The Night Owl With Energy To Spare

 Having great energy whether you're young or a little older, can be a great blessing but also has its drawbacks especially for those who have ADHD or even ADD for that matter. For some, have no clue what to do with it and either party or need some form of stimulation in order to even feel calm and relaxed. Some will take drugs, get drunk or have a little too much fun behind closed doors in order to just chill out and go to sleep. 

I've been a night owl for as long as I can remember and have energy to spare the majority of the time. When I was in grade school till High School, I would stay up for periods of time watching shows like Raw, Smackdown, Seinfeld or watch game shows with my dad until I was ready to pass out but many a night I would just be wide awake and want to do something. I would read a book or listen to something. When I was about 13 or so I once read an entire Goosebumps Book in one night. On weekends, I would watch Nick At Night till 530 in the morning since I didn't know about working out or try to do something to not wake my dad or the grumpy neighbors next door. 

By the time I was in High School, staying up was the norm for me since I still didn't have a freaking clue on how to get rid of excess energy so I would listen to Adam Corolla & Dr. Drew on the radio till I fell asleep which at times ended up around 230 in the morning and still had to get up for school. To say I really got my sex ed from a radio show was not that big of a stretch and learned more from that than any class I took on the subject. To this day, I don't know how I still had the little energy I had to still go to school, do shot put & discus, do drama class/rehearsals and do my studies along with weight training and basketball on less than 5 hours of sleep every night. 

I was never a partier and wasn't one of those guys who got drunk and did crazy stuff on weekends with his buddies. I just worked out, ate, did my work with my writing and mainly either was with my girlfriend or staying up all night and sleeping till noon or later. Still going to tahoe for family vacations and all that and barely sleeping even then and when I would really pass out at times, I could sleep for 12-13 hours straight. Now in my late 30's, I still have trouble going to sleep at night but not as bad as it use to be. What I have found is that when I do my animal workouts about an hour or so before bed, those were the ones that knocked me on my ass and I could easily pass out. 

I'm also one of those guys who just can't go to bed early no matter how tired I' am. I might drift off around 8 or 930 at times but it feels more like a nap cause I would just be ready to go again in under an hour after drifting off. Between 11-1am is when I'll finally be ready to sleep but in order to do that, I got to do a workout intense enough to get those endorphins kicking in and breathe hard enough that when my breath is calm after a period, I'll easily sleep. It's also not fun being a light sleeper either; going into a deep sleep is not easy for me and I have pretty good hearing that even sounds that are very mild can wake me up out of nowhere. 

It is a blessing that I have a ton of energy and some might envy that but if you have any opportunity to sleep when it's needed, be blessed to be able to do that. I'm not saying I wish being lethargic on anyone even myself, but to be able to sleep in a snap of a finger would be a godsend to someone who's hyperactive. If I'm really hyped up and need a great workout, I up the intensity of my animal workouts by doubling the number of reps/steps of my animal dice game. It's shorter but so vicious that once it's over, I'll be out like a light and one of those rare times I'll sleep heavily and not hear a damn thing or feel so relaxed it's easy to get comfortable. 

Sometimes I'll forget to workout and not sleep very well at all so, I just need to accept the fact that my most productive way of getting to sleep is through intense exercise and keep going until I feel worn out. Use your energy right and get rid of excess energy in the best way you can but do your best to not fall to drinking heavily or popping muscle relaxers and other pills or drugs to feel sleepy, that shit will do more harm than good.