Jan 26th 2012 08:00 am Matinee idle
Since middle-age sleep patterns have come up, I thought this Sunday cartoon from 2007 would be appropriate. Maybe it sheds some light on why so many of us have a hard time sleeping through the night.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
40 Responses to “Matinee idle”
Rich in Belchertown on 26 Jan 2012 at 8:18 am #
I thought it was my middle-aged prostate that kept waking me up. Speaking of butts, mine seems to be less tolerant of hard surfaces these days; it goes to sleep when the rest of me stays awake. As for comfy sofas, aren’t they really for napping? Love the drool in panel 5, btw. Nice touch!
Sylvia in MS on 26 Jan 2012 at 8:44 am #
Loving these Sunday offerings!
hc on 26 Jan 2012 at 8:45 am #
I just caught up with the gnus …. sorry!
John in Virginia on 26 Jan 2012 at 8:52 am #
My wife, in a gracious mood, calls it my “dead man switch.” Is that cruel?
Bill in Paducah on 26 Jan 2012 at 9:42 am #
Thanks for posting the Sundays – enjoying them!
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 26 Jan 2012 at 9:45 am #
I saw a rancher from Africa the other and he looked depressed. I asked him why and he said “I heard the gnus today, oh boy!”
Sorry.
Judy in Conroe on 26 Jan 2012 at 10:36 am #
Y’all crack me up!!
Dave in ELO on 26 Jan 2012 at 11:26 am #
Boy, do I know how Arlo feels. I think I sleep better sitting up than laying in my bed.
John in Virginia on 26 Jan 2012 at 4:09 pm #
Had the British army just won the war, Blinky?
Tom (Somewhere in Georgia) on 26 Jan 2012 at 6:28 pm #
How could I have missed this one? Very cool Mr J. Very cool. That is so like me. Except- I seem to be awake for the aweful ones- like Eat Pray and whatever it was.
Mike in Missouri on 26 Jan 2012 at 6:42 pm #
But by some strange process, I can be sound asleep in front of the TV only to come wide awake when Downton Abbey begins. For a lot of people, it’s the other way around.
Mark in TTown on 26 Jan 2012 at 9:44 pm #
Looks like me when I saw the first Tom Cruise Mission Impossible. But I do a lot better since I found I had severe sleep apnea and got put on a CPAP. It’s a hassle to wear but I sleep all night most nights, instead of waking up 60+ times per hour. My recommendation to anyone who repeatedly falls asleep outside your normal (whatever that means to you) bedtime is to have a sleep study done. If anyone tells you snore, or that you sound as if you stop breathing before gulping for air, get it done now! Untreated it can lead to stroke, heart attacks and/or depression. Or you can go to sleep while driving or doing something else that could have disastrous consequences if you aren’t alert to what you are doing.
End of soapbox. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on this blog. Just a long-time sufferer of the condition.
Mark in TTown on 26 Jan 2012 at 9:44 pm #
if anyone tells you you snore. Sorry I left you out.
Soleil on 27 Jan 2012 at 12:57 am #
So that explains it — my theory was that the folks who made the sofa impregnated it with sedatives that were then absorbed through my skin.
Tom (Somewhere in Georgia) on 27 Jan 2012 at 4:39 am #
Soleil- you are on to something!
Galliglo in Ohio on 27 Jan 2012 at 7:54 am #
Mark in TTown: I also use a CPAP. I never fell asleep at inopportune times; I was just tired all the time. After I finally get to sleep, I usually sleep all night without having to get up. It is a blessing…
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 27 Jan 2012 at 7:59 am #
Today’s [27 Jan.] A& J is a hoot.
TruckerRon on 27 Jan 2012 at 8:34 am #
The first thing I noticed when I started my CPAP was that I was having vivid dreams again.
Symply Fargone on 27 Jan 2012 at 8:37 am #
I just had them remove the uvula, terminates, soft palate tissue, tonsils and straighten out a deviated septum, no CPAPA and now np0 apnea. I can go sleep in a tent with no electricity or batteries or anywhere now. First noticed the problem falling asleep at the wheel at the end of my commute on I290….fixed that right quick or I’d be Symply Fargone, hey wait I am!
