage would be to make sure all of the doors in my room were closed and my bed was positioned along a wall so that I can sleep with my back facing it. Negatively reinforcing my habits of closing/locking doors makes me feel safe, aware of all my surroundings and I no longer feel paranoid. I love the relief I feel and I’m able to sleep peacefully. My biggest fear is being scared, caught off guard and harmed. Securing my surroundings takes the edge off. I’m not forced to be uncomfortable or conquer my fear. I can cover it up and push it to the back of my mind enough to go to sleep every

The last thing I want to do, if I want to avoid a sleep deprived life, would be to cuddle up with my stress and anxiety every night. Doing so only creates more sleep issues, and will increase your stress level from lack of sleep. I use my bedroom for relaxation and sleep only. I do not do homework, use my room as an office, pay bills or any other activity that could potentially bring me stress or anxiety in my bedroom. This triggers my brain to associate my room with relaxation and sleep, and promotes rest.…

‘’I won’t get scared this time I can guarantee it. And it’s like you are fearless.’’ ‘’Well I’m not but I have spent a night alone in an empty studio apartment watching Criminal Minds when I was moving out so I don’t get scared easily.’’ You smirked at him while remembering the weird night that you had experienced. ‘’What movie do you want to start with?’’ Peter randomly put his finger on the list and picked ‘’The Strangers.’’ Later thag day you informed your aunt about you movie night plan but she declined your offer because one of her friends had broken her leg and she would spend the night in the hospital with her. While watching the movie you were eating pizza and popcorn. You tried to ease your brother’s obvious nerves by making light of some of the scenes but you failed miserably.

He intended to find out what was happening, but he dared not to risk it immediately. He would rather be listening to the animals than in the middle of an abnormal night. He passed the sleeping soldiers, longing to finally collapse into his bed and sleep. A few shifted under their thin blankets, and a few were missing their blankets entirely. Most had fallen asleep fully clothed on their made beds.…

I didn’t dare disturb the peacefulness in the room, I just grabbed my worn copy of “The Hound of Baskervilles”, my small reading lamp and settled into bed. *** My prediction that I wouldn’t sleep that night came true. I didn’t sleep a wink, but now I didn’t feel beat or tired, no, I felt ready to go. I was used to being sleep deprived, as I had suffered from insomania for quite a long time, so now, the less time I slept, the more awake I felt. In the beginning, I just didn’t want to go to sleep, because night time was the only time when I could do whatever I wanted without Father seeing or bothering me.…

Once she was in her parents’ bedroom, she pulled out the sleeping bag stashed under the bed earlier in the night in anticipation of the storm. She lay awake shivering and sweating with each crash and boom. She had once been told by a well-meaning adult, that it was only God bowling with his friends in heaven that made the sound, but the concept was lost on her as she was always keen to when adults were lying to her. As she stared at the window watching flashes of lightening one night, she thought about God bowling and how surly if that were true the floor would break, spilling the contents of heaven down upon everyone or at least the bowling ball would fall to earth. This did not seem like a good thing as judging by the sound, that bowling ball was huge, and would probably leave a huge dent in the earth.…

There should be no ifs and no buts. The room going dark is a sign for you to go to bed and for your cat to sleep as well. Send her to the corner. Sometimes, all the training cues just won’t help. If your cat refuses to let you sleep, send her to her room.…

My days typically consisted of me laying in bed staring up at my ceiling letting my thoughts paralyze me. I would watch my fan blades spin around and around I knew that this is the end. I knew there was no way I could be happy again. I would go to bed thinking, “I would not mind if I did not wake up the next morning.” I would make an attempt to spend time with my close friends; I would plaster a fake smile on my face hoping they could not see how broken I was. I can vividly remember one night, I had one of the worst panic attacks of my life.…

Nothing to do. I am faced once again with the challenge of waiting out the night in my cold, creaky bed, frightened of what the Nocturnals have in store for me. In the past, I used to love when the sun went to bed. I always scurried down streets lighten up by vast amounts of neon bulbs. Or partied with friends until our bodies could take no more.…

I finally busted out with a loud uncontrollable scream with tears falling. My brother jumped out the bed to grab me as he did I could feel my body giving out. My brother shook me and shook me asking me “what’s wrong, please Alice tell me what’s wrong?” I will never forget saying I don’t think mommy is coming home to us. It’s not fair I want my mommy.…

I have realized that sleeping in his room is much more difficult because of the television. Another factor of sleep deprivation is the idea that more sleep will make up for the time lost. This is a false idea. La Rose states that naps are not good for people with deprivation because it is not a deep sleep. This light sleep will take out the drive in the daily activities and will not help you fall asleep any faster at night.…

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