Journal entry 091610: Crick in the neck

There are things I thought I’d be better at by now, and sleeping was one of them. Yet, I woke up this morning with a painful crick in my neck, on my left side where my neck meets my left shoulder. How did that happen?

In fact, I’ve never understood how cricks happen. How is it possible to sleep in a position so out of alignment it creates a sore spot? If I were awake and I felt part of me getting stiff or cranky, I would change positions – I would do it unconsciously without thinking. Just move.

So why don’t I change positions while sleeping if my body is so uncomfortable it produces a crick? If I’m sleeping at such a bad angle as to cause a muscle cramp or stiffness, why don’t I just roll over?

After all, I toss and turn all night long anyway, and I don’t know what cause me to do that. It apparently doesn’t require conscious thought since I’m asleep when I do it, yet enough of my brain cells are still on alert to tell me to roll over. Why don’t those same vanguard brain cells notice that I’ve laid crooked too long and about to do damage and so tell my body to go ahead and roll over now?

Since I am over 50-years-old I am up and out of bed at least once every night. It seems that should be enough movement to prevent getting a crick.

Of course I’m usually stiff and soar after I go for a long run, but that only makes sense. If I use my legs and arms in repetitive motion for an hour without stopping I’ll be sore later on.

But when I’m sleep, I’m relaxed and horizontal and do not engage in any repetitive movements. So how can I build up enough stress or fatigue to cause the sourness in my neck?

I guess it could be true that I would have cricks every morning if I didn’t toss and turn, and maybe my nighttime brain cells are doing the best they can to prevent morning soreness, but they occasionally make a mistake and miss a rollover, so here I sit with a stiff neck.

I know, I know, who cares, right? Maybe I’m just proving the theory of my friend who says that all writers are whiners. Maybe he’s right. But whining or not, I have this crick in my left neck and it’s going to bug me all morning and I just thought you should know.

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

To learn more about Berry’s newest book, “Running With God:” www.runningwithgodonline.com

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