My Little Cognitive Functioning Experiment
6 May, 2009
Photo by surely, used under SXC licence via stock.xchng
In recent developments, I have noticed a positive trend in my cognitive functioning lately. I measure this by my ability to complete the NYT crossword puzzle. In the past few months, I have been utterly unable to complete one. My book of Eugene T. Maleska’s Greatest Hits is depressingly full of white space.
However, over the past few weeks, ET has started sleeping through the night (most nights). I have augmented the therapeutic effects of a two-year old who finally sleeps a full 8+ hours per night with going to bed earlier myself.
Net result: Several consecutive days of completed crosswords.
Good God! I’m becoming human again.
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It’s almost 21 years ago — me in labor and there was a pause in the action. One of the nurses providing my care was somebody I knew from a previous, intellectual life. She took my hand and said,
“Friend, you need to know that your IQ* will fall to your baby’s birth weight–in pounds. I mean single digits! But it will recover. When you get more than 6+ hours of continuous sleep.
It was the single most useful piece of advice I got between birth and the baby sleeping-through-the-night, mom having 6+hours of continuous sleep phase. For my daughter, that took 4+ months. Knowing that I wasn’t going to be the formerly sharp crayon, I could make adjustments. Napping when the daughter napped helped, but didn’t eradicate the fuzz.
—-
*ok, IQ is a construct. Given. Don’t argue.
I remember reading somewhere that “a study said” that mothers in the first year of a baby’s life had functional impairments similar to drunk drivers. Whenever someone tries to sell me on “the wisdom of nature” I think about that.
It’s nice to know that the neurons will begin firing properly again… someday.
Because you de-lurked, I have discovered your blog and I like it very much! I almost never finish the NYT Sunday crossword but I look forward to it every week and I use a pen to do it!
Thanks. I just discovered your blog recently and have enjoyed your perspective a lot.
Hubby and I used to do the Will Shortz worship thing before we got Internet. I could blame the kids and lack of sleep for some of the neuron loss, but I’m afraid it predated them…
I love Will Shortz. I hear him on our public radio station every once in a while and he’s very funny.
My husband and I used to have a Sunday ritual in the BC days–wake up-whenever–have breakfast, go to the coffee shop and do the Sunday puzzle together. I miss that, but our new ritual is almost as nice–curl up with the rugrats in bed when they wake up. I just wish it were a leeeetle bit later in the morning.