Although I’ve been trying to improve my sleep schedule recently, I haven’t had much success. It’s really starting to wear me down physically and further the vicious stress-sleep deprivation cycle I get into. But even though I am able to recognize the value of good sleep, I continue to keep trying to cram more things into my day (and night) and usually end up dragging my sorry self to bed way too late or simply fall asleep working at the computer. Bad!
I set the reasonable goal of getting to bed by 11pm … and promptly ignored it. So, I enlisted my husband’s help. While he’s not usually one that would tell me what time I had to go to bed, he has seen how stressed and sleep deprived I’ve been and absolutely agreed that I needed to get more rest. Eleven o’clock, I’d be in bed, lights out.
But even knowing my husband was behind me 110%, things didn’t go so smoothly. I’m not even sure where the time went, but suddenly it was 10:30. I could get just a little more work done, right? 10:47 – I couldn’t leave a gallery half done, could I? 10:55 – oops, there’s an urgent email in my inbox, gotta get that. I fired off that email at 10:59 and made my best effort to power down the computer, shower, change, and hop into bed in 60 seconds or less. As I was brushing my teeth, my husband came in and announced I was in trouble. 11:18. How did that happen?
Lucky for me, I was only given a few swats before I managed to dive under the safety of the bed covers. Or at least I thought I was lucky, because as I lay there grinning smugly, I was informed that the real spanking was yet to come – and if I kept up the behavior, it would only get worse. Ugh! Now how am I to sleep knowing there’s a spanking in my future?!
I am heading out today on a little vacation. Although I’ll have internet access, I’m not sure how often I’ll be online other than to post the Punished Brats updates. We have lots planned … and my internet addiction is another area we are *ouch* working on!!
September 18th, 2009 - 8:08 am
Pixie,
Your husband may have started out as a “vanilla” but it seems he has made the needed adjustments neccesary to be the loving husband you (and most of US..lol) need in our lives. You KNOW I envy you and I hope to find (or train..lol) such a person in my own search.
May he always be “behind” you in all that the future holds for you both. And when you find it difficult to sit after spending time with him, may you always be thankfull since there are many of us less fortunate.
Enjoy your little vacation and I hope your husband always follows through with his promises. LOL
(((hugs)))
Linde
September 18th, 2009 - 8:56 am
Hi Pixie,
Love your blog.
It’s always hard to change a bad habit.
What you need is a 1030 appointment in your jammies over your husband’s knee, with the hairbrush to help you get to sleep.
best wishes
squeg
September 18th, 2009 - 9:26 am
Love that picture!
Should I make your Hubby an incentive or curfew paddle?
September 18th, 2009 - 10:37 am
This seems…counterproductive. Unless the spanking would be delivered at 10:30p and you weren’t to get out of bed afterwards, I guess.
September 18th, 2009 - 11:09 am
hi punkin,
sleep deprivation is serious indeed. while i know loads of girls will say a spanking before bedtime is just the thing i don’t see this for you as a sleep aid.
two things you might try; 1. seek out a hypnotherapist. tell him your problem and he’ll give you 1 session and a tape from the session. play the tape when you go to bed. this does work.
2. if you want i’ll make a list of music by black vocal groups from the 30′s, 40′s, & 50′s. the ultra slow ballads by the ink spots, ravens, 5 red caps, 4 vagabonds, orioles, billy williams quartette, 4 knights et al are a guaranteed sleep inducers. i used to do this in collage when i had a late night radio show on our campus station. i started at midnight and no one ever made it to one am nevermind signoff at two. the songs are familiar, the music good, and sweeter than lindt chocolate.
also, have hubbby pop in at 10:15 with a time to stop warning.then he can draw you a nice hot tub. at 10:30 he shuts you down and puts you in the tub [chamomile baths beads] and 20 min. later into bed.
p.s. i love you[4 vagabonds], easy st. [4 knights], if i didn’t care [ink spots], so much [orioles], pleasant dreams [5 red caps], somebody’s rockin my dreamboat [inkspots], lazy countryside [4 vagabonds] …
you’l never make it to lazy…dollars to donutz.
if you can just concentrate on the pretty music i’ll bet you never even make 4 songs.
remember between 10 & 10:30 you have to wind it down. a cup of cocoa or herbal[no caff] tea can also help but let hubby make it.
you should only need this regamine for a week or so, then your body will have reset and as long as you keep to the schedule you should be fine.
good luck,
ddon
September 18th, 2009 - 1:00 pm
Why is it always subs/bottoms that are the chronic workaholics, stress bunnies and insomniacs? I’m in the same boat. It’s tough to do when you work at what you love, and care about it, but really you need so stop working some time before you go to sleep, not moments before – to give your brain time to wind down.
