Sleepless in Manhattan

The first time a baby sleeps through the night is a landmark for its parents. They note it, revel in it, remember it. The earlier the baby does it, the more precocious it is presumed to be. Sleeping through the night is a baby's first real-life accomplishment—assuming it actually happens.

But what about the grownups? I don't think I've ever slept through the night as an adult. I wake up, pee, listen to Other snore, worry about the coming day, think about what I'm going to wear, suddenly flash on the answer to yesterday's unfinished crossword, get hit with the sinking-stomach feeling remembering some task undone or botched at work, listen to the inane drunken chatter of the smokers outside the bar next door, nurse my grudges. In a good night, I sleep maybe six hours in hour-and-a-half dozes.

The chiropractor I've been seeing suggested that since my back pain is worst in the morning, I consider getting a new mattress. He says he wakes up eight hours after he goes to bed, and he wakes up in exactly the same position he assumed when he lay down eight hours earlier. He has never taken a sleeping pill. He told me this three weeks ago, and I've been puzzling over it ever since. Really? Really, someone can do that? 

Or does everybody do that? Am I alone in my sleepless nights?