Barrett women face most days sleep-deprived. It’s probably the way we’re wired, biology as much as biography. Still, despite 40 years of inconsistent sleep, Linda-Marie will not give up trying to beat the odds and experience eight hours of solid sleep. Diane is more accepting, though she indulges in expensive bedding, down pillows, and the occasional Ambien. Like many Americans, our attitudes toward sleep are complicated, affected by the quality of our dreams, and life’s stresses. 

Dying to sleep
Diane Barrett

I am a recovering narcoleptic and epileptic with an agreement at every job that I can nap on demand. I take sleep seriously. I have undergone sleep studies in hospitals where clinicians scrutinized my body and brain while I slept.  I have walked my kids to elementary school with 50 wires attached to my head and connected to a box I carried in my waist pack.  That was a hairdo to embrace as there was no way to camouflage.  

Sleepless in Asheville
Linda-Marie Barrett

I love sleep not just for its rejuvenating properties, but because I’m a lucid dreamer of epic, technicolor fantasies. I fly, breathe underwater, battle dragons, and face down my enemies. I work out real-life problems, or realize there is more work to do in my waking life. Where my sleeplessness can feel like a curse, my dreams are a gift.  
 

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