Mind you, a spanking or some other intimate time with the hubby can also work well at that
Best of luck sorting your sleep out. If you can get out somewhere pretty walking distance from your house, maybe a stroll in the outdoors before you turn in would help to settle you? It’s important to schedule downtime to stay sane and healthy. I know how hard it it can be though!
September 18th, 2009 - 1:08 pm
I’m sure some time away from your regular routine will calm you down and help you sleep.
Maybe since you need to be in bed by 11:00, you need to stop working at 10:00 and use the hour to unwind and prepare for sleep.
Hugs,
Hermione
September 18th, 2009 - 1:08 pm
Pixie you look so cute in your jammies ,yes your hubbies right you must rest after looking after us ,have a pleasant rest ,love and spanks from tim xxxxxx
September 18th, 2009 - 1:21 pm
I too have an 11pm bedtime and hardly EVER make it on time. There will be a reckoning when Sir sees my bedtime book. I am hoping once he moves in the bedtime adherence will be BETTER!
September 18th, 2009 - 4:37 pm
Well Pixie,
I want to write something but I’m just not very good at expressing
myself sometimes..I just think you’re cute..:)
Hugs..
September 18th, 2009 - 8:14 pm
An adorable pic of you, Pixie, and that paddle looks a bit scary. Unless I’m forced to follow a schedule where every day is similar, I’ve always had difficulty sleeping at a set time. I hope the influence of a spanking works for you.
September 18th, 2009 - 8:23 pm
Hi Pixie
I just love the picture and it looks like you are giving your little
girl pouting routine to save your butt from hubby’s firm hand.
Please let me know if it works.
And please get some rest and relaxation you deserve it.
Take care
Love
AK
September 18th, 2009 - 11:08 pm
I am struggling with the same thing right now – both bedtime and internet addiction. I overslept today and woke up at noon. I have to be sitting on my bum in class at 1:15!! Good thing I am a short train ride away and wasn’t late.
At least you have someone to help you with it
September 19th, 2009 - 7:29 am
Pixie, this is something that a lot of us are struggling with, especially the younger ones among us. I was the same till my late 20s, not realizing the value of downtime. I was always trying to accomplish one more thing till I absolutely needed to go to bed.
You’re lucky that you have someone help you. As long as your husband is consistent with his discipline, doesn’t allow you to get away with it even a single time, and the spanking gets progressively harder after each violation, you’ll be on the road to recovery.
September 19th, 2009 - 8:24 am
What a lovely pout
September 19th, 2009 - 2:43 pm
Note to Self:
At 10:50, send Pixie emails with subject heading, “OHMIGAWD, you are NOT going to believe THIS!!!!”
-Alan
September 19th, 2009 - 6:39 pm
Pixie think about no more than one post a week. Ask your readers to hold there emails to one a week Thats not much but every little thing will help.I dont think a spanking will do any good as you like it and that would be a good way to get one.
Ed
September 19th, 2009 - 10:17 pm
Hmm…which is worse, going to bed with a sore bottom or knowing you will get one when you wake up? It seems like you are doomed to lose sleep either way.
September 19th, 2009 - 10:53 pm
Ah, sleep deprivation, I know the feeling well. I’ve always had trouble winding down and getting to bed at night! As soon as I lay down, my thoughts start to race, and I’m wide awake. I found that making up spanking stories in my head would usually relax and lull me to sleep. It worked really well up until recently when I had a bad experience with a guy who I hoped was into spanking (all the signs were there, and he would have been good at both spanker and spankee), but he turned out to be nothing but a lying jerk! Now I’m back to sleepless nights!
But reading fun blogs like this one before bedtime still calms me down. And its inspiring to see that you found your perfect partner to share both your vanilla and non-vanilla interests with.
Hope you find a way to break your cycle of sleep deprivation. Glad you have your hubby to help you out! Enjoy your vacation! Hope you spend it relaxing, having fun, and getting some extra rest!
