I have been conducting an experiment for the last week. I have been leaving my bed unmade in the mornings to see if my sleep would be better. It has been. I haven't left my house without at least pulling the covers up in years. Something about getting back into a rumpled bed at the end of the day was so defeatist, not to mention slovenly.

Last week I decided that my need to make the bed every day before leaving had become more an indication of how regimented and unrelenting I can be. So on Monday I got out of bed and did no pulling up of covers, no plumping of pillows, decorative or utility, and went to work without a second thought. When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I had the sensation of actually having slept (which had been elusive, in spite of having a new, more comfortable bed). Not making the bed also saved me about 5 minutes (negligible, really), so I continued this throughout the week. Every night's rest was so perfect!

But this morning, I took one look at my wrinkled covers and strewn pillows and decided that enough is enough. So the bed is made and it satisfies my desire to have everything just so, but I have discovered the object lesson, I believe.

When I didn't make the bed, I was completely willing to use the whole bed, sleep dead center, then migrate back to my preferred side, the left, as I chose to. When I do make my bed every day, I force myself to sleep in one position all night so as not to disturb the hospital corners on the other sides.

Hmmm...