Working what we at 13News call "The Nightside Shift", I'm scheduled to work from roughly 2:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. That 11:30 ending time is often debatable. When the newscast runs late, or I'm doing a live shot from the outer reaches of our coverage area or chasing a story; it can get pushed around.

From there, it's a matter of getting back to the newsroom, dropping off tapes, writing a shorter version of my story, jumping in my car and driving home. Often when I get home, I'm wired, either from stress, adrenaline or caffeine...or sometimes all three, pushing back bedtime further and further into the wee hours of the morning. It's all a terribly vicious cycle: fall asleep late, wake up late and groggy, run to work and do it all again.

There is also no rhyme or reason to the number of hours I spend with my pillow -- one day I'll sleep 11 hours, the next 3.

So, for 2008, I'm trying to cut out the caffeine and get to sleep earlier and achieve a more consistent sleep pattern. January 1st was a bust in that respect, but today (Wednesday) was no sweat. Let's see how the next 363 go...maybe I'll invest in new bed linens as motivation.