It's fascinating (and, in this case, mildly annoying) how quickly the mind learns. Just Friday night I was able to sleep through the night relatively well. Then Saturday evening I lost balance on a step stool and stumbled backward. I caught myself without making a serious impact against any hard surfaces, and thought I'd escaped injury until I rolled over in bed on Saturday night. Each time I've rolled over since then I've been immediately aware of it.
But last night that was for a different reason. Through Tuesday night, every turn was painful. (The occasional sneeze and cough haven't been any fun, either.) After keeping an eye on things for a few days and not liking the trend, I finally went to the doctor yesterday. She told me I'd pulled a muscle, and to start taking ibuprofen (which I'd been avoiding primarily to be able to tell what was going on) for it. By the second dose it was helpful, and I was mostly pain free last night.
But over the course of the previous four nights, my mind apparently became well-trained. It now associates my rolling over with pain. So I was still awake whenever I moved last night, bracing for the shot of pain that my brain had learned was sure follow. That was probably a good thing, as I doubtless moved more gently than I'd have done unconsciously. I experienced a mostly pain-free night, due to a combination of modern biochemistry and a quickly-trained brain.
I suppose it will untrain itself, too. I hope it's able to do so swiftly, as I could really use a good night's sleep . . .
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