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 27 Jan 2012 at 9:43 am #
We had a discussion of CPAP a while ago and I think some people were turned off by it. I never snored until I turned 50. The CPAP does help me get a much better quality of sleep. Of course I never weighed that much either. I have been reducing my lunch intake, walking 3 miles a day and not eating after dinner. So far I have lost 22 lbs. Since I have a small frame, I need to lose another 40. Once I tell people that, they tell me that I will be anorexic. I never tell anyone how much I weigh and I find that terribly personal. So please note that telling a person that they are too thin, is just as bad as telling them that they are fat. They have a mirror and in most cases, understand the issue.
Speaking of sleep, I had to go pick up automotive parts at 10:45 PM, run them to a customer’s plant and then sorted until 1:45 AM. I then turned around and got back to the plant at 8:00. With only 3 hours of sleep, the CPAP was only of marginal help. I went to bed an hour early last night and intend to do the same tonight. Once you lose sleep, it takes time to get it back. I will be going to Japan next month, so not looking forward to the sleep deprivation.
Neal in Bahstawn on 27 Jan 2012 at 9:59 am #
Regarding today’s strip, isn’t it amazing that ideas tossed on the table by JJ in this forum miraculously turn up in print 3-4 weeks later? Huh!
ursen on 27 Jan 2012 at 10:15 am #
A day late but noticed the CPAP comments. I was stopping breathing 80+ times an hour, and my blood oxygen count was dropping into the low 80′s until I started the CPAP. I had to get used to a full mask, not just a nasal mask, but it is well worth it. Use it even for naps now. Dr informs me I have likely added years to my life by using it. Now to just lose some weight along with it.
phil in Missoula, MT on 27 Jan 2012 at 11:35 am #
My wife should probably have a CPAP…she makes all sorts of noises all night on exhale, which are entertaining, but not conducive to sleep (mine). I can’t get her to go get a sleep test because she is afraid of wearing the CPAP. Any recommendations?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 27 Jan 2012 at 12:28 pm #
I think that the initial issue that I had was the fear of smothering to death. Most use the one that attaches through their nose. I chose the mask because I am always congested and tend to sleep with my mouth open.
I you know someone that uses one, have them demonstrate it. Mine has a vent on the top and blows air all night. A couple of times the power has gone out and my apnea wakes me up and I either turn the machine back on or take it off if the power is still on.
Without a sleep study, it is difficult to gauge whether she needs one. The biggest thing is that most see an improvement in their blood pressure and statistics say that apnea left untreated can be a factor in increased risk of stroke or heart attack. Most insurances cover it, so if it proves not for her, she can stop it. But many people get used to it and it makes a difference in their lives.
Sorry to those folk who are tired of the CPAP discussion!
Michele Johnson on 27 Jan 2012 at 1:33 pm #
Hi there,
Can anyone point me to yesterday’s Arlo and Janis on the new planet discoveries please? It begins with: “Until recently, we didn’t know for sure if there were planets outside our solar system,..”
Many thanks,
Michele Johnson
NASA’s Kepler Mission
Charlotte in NH on 27 Jan 2012 at 2:03 pm #
Michele, Type in the address bar gocomics.com . When the alphabetical list appears, click on Arlo and Janis, you should get today’s strip, which is pretty amusing. Now click on the little orange arrow that points left, will bring up yesterday’s.
The Kepler web site looks amazing ! I will look at it more, later.
Charlotte in NH on 27 Jan 2012 at 2:06 pm #
Michele, the arrow I mean is up above the comic strip, not off to the side.
