Sleep

I don't know if it's to do with getting older, or whether I'm just exhausted, or maybe I should go to bed earlier. Maybe there is something medically wrong with me, who knows (although being a bloke, I am stereotypically reluctant to find that out). Whatever the reason, I am so, so tired.

It doesn't help to not sleep well. Or, as hinted above, to wilfully go to bed the wrong side of the witching hour, every night, regardless of how early I have to get up the next day.

Whatever the reason, though, I am permanently tired. Not just physically exhausted (although that too, of course) but mentally and physiologically, to the point of needing to close my eyes. Later afternoons are a bad time, especially when the weather is warm like this. And as for getting through an evening on the sofa witout nodding, Jesus. Something made worse by the fact that I'm only on the sofa because I'm too damn tired to do anything else. And worst of all, after a night's sleep I wake up tired.

Someone asked me at the weekend if I'm writing at the moment. I gave my stock answer - I'd like to be but I don't have the time. That's a lie, of course. I'd like to be, and I have the time, but when I have that time I'm just too damn tired. Ditto sorting the garden out. Ditto getting fit and being more active. Ditto everything, really.

Maybe I need some chemical help to feel awake and alert, beyond the caffeine in my tea. I read a news article at the weekend about taurine, and how it may extend life and health. Yes, that's the same taurine that everyone was in a flap about a few years back because it is in energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster. So is it good for you, or bad? Family Guy thinks maybe not so good...

I've featured the obvious Pixies track before, so here's a short playlist of songs about tiredness and sleep from the usual suspects.