For a little over two weeks, I’ve had trouble sleeping.

It started harmlessly enough. Usually, on a week night, I’ll go to bed anywhere between 10:30 and midnight. That first night, my brain wasn’t quite ready to shut down when midnight rolled around. So, I decided to watch “one more” episode of Arrested Development on Netflix. (Even though the show was canceled four or five YEARS ago, I had just recently discovered it.)

Once that episode was finished and my brain still wasn’t tired, I watched one more. Then another after that. Then another. Then another. Before I knew it, it was three o’clock in the morning.

Needless to say, I wasn’t going to the gym before work that day. Heck, I was barely able to do ANYTHING that day. Resisting the urge to rest my head on my suddenly comfortable-looking keyboard was a tall order.

But by that evening, a funny thing happened. I obtained a second (well, first to be more accurate) wind. Though my body was tired, my brain, which calls all the shots, was racing a mile a minute. So, I stayed up late again. In a span of two days, I watched the entire first season of Arrested. That second night, I didn’t go to bed until FOUR in the morning.

Obviously, a morning gym workout wasn’t in the cards that day either. And this trend continued for the rest of the week. One night, I didn’t fall asleep until five in the morning. The earliest I went to sleep was 2:30 or so. By the end of that week, I had watched all three seasons of Arrested Development, gone to the gym zero times, and gotten approximately twenty-five hours of shut eye.

The cycle stretched into week two. Instead of Netflix, I chose to be “productive” with my early-morning time. And by productive I mean “make numerous design tweaks to my blog, which barely anyone even visits these days.” I tried to read, but my brain would have none of it. “How dare you try to cram knowledge into me,” my brain seemed to say. “Trifle with me again and I’ll NEVER let you sleep!”

Once something like this has begun, it’s difficult to stop it. My body had gotten used to exercising anywhere from four to twelve times a week. An entire week of doing barely more than walking made me feel tired and lethargic. You add to this the little matter of averaging three to five hours of sleep each night, when you’re accustomed to seven or eight, and you have a recipe for one incredibly crappy excuse for a Kev.

So, tonight, I’m breaking the cycle. It’s almost nine o’clock. I am, naturally, very tired. Therefore, I’m going to bed. I’m not going to even give my brain the opportunity to shift into overdrive. I’m going to bed early, and then I’m waking up early. I’m going to FORCE myself, no matter how tired I might be, to go to the gym in the morning.

If I can do this, everything will fall into place. The workout will give me energy for my day, and it will also insure I wear down at a reasonable hour tomorrow night. Then I just have to repeat these steps for a few more days. Then I will be back to normal.

And, if my brain choose not to cooperate, I’ll just have to lobotomize myself. Hear that, brain? You better play nice tonight or else!

Following-morning update: Well, the going to bed early plan worked. I got a good night’s sleep. However, I couldn’t drag myself out of bed for the gym. I’ll be going after work and then I’ll try it again in the morning.