For several nights now, I can’t sleep. Now and then, I suffer a round of RLS ~ Restless Leg Syndrome. It’s usually dormant for months at a time, but when it flares up, I lose a lot of sleep. Each night. For several nights in a row.

Triggers can very by episode. Stress. Too much salt in my dinner. Exhaustion. Not enough daily exercise. Lack of vitamins and minerals. Inability to stretch out due to three out of five cats thinking the bed belongs to them.

In the past, whenever it affected me, it only lasted a day or two. I’d walk more around the office. Lower my salty snacks. Drink lots of water to flush out my system. Kick the cats. I’d be fine after about 48 hours.

Not this time. This time, I’ve crawled out of bed after midnight five nights in a row. I’ve walked around the house. I’ve soaked my legs with a hot washcloth. I drank warm(ish) milk. I took baby aspirin. I rubbed my limbs with isopropyl. Nothing seems to work.

So this time, I’m looking for something else. Something short of a chainsaw that will put me out of my misery. Because

i.am.going.crazy.

Loopy. Off my rocker. Irrational, emotional, having a nutty. Due to lack of sleep, I am unable to fully function, think clearly, or enjoy the day. In other words

i.am.going.bananas.

I want to sleep all day, but I can’t. So I wait til nightfall. And I can’t. I want to have enough energy to do stuff. But I don’t. So I just sit. And write. And drink water and hot tea. And try to walk around the house and yard. But in the cold rain, that’s not my favorite cure.

So I decided to find a new, better solution. To go big. I picked up the phone. And called the one person I know who has always had the perfect cures for everything.

I called my Mommy.

My mom is the Go-To Gal for all things healthy. She’s been telling me for years about the Golden Fruit. My daughter loves them. I’ve kept them around the house almost always. So I don’t understand why it took me so long to really embrace the banana.

It’s not that I’m opposed to them. I actually like them. I just don’t buy them that much. They’re not always in season, so that’s one thing. I mean, who wants to eat brown bananas all the time.

I used to eat the fresh ones, then let the rest turn a little more and make banana nut bread. Yummm! Especially when it’s warmed up. And coated with butter. Real, creamy, melty butter.

Again, I say: Yummm!

And it hit me.

The solution to all things.

When life (and body) stresses out: Go Bananas!

It’s like a dusty book that just got pulled off the shelf. Or an old favorite sweater that was packed away. It’s a visit from an old friend that leaves you thinking, “Why don’t we keep in touch all the time?” It’s a hug from a really good friend.

So here I am, back from the health food store where I bought bananas. Some for eating. Some for baking. All for me (Okay, a few for my daughter).

Because I relax when I’m in my kitchen (like that’s news to anyone!). And bananas are full of great things like potassium and iron that will stop the RLS. And so-o-o much better than chemical drugs. No, I’m not a nature freak; I don’t burn incense to cleanse the air. But I have chemical allergies: those “healthy” fixes actually do more harm to my body than good. I’m the only person I know who’s been hospitalized (four times!) for taking an allergy pill! So, you get why the banana is so much better for me than the drug store.

Plus, there’s the added bonus of the banana being so versatile. I mean, what can you do with a pill except swallow it? Bananas, though… ahh, bananas.

Raw. Fried. Dehydrated.
Baked into bread.
Blended into smoothies.
Frozen and dipped.
And right now, steeping in a pitcher of cold water along with cut up apples and raspberries for my very own infused water.

Can you do all that with a pill? (*Note the sarcasm. If there is such a pill, I don’t want to know about it…)

So. After almost a week of RLS-induced insomnia, I can quite happily announce

I am going bananas! And I think I rather like it.