TruckerRon on 27 Jan 2012 at 2:22 pm #
Or, Michele, click on this link: http://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2012/01/26 to get to the right strip.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 27 Jan 2012 at 7:19 pm #
Lost in A**2:
Sheep, goats, and mountain goats are all in the subfamily Caprinae within the family Bovidae, which also includes all the various antelopes, cattle, water buffalo, and such [but not our pronghorn, or deer, giraffes, or okapi]. All true sheep, including our mountain sheep, are in the genus Ovis and all goats in the genus Capris, but mountain goats are in their own genus, Oreamnos. So, in the narrow sense, mountain goats are not goats. Muskoxen are also in their own genus, Ovibos, so are not true cattle. All bovids, pronghorns, and deer “chew the cud and are cloven of the hoof”, and so are kosher, though deer are not generally killed kosher. Prairie dogs, on the other hand, are squirrels, and are not kosher. For the scoop on the subfamily Caprinae, go to
http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200752 ,
but you’ll be sorry.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 27 Jan 2012 at 7:46 pm #
I knew it didn’t sound right: Capra, not Capris.
Mark in TTown on 28 Jan 2012 at 12:21 am #
emb: Capra was a director and Capris are pants. Unless you are in the Med where Capri’s an island. And of course in Alabama the Tuscaloosa according to Groucho.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 28 Jan 2012 at 9:07 am #
Mark:
As soon as I checked, I thought of Frank Capra, and then wondered why “Goat” became a legitimate surname. I know about the origin of Esposito, Columbo, and Trouve’, and often wonder why those names persist. There are probably others, in various languages.
Boise Ed on 28 Jan 2012 at 11:55 am #
TruckerRon: It’s not surprising that with CPAP you had vivid dreams again. Dreams come in the REM, the last stage of sleep.
A couple of years ago, when my weight and my snoring had reached all-time highs, I was put on a CPAP, and it didn’t seem to me that I was sleeping much better. After I lost 40 pounds, I dropped the CPAP and my wife no longer complained about the snoring, so I presume that I lost the snoring along with the 40 pounds.
eMb: It seems likely that a medieval goatherder would take the name Goat or Capra.
Mark in TTown on 28 Jan 2012 at 7:36 pm #
Here is a neat news story I ran across. I am posting a link in honor of Jimmy’s recent strips about space. When you go to the site, be sure to watch the video too. Two Canadian teens put together a project to launch a capsule with several cameras into the stratosphere via a weather balloon. They also sent up an astronaut of sorts with a Canadian flag. Keep up the good work guys!
Mark in TTown on 28 Jan 2012 at 7:37 pm #
It would help if I included the link wouldn’t it? http://www.universetoday.com/93070/toronto-teens-launch-lego-man-in-space/
Galliglo in Ohio on 29 Jan 2012 at 9:55 am #
Ref. today’s strip: Love the interaction between Luddy and Arlo. I have mentioned before that Arlo reminds me so much of my late brother-in-law. He would hold the family cat and take walks around the house and property – pointing out items of interest. Both he and the cat are now gone… I imagine them being in Heaven and doing the same thing…
John was the best man I have ever known and everyone who knew him says the same thing. I miss his “weird” sense of humor – his great intelligence – his wonder and curiosity – his love for family and friends…
Jerry in Fl on 29 Jan 2012 at 11:38 am #
I had decided against the CPAP, but you guys have changed my mind. Thanks.
Ron in NW IL on 29 Jan 2012 at 12:20 pm #
Cats in heaven, really?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 29 Jan 2012 at 4:03 pm #
We know less than many think we know about the transcendent/hereafter/whatever. But if God is interested in the physical universe she created, and some cats are at least as interesting as some people, and people are allowed in, then there should be cats there.
I have not run that by my pastor, but I think she would see some merit in it.
One summer I walked around the “lake” in the upscale development my daughter lived in, with my two year old grandson in tow in his red wagon. En route, giving a similar tourist bus spiel, I turned around and there he was, sound asleep. I don’t remember if I continued the spiel or not.
Lost in A**2 on 29 Jan 2012 at 9:58 pm #
Re: the ‘planet’ cartoon mentioned above: I really like the feet in the fourth panel of the next day’s strip. Nice job, Mr. Johnson.