I just hit my snooze button for the third, or maybe fourth time.

I'm not entirely sure why I think those extra nine, 18 and 27 minutes of sleep are going to be any different from the previous six to eight hours, but I know that without them, I don't stand a prayer of getting through the day.I plan for them, setting my alarm clock to go off a half-hour before the actual time that I need to get out of bed.I know this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but I have a theory as to why it works.Sleep deprivation is no secret. Millions of us are walking around right now having gotten a lot less than the prescribed eight hours that we should have last night. You don't have to look very far to find articles titled "7 steps to better sleep" or "7 side effects of sleeplessness" or magic mattresses whose sales-sheep are promising you the best rest you've ever had.I used to be a champion sleeper. I could fall asleep anywhere! Cars, meetings, in the middle of any movie, I could just close my eyes and drift off to dreamland. Then, the kids happened. Both A and G were born with serious health issues that required them to remain in the hospital for about two weeks following birth. We had a very misleading introduction to babies and sleep patterns.Being in the artificial environment of the hospital and having their own nurses at their beck and call 24/7, both boys came home from the hospital extremely spoiled. In addition to that, we were just so grateful that they were alive, we jumped as soon as either of them squeaked. Yes, we broke every "how to train your baby to sleep" rule there was, but we did whatever it took to survive.Once kids have trained you to respond like that, it's a hard habit to break. I now lie awake at night, still waiting to hear that "Mom?" and being just a little sad when I see the bathroom light flick on in the middle of the night, and no one comes and jumps in my bed when it flicks off. It's good to have kids who are sound sleepers. Unless you're paranoid like I am. Then, it just gives you more things to think about as you lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. "What if they sleep through a fire alarm?" Then, I have to develop my plan for "what if the smoke detectors do go off?"Now, we have a family plan for fires. We have been over it a million times. We all know what to do. Additionally, when that battery dies in the smoke alarm, and it starts to chirp? My kids are the FIRST ones to freak out and be ready to dash out of the house. But, for some reason, at 2 a.m., when I can't sleep, I feel the need to reinvent the entire plan. Never mind that the rest of the family is sound asleep and will not be in on my new brilliant plan, and I will be the one messing it up for everyone else, if we NEED the plan in the first place.Then, of course, if I'm going to think about fires at 2 a.m., I may as well start thinking about my plan for every other emergency that could affect your family."Floods? Hurricanes? Tornadoes? If we have an emergency, what about the cat? Which one of us is going to be crazy enough to wrangle the cat? Is the cat smart enough to get out on his own?"When a bat got in the house a few months ago, it wasn't smart enough to get out by itself. Could the bat have given the cat rabies? Is the cat up to date on his rabies shots? Did anyone feed the cat today? Should we all get rabies shots in case that bat comes back? What is the plan for bat attacks? Where is the tennis racquet in case I need it?"Tennis racquet, oh right, I was supposed to call someone about getting G a tennis lesson. Who do you call about tennis lessons? I can't play tennis. Who is going to help him practice? He can play baseball already, isn't tennis the same fundamental idea? Whack a ball with a glorified stick? Stick. Hiking stick. Oh, jeez, when do