What, Me Worry?

 

My alarm is set for 5:30 am every weekday (my cat doesn't distinguish weekdays v. weekends so he gets me up around 5:30 on the weekends too). 

It is a glorious feeling to actually sleep until the alarm hits.  

Most nights, it happens. 

Some nights, it doesn't.  Inevitably, something has ruined my REM around 3am.  It could be a bathroom call, a nightmare, or my cat.  What usually happens next is that my lizard brain activates. 

The lizard brain or the Limbic System, (it's called the lizard brain because the limbic system is about all a lizard has for a brain function) is the seat of emotion, mood, and lots of other mental and emotional processes. 

For all of us, the lizard brain is irrational and non-logical.  It tends to focus on possible outcomes of impossible situations; things outside of our control. 

I can guarantee the situation that the lizard brain is obsessing about at 3am will look a lot better in the bright of day.  There is almost nothing that can be done at 3am (especially since you haven't had your coffee or other caffeination yet). Go back to bed.  Attack the problem in the morning. 

Make that alarm do its job you paid it to do (it has one job!).