A few years ago I found myself experiencing a different sort of very debilitating sleeping problem. It started, as I recall, as something that would just happen

A few years ago I found myself experiencing a different sort of very debilitating sleeping problem. It started, as I recall, as something that would just happen on airplanes, my legs would feel almost like a buildup of lactic acid unless I moved them around. I could keep them still maybe for a few second at most, until the sensation built to a point where it was irresistibly uncomfortable and swinging or tapping my feet would instantly provide relief. Restless leg syndrome. While at first confined to trying to sleep in an airplane chair (interestingly it never happened while sitting in front of a computer to work, or sitting at the dinner table, just when sitting to sleep) eventually it followed me into the bedroom, where it became a serious problem. Basically within seconds of lying down my legs would start winding up. Think like, in order to get them to settle down having to rapidly kick against the bed for 15 seconds and getting like a 2 minute window to try to fall asleep before the sensation built back up. And then even in my sleep, I would still be kicking around. Not very practical to say the least. What finally solved it for me was a doctor suggesting I try trazodone. It’s an SSRI which was originally developed as an antidepressant, turns out to suck for that, but it is a very nice little sedative. As long as I have 6hrs to sleep, 25mg completely stops the restless leg syndrome and doesn’t make me wake up groggy. It was an absolute lifesaver. On a separate note, I can absolutely relate to getting my best work done at night. Many times an all-nighter would result in more productive work than multiple days that led up to it. The next day would be a wash, but usually I could find myself back to a diurnal rhythm within a day or two. I never went full vampire because frankly I find it far too exhausting to be trying to keep that level of focus day after day, but many times over the years when workload got out of control a shift to working nights was a crucial strategy.