Sleep - is it really THAT important??

So for quite a while now I have wondered just how much of my health issues are due to lack of sleep.

They only started once I had kids, which was the first time in my life that I've been sleep deprived... a cooincidence?

Well it certainly is becoming more and more reinforced that this may indeed be the case.

At the moment I'm again sleep deprived due to not my children, FINALLY they are both sleeping through the night (oh and how THANKFUL to the universe am I for that wonderful, wonderful thing?!!!! VERY).

I am sleep-deprived due to my neighbour, who I'm almost postive is bipolar. I'm not mad at her. Bless them both for dealing with such a HUGE thing. But, it is a difficult thing to live with. And once again it is not the first time I have attracted a bipolar person into my world - it seems I'm surrounded by them.

Anyway, she's at the manic part of her cycle atm which means LOTS of chatting, chatting, chatting - high paced and high volume til very,very late at night. Silly me threw my old pair of ear plugs out last week and hadn't replaced them.

Tonight I am armed, so I'm up for a GOOD, no, a GREAT night's sleep tonight.

Today I have been 'off'. That is a very optimistic view of the hell I have been through today. It has been a very good way of reinforcing just how BAD I feel when I'm short on sleep.

So I'll take that contrast, go on my merry way and continue to focus on sleeping well, soundly and for the optimum amount of time for me.

All is good in my world. Today perhaps not so, but I have learned and for that I am thankful.