September 19th, 2009 - 11:19 pm
Hey, Pixie,
Great minds think alike LOL… about 2 weeks ago I too decided to shoot for an 11pm bedtime…. Well, as you can see by the time stamp, I have ignored my self-imposed curfew. You are fortunate that you have someone to help you to stick to your goal
September 20th, 2009 - 3:36 am
Hi Pixie,
There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day! I know how you feel. Someone told me to try ginger root tea before bed.
Chica
September 20th, 2009 - 5:05 am
Hi
Very much appreciate your blog and piccies.
Worried about your lack of sleep.
Please take care.
Maybe it would be better if you were spanked for laziness rather than overwork?
September 20th, 2009 - 5:30 pm
How can you sleep knowing there’s a spanking in your future?
With a huge smile on your face, I imagine….
Dr. Ken
September 20th, 2009 - 10:10 pm
I have the same problem but i am working hard on going to bed earlier
September 20th, 2009 - 11:38 pm
Far be it from me to suggest more effective ways for you to “power down” and get to bed at a reasonable hour. I’m as guilty as any of staying up into the wee hours finishing a complex e-mail or project, or, lately, writing, and then having to get up an hour or two later. It seems to me though that, rather than trying to get all the final bedtime preparations hurriedly completed just before bed, that you might do better getting them out of the way first, then get to your work, ready to end it at a pre-set time. (That’s sort of how it was done with kids in ‘yesteryear’: They were ready for bed ahead of time, and off with little fuss – if they knew what was good for them – when the folks said “bedtime!” Also, it was so much easier to spank a bottom that was ready to go directly to bed afterward than to get it ready first.)
September 20th, 2009 - 11:54 pm
11:19 seems much better than you probably would have done if you had not set an 11PM deadline. I think one hard handspank for each minute late up to 30 would be good. That might help you sleep better too. After 30 minutes….paddle and a sore bottom (which is a little counter productive for the one night, but might help prevent recurrences.)
Have a great vacation.
Mark
*Waves at Pixie on her trip*
September 21st, 2009 - 1:26 am
I would give you 30 minutes leeway. But then there would be a sound hand spanking and I would hop into bed with you to hold you
September 21st, 2009 - 6:32 pm
Hi Pixie,
I found my way onto your blog via ^Mike’s suggestion that I check it out… I’m not surprised to find that I like what I see. I hope I’m not too presumptuous in having posted a comment here, but I’ll throw in my two cents on bedtimes…
For me, at least, re-setting my biological clock and lowering my stress levels are the most important parts of falling asleep… trying to follow an arbitrary rule just makes me want to break the rule. If I haven’t worked out enough that day, I’m more stressed out, and it’s harder to sleep.
Another thing many others have mentioned is following a routine to wind yourself down. My mother used to say that it takes 21 days to make a routine and 1 to break it. Any relaxing routine works to get me ready to sleep (no tv or computer within 30 minutes of sleep-time). Once I find one of these routines (taking a shower and reading for xx minutes, taking a bath, talking on the phone, writing a list of things to do the next day, etc.), I stick with it.
September 21st, 2009 - 11:07 pm
How strict are your rules? What about bedtime when you are on vacation? What if he isn’t home at bedtime to monitor you? Would you get away with it or are the rules the rules, no ifs ands or “butts”?
September 22nd, 2009 - 12:20 am
A dozen strokes of the hairbrush, some Ambien and thou…
September 22nd, 2009 - 10:37 am
Pixie great post as usual a lot of comments you always receive a great response ,marvellous result for you animals cause brilliant well done cutie look forward to the spanks for you both girls lol.if i may say welcome Sarah Jane ,love and spanks Pixie from tim xxxxxx
September 23rd, 2009 - 10:20 am
Linde – Thank you. Yes, my husband is a great guy and always willing to help me in achieiving my goals and making improvements. It will make things a lot nicer for him around here as well not having a sleep-deprived wife bursting into tears at random.
As Richard Windsor mentioned to me the other day, I would have to go and find a vanilla guy that is fond of wood carving and leather craft and has always admired nice bottoms, wouldn’t I? 
squeg – Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoy my blog. And yes, I think that would get me to sleep very quickly.
Poppa – Your paddles are fantastic and notoriously stingy. If ever you decided to make such a paddle, I have no doubt it would be a major incentive to get into bed as early as possible.
Pygmalion – Right. I know sometimes the wait is part of the punishment itself (gah, how I hate that!) but it does make it tougher to sleep.
ddon – A bedtime spanking can help sometimes, but really I prefer it to be an incentive to get into bed so that I can avoid having a painful bottom. Once I’m in bed, it’s not such a problem to then fall asleep. I love winding down with a book or a puzzle, but I struggle to get to that point.
