Sleepytime

For a while now, instead of coffee I’ve been drinking a mix of store brand black tea and “Sleepytime Tea” (by Celestial Seasonings).

I used to drink “Tension Tamer”. I really liked the flavor, but I can’t find that at my grocery store anymore.

Recently, I saw “Sleepytime Extra” at the grocery. It was in a noticeably bigger box, slightly different design, and twice as many tea bags at a slightly lower price per tea bag. So, I bought it. I didn’t think much about it and just assumed the “extra” referred to the bigger box it was in.

Also recently, I’ve been feeling really sleepy at various times during the day, like when I go to the theatre to do my job playing in the pit for a show. At first I thought I’m just tired lately. But the past day or two I’ve been wondering if there’s something wrong with me. (Maybe I should say, something ELSE wrong with me, along with the other stuff that I already know about.)

This morning, maybe half an hour ago, as I was making tea, it struck me that I’m drinking “Sleepytime Tea” several times during the day, and I’m feeling sleepy when I’m sitting in a room with dimmed lights (i.e., the theatre). I started wondering if the tea had something to do with it. Is there something in it that actually makes people sleepy, instead of it just being a cute name? So, for the first time, I actually read what was on the box. Well, it turns out that the “extra” in “Sleepytime Extra” is valerian root, which is a traditional sleep aid.

Perhaps I need to look more diligently for “Tension Tamer” as my normal daily tea (to mix with the cheap black tea) and save the “Sleepytime” for actual sleepy time.