Sleeping in the Dark

I've had a crazy time sleeping while in Guatemala! The first two weeks I probably didn't sleep until between 2 and 4 am every night. Then of course I would sleep in until mid morning or lunch time. I've never been one to easily fall asleep. At a sleep over, my friends always fell asleep first. I started to either read or play sudoku....something to focus my mind. Otherwise it runs wild. I think of all sorts of things and never sleep. Focusing allows me to get tired and then fall asleep. It usually takes at least half an hour for me to wind down. I've always envied those people that can lay their head down and be out in a minute.

But here, even reading and sudoku weren't helping. And my room doesn't have any outdoor windows (one window faces inside into the 'courtyard' of the house), so it will stay pretty dark all day if I let it. It is a bit of a vicious cycle too, sleep late, stay up late. 

It was getting annoying though. I was on Twitter and came across an advertised tweet about an app to help you sleep. I checked it out, DigiPill. The app was free but then you pay for the 'pills'. There is a heavy sleep pill. It's almost half an hour of a man talking to you with calming music in the background. I was skeptical but ready to try it. I've used it for almost a week now to get myself to slow down and fall asleep. I've been surprised how well it has worked. Some nights I think it must be at 25 minutes and I will hear it end, but the next thing I know, I'm waking up from having been asleep. There was truly only one time where I listened to it all the way through. I was wide awake then, got up and did something and tried to sleep later. 

I am a little nervous though because it seems like it could be a little hypnotic :). I try not to think about it, lol. 

There are other 'pills' for anxiety, depression, relaxation, a power nap. It is an interesting concept. I don't know if I'll try any others, but I thought I would share my luck with this one. My sleep schedule has been getting better, which makes it easier to get more out of my day.