Beech Tree News Network

I can’t sleep.  I’ve been like this for quite a long stretch.  I’ve tried all of my friends’ recommendations, except for warm milk, the thought of which is enough to keep me awake.  I have a room-darkening shade, and I get more than average physical activity.  I’ve tried every over-the-counter sleep aid on the market, and some home-made ones that would never get past the FDA.  I’ve read the phone book, listened to AM talk radio, and watched a marathon of Christmas romance movies on the Lifetime Movie Chanel (all in one sitting), any one of which should have pushed me right into a coma.
I’ve tried sleeping during the morning or afternoon instead of at night, and sometimes, I’ll be almost there when a thought or a sound will startle me awake.  The universe is conspiring against me.  My body and mind will go and go and go then finally crash one night without warning.  I will awake the next morning with the realization that I have slept through the night and feel as if I have been given a wonderful gift, only to have the whole sleepless cycle begin again the following night.
I don’t know how much you know about circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that affects all living beings, but mine is definitely off beat.  I would like Miles Davis and “Kinda Blue,” instead I have Ricky Martin and “La Vida Loca.” 
According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, everybody has a master clock in the brain that coordinates all the body clocks so they are in synch.  The master clock that controls circadian rhythms is made up of a group of nerve cells called SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus).  The SCN is a collection of 20,000 nerve cells in the hypothalamus, the section of the brain just above the optic nerves from the eyes.  Because of the SCN’s location (near the eyes), light is a huge influence on circadian rhythm.  Circadian rhythm in turn changes a person’s sleep-wake cycles.  The SCN controls the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy.  When there is less light, the SCN tells the brain to make more melatonin.  (And yes, I have taken melatonin supplements with the disastrous result of not sleeping a wink for 48 hours.  It was like taking Speed—rather what I’ve been told it’s like to take Speed.)
Researchers have identified genes that direct circadian rhythms in people, mice, and even fruit flies.  My question is, “What’s the hold up?”  They can clone sheep.  Why can’t they fix my circadian rhythm?  I believe the comedian, Chris Rock, is onto something.  He says researchers haven’t cured anything since Polio.  He thinks they make too much money on OTC products that treat the symptoms, so there is no impetus to cure anything.  He says they’re still ticked off at all the money they lost on Polio.  I, myself, have spent enough money on sleep aids to fund at least a couple of major sleep clinics, speaking of which, I have never tried.  It makes me nervous to have someone watch me fry chicken, I can’t imagine having someone watch me sleep.
You see what kind of shape I’m in.  I’ve been reduced to seeking solutions on-line, garnering loads of technical information about a subject I would not otherwise be the least bit interested in.  I’m pretty much out of options, except for maybe working a swing shift somewhere.  My friends that do so say they can sleep standing up.