Monday, August 2, 2010

It's bedtime -- someone turn off the blankety-blank light!

I can sleep with the light on if I have to, but I'd really rather not. My mother, on the other hand, likes to go to sleep with the lamp on, especially if she's sick. And she turns the bathroom light on in the middle of the night, instead of relying on the nightlight.

Personally, I like my room to be almost pitch black when I go to bed. I keep my door open a few inches (I can't stand having it closed at night), and the dim glow from the bathroom nightlight twenty feet down the hall is all I can bear. All three windows have room-darkening shades, which don't always suffice when my neighbor has the kitchen light on all night (what the heck is she doing in there at two in the morning, hmm?)

A few years ago I bought a clock with big green numbers so my near-sighted self could read the clock in the middle of the night. It wasn't the best choice I could have made. Yes, I can tell the time at 3:00 a.m., but those green lights give off about a hundred times more light than the red ones. It's so bright I can do shadow puppets on the wall. :o( For the last 5? 6? years, I've put a triple-folded piece of paper over the clockface every night so I can get to sleep.

When I do end up having to sleep with the light on, I tend to turn away to face the wall if possible. Failing that, I pull the covers over my head, making sure to create an airway that I can see out of (yeah, I know it's for air, not sight. So sue me.).

So, what's your opinion on the subject?

P.S. Don't forget to turn out the light!

1 comment:

Kitty said...

i really cannot have any artificial lights on when i sleep.

daylight, fine, provided there's some form of shading between it and me.

but no artificial lights unless i'm fall-down-dead-tired. then i just don't give a damn, scarlet. :P