Yeah, That's the Ticket!

This evening I found myself lying in bed surrounded by a scattering of papers and books about the modern-day requirements for librarians and a computer on my lap as I dug through discussion posts in one of my masters classes. This was all after forcing myself through a few chapters of textbook reading (almost always a painful task.) As I clicked out of the last discussion topic I had to read for the night I realized that during the two and a half hours I'd spent shut away in my bedroom working I hadn't once felt the urge to roll on my side and just go to sleep.

This was a shock (although one that was eased by something I'll discuss later). I was up a little later than normal last night (actually up past midnight) and spent all day at work today, usually quite the draining experience, and topped that off with a trip to the baby doctor, post office, and nearly three hours of classwork. I should be exhausted and bitchy, but instead I'm oddly content.

I think I may know part of the reason for this. A week ago I took a B-100 vitamin B complex pill. I noticed the bottle while digging around for a glass so I could get some water. I keep these things on hand for the few times a year when I overindulge on alcoholic beverages (usually the night of Atlanta Cask Ale Festival and anytime my buddy KP hosts a beer geek party) and they really do wonders. A couple glasses of water and a B-100 taken at any point in the night pretty much kills all but the biggest of hangovers before they even hatch. Actually, I've never had a hangover after taking one of these and responsibly hydrating during the drinking session, but I'm trying to avoid absolutes here.

I'd never tried the B-100s without the context of a very late night of drinking, though, so I was a little surprised when I woke up the next morning rested and chipper. I didn't even feel the need to go to bed at 8 p.m. last Tuesday. In fact, my restedness didn't wear off until Thursday when I hadn't taken one of the pills for three days. I took another one that night and woke up feeling great the next day. Since then I've taken a vitamin B pill (although I'd shifted to the smaller dose of the B-50) every other night. The B vitamins do have an affect on metabolism and supposedly can help provide more energy, but after two weeks of being able to stay up later and still feel more awake during the day (in addition to feeling less depressed in the morning) with the exception of the one day when I hadn't taken one in a while, I'm starting to be convinced that I was suffering from a vitamin B deficiency.

This is weird, though. I've never taken a vitamin supplement in my life before this. My mom was always suspicious of any medicine-like thing and thought that vitamin supplements weren't that effective, especially since she was a pretty healthy and balanced cook. She never even considered giving them to me and my sister and actually thought parents who did were being wasting money at best or being silly at worst. I still eat reasonably well. I eat more meat than is necessary, but that's not going to cause a deficiency, and I eat a lot of fruits and green vegetables. Most people I work with are amazed at the fact I eat real food instead of just starches and meats for lunch.

Who knows, maybe it's all in my head, but I'm getting enough sleep without even trying for the first time since I switched back to a normal work schedule five years ago from the four to midnight shift I worked after college. If it's all in my head, I hope it stays there.