Dogs, Sleeping and Me

My husband suggested this as a blog topic, and I jumped right into the concept.  And what is it?  Today, I'm comparing my dogs' sleep habits with mine.  Or at least our abilities to fall asleep.

My dogs?  They will often remind us it's bedtime, and then when we settle down they fall asleep right away.  They have various spots in our bedroom where they sleep--on dog mats and beds, on the bathroom floor, or just on the carpet, but most often in their open crate.  And if they don't both start out in the crate when they go to bed, they're usually there together in the morning--our little pack united.  Of course if Lexie is sound asleep in the crate and Mystie wants to get in but can't wake her, Mystie will wake one of us up--no matter what time it is--to disturb Lexie. 

They both sleep deeply and long.  Lexie snores.  All's well with them. 

And then there's me.  I'm usually tired by the time I get to bed, but that's not always an indication of how fast I'll fall asleep--unlike in my past when I'd just lie down and that would be it.  Now, I generally sleep sitting up, thanks to allergies.  But what keeps me awake most on some nights is my subconscious mind. 

Sometimes it's productive, giving me story ideas or telling me what should come next in something I'm writing.  But then there are the nights that it scolds me and tells me things that I didn't do right--or maybe that I'm about to do wrong.  Or anything else it thinks I need to know.  I always try to route it back to my writing. 

Reading myself to sleep often helps, at least.  And in some instances I make notes to follow up on the next day. 

And I always do fall back to sleep... eventually.   

Do the dogs wake up just because I'm awake?  Hardly ever.  My husband sometimes does but not always.

How about you--what are your sleep patterns, and do you wish they were different?  How do they work with others in your home?