Sleeping like a cat

I have posted previously about Ken's snoring. He's always snored, but it's become a more serious problem lately.

My first line of defense is earplugs. I wear them every night, without exception. Previously, if Mr. Snoralupagus woke me in the night, I'd just elbow him aggressively until he rolled over onto his side, and the snoring would stop. But things have changed around here lately.

Firstly, I'm more likely to wake up in the night and less likely to be able to fall back asleep once I'm up, even without the snore factor. Thank you, various stress factors.

Secondly... I was recently awakened by the sound of a six-cylinder engine revving on the next pillow. I turned, elbow primed for action, and what did I see? HE WAS ALREADY SLEEPING ON HIS SIDE.

What? That was supposed to be physically impossible. Turning Ken's body was equivalent to turning down the volume knob. The volume knob is now broken.

I bought him a package of plastic nasal strips - the ones that stick on the outside of your nose and physically pull your nostrils open. Dutifully, he slept with one every night. They were working really well, reducing the snoring volume, until Friday night. Friday night he snored me right out of bed onto the sofa. That was at 3:00 am. At 5:30 am I was woken again. He was snoring so loudly that it woke me from a deep sleep, and I was already as far from him as I could be. I thought: this cannot go on.

Not only is my sleep being interrupted, but that dang couch is not designed to be slept on. My neck hurts, my back hurts... it's not a long-term solution.

Other possible solutions are limited because Ken has a sleeping disorder. It flares up when he's under stress, but it's always a consideration. When it's activated, he can't get a deep sleep. His brain will pull him half-way to wakefulness once every 15 minutes or so. A few years ago when his dad was severely ill and Ken was stressed all the time, he was like a zombie. He'd spend 12 hours lying in bed, and yet he could never get enough rest. He was always whacked out.

Triggering Ken's sleep disorder is to be avoided at all costs. I would not want to see him living like that again.

So on Saturday afternoon, we bought a second bed. Twin size, to be installed in our 2nd bedroom, which we've been using as the computer room. It'll officially be The Guest Bed, but really it will be my escape pod when the snoring gets to be too much. I'll always start the night in our shared bedroom, and hope to stay there most of the time. I figure I'll sleep like a cat - I'll have more than one sleeping spot and choose between them as circumstances dictate.

In fact, I'm looking forward to having my own bed. It means that sometimes, when I wake up there, I can actually TURN ON THE LIGHT in the morning. When the clock radio goes off, I can lie in bed listening to it for a while, instead of lunging to turn it off before it wakes Ken. I'm looking forward to buying sheets and a pretty duvet.

Yay! My own bed. I'm excited.