The Significance of Sleep: Lessons Learned from Two and a Half Years of Homelessness

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Abstract

h2 id="e72d">Never a good night’s sleep, it got to me after a while</h2><p id="b143">It would take an hour or so. I would go to sleep only for the goons to turn on the lights and scream to get us up and out. Once the library opened a lot of us ended up there. I fought every day to stay awake in the library.</p><p id="9bcd">I would doze off sometimes, only to have a security guard tap me on the shoulder to wake me up. It wasn’t until four or five months later that I was able to get a night’s rest. I was able to do that when the social worker found me a room in transitional housing. The room at transitional housing was a dump with no running water.</p><h2 id="d15a">Privacy is underrated, I appreciate it now more than ever</h2><p id="5335">After three months on the streets and the homeless shelter, I was in heaven. I still had to contend with pain in the ass noisy neighbors. At least I could nap in the afternoons when it wasn’t so noisy.</p><p id="88bd">I knew from my past life as a shift-working security guard that sleep was important. Homelessness brought it home to me in a permanent way. Sometimes, I look at selfies I took when I was homeless. In the photos, I’m almost unrecognizable. The stress and fatigue are itched in my face. Amazingly, I didn’t have a worse breakdown mentally and physically.</p><h2 id="44a6">I can go to bed and I can nap anytime I want to</h2><p id="355c">I’m in a better place now. I can nap as much as I want to. I go to bed early and since I was prescribed a CPAP machine my sleep has improved. I never want to go through homelessness again. I will always appreciate a good night’s sleep and an aftern

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oon nap. Not getting enough rest for an extended period sucks more than you know.</p><h2 id="ed95">Final Thought:</h2><p id="38c0">Get plenty of rest, prioritize sleep, and don’t take peace for granted. Some people would give anything for the peace and rest you have. So, get some sleep</p><p id="6691"><a href="https://lawsonwallace.medium.com/subscribe">Subscribe to receive my stories in your inbox.</a></p><div id="6af4" class="link-block"> <a href="https://lawsonwallace.medium.com/table-of-contents-39e64eb5e1b7"> <div> <div> <h2>Lost in Minneapolis: Table of contents</h2> <div><h3>undefined</h3></div> <div><p>undefined</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="f8bb" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/unlocking-the-wonders-of-sleep-unveiling-psychedelic-chemicals-produced-by-our-brains-af2e4dd47d4c"> <div> <div> <h2>Unlocking the Wonders of Sleep: Unveiling Psychedelic Chemicals Produced by Our Brains</h2> <div><h3>Now I know why I like to sleep so much</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*cpKg95MsM4PmH5TStm6jqQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Don’t take sleep for granted

It’s November or December 2017. The date doesn’t matter because all my days and nights were the same. I waited in the line that was so slow. Before we were assigned beds we were frisked and we had to open our bags and backpacks so the goons could search us.

It takes forever to get processed. We’re let into the room so the goons can search us ten at a time. When my time comes, I get through in no time at all. The goons like me because I’m quiet and I never give them problems. One goon looks in my open overnight bag and shoves it aside without rifling its contents.

Always in line and waiting for something

I close my overnight bag and head to the sleeping area. The lights are bright and the noise is deafening. I learned that the best thing to do was to lie down and place the blanket over my head.

The blanket blotted out some of the light. I could do nothing about the noise. The boomboxes and phones were blasting out hip-hop. Guys were all over the place laughing and cutting up. The party went on for a few more hours before the goons turned off the lights. “ It’s quiet time.” They would scream.

Never a good night’s sleep, it got to me after a while

It would take an hour or so. I would go to sleep only for the goons to turn on the lights and scream to get us up and out. Once the library opened a lot of us ended up there. I fought every day to stay awake in the library.

I would doze off sometimes, only to have a security guard tap me on the shoulder to wake me up. It wasn’t until four or five months later that I was able to get a night’s rest. I was able to do that when the social worker found me a room in transitional housing. The room at transitional housing was a dump with no running water.

Privacy is underrated, I appreciate it now more than ever

After three months on the streets and the homeless shelter, I was in heaven. I still had to contend with pain in the ass noisy neighbors. At least I could nap in the afternoons when it wasn’t so noisy.

I knew from my past life as a shift-working security guard that sleep was important. Homelessness brought it home to me in a permanent way. Sometimes, I look at selfies I took when I was homeless. In the photos, I’m almost unrecognizable. The stress and fatigue are itched in my face. Amazingly, I didn’t have a worse breakdown mentally and physically.

I can go to bed and I can nap anytime I want to

I’m in a better place now. I can nap as much as I want to. I go to bed early and since I was prescribed a CPAP machine my sleep has improved. I never want to go through homelessness again. I will always appreciate a good night’s sleep and an afternoon nap. Not getting enough rest for an extended period sucks more than you know.