Pandora – wonderful ideas, Pandora. And it’s comforting to know we are in the same boat here. Scheduling in downtime sounds like something that would work well for me. If it’s on the to-do list, somehow it’s more ok to have fun.
Hermione – The mini-vacation was great and couldn’t have come at a better time.
tim – Thank you. The pajama top I’m wearing is a gift I got from Sarah Gregory one year. They are one of my most favorite jammies. So soft and comfy.
dani – Thanks.
And that’s ok. I never mind hearing that I’m cute. LOL.
dana – Yes, that well-used paddle has quite a bite. I absolutely crave a bit of structure and knowing I have a good reason to get to bed (more than just, “because I should”) helps a lot.
AK – I tried to give my best pout, but he sees right through it most of the time. Still worth a shot though!
Marie – So glad you didn’t miss class!! I hope you’re able to get on a sleep/wake cycle that works best for you and your schedule soon.
Norm – You’ve described it exactly. It’s the constant need to want to accomplish just one more thing. However, I realized it was a problem when on those rare occasions I’d finish everything on my to-do list and then not know what to do with myself. I couldn’t relax to enjoy a book, play piano, or simply lounge around.
Jeoffry – Thank you!
Alan – You are too funny. And you know darn well I would be drawn in in a heartbeat too.
Ed – Spankings are funny things. Even though I overall enjoy spanking, I generally don’t want to earn one. When I do something wrong, I may want one because I feel like I deserve it. When it’s all in fun and role play, I may want one just for the enjoyment and experience. But yet the threat of a spanking can be so motivating because it is terribly embarrassing to get in touble and truly earn it. Odd, no?
Schwarz – it would be far worse to know I’ll get one when I wake up. I wouldn’t sleep much knowing it would be coming. I’m bad enough waking up throughout the night checking the clock if I know the alarm is set!
TigerLily – Oh no!!! I’m very sorry to hear about your recent experience. I hope you are able to get some quality sleep soon as the lying jerk does not deserve to rob you of your rest.
Kim – Just a bit shy of your goal, eh? I hope you hopped right into bed after posting.
Chica – I haven’t tried ginger root tea, but I do enjoy gingerbread tea (Celestial Seasonings). It is soooo warm and yummy especially now as the cooler weather is here.
Phil – Thank you. I’m happy that you like the blog. Since I’m obsessed with productivity, I don’t think I’d have to worry about getting spanked again if it were to only be doled out for laziness!
Dr. Ken – Hahahah. That is for sure.
Crystal – I hope you are able to make some progress in getting to bed earlier.
^Mike – That makes me think of nice b&w photos depicting a warm family scene with the kids in their pajamas staying up to watch the last hour of family television before bed. I like that sort of scene.
Mark – *waves back* You are quite right that 11:19 is a lot better than I would have done otherwise. :-/
daddisc – I would have to be careful not to take advantage of the leeway too much. But knowing there would be a firm spanking if I pushed it too far would certainly help.
Sarah Jane – Welcome! Feel free to join in any time.
I’m with you as far as aribtrary rules. I have in the past allowed many rules to be set for me and would only end up doing everything in my power to rebel and defeat them. The situation I have now though is where I set the rules and then get assistance in sticking to them. Being stricter with myself (say, not allowing myself to have something or tackling an ugly chore) is easier than being nice to myself (allowing more sleep or incorporating more leisure time). I really like your ideas for winding down at night. A bubble bath is heavenly and making a list helps get those worries off the mind. Great options.
2Good – The rules are strict but reasonable. With me, they have to be. If I see there is too much leeway, I’ll push to get away with as much as possible and then end up disappointed when I succeed. On the flip-side, if I’m 10 seconds late getting into bed, I’m not going to get paddled until I can’t sit down either.
Vacation falls a little outside the bedtime rules, but the issues of constantly checking the computer and phone is still dealt with.
When my husband is working late (as he often does) and so no one is around to check that I’m heading to bed ontime, I’m on my honor.
jan – Bless Ambien!
And all the more important to get to bed on time … lest I take something like Ambien and then start placing wild bids on ebay that I won’t remember doing (not that I’ve ever done that before or anything *cough*)
December 21st, 2010 - 2:34 am
Wow, I can remember the bedtime spanking! I would have to wait for mom to come spank me before I put on my night diaper… (always was a bedwetter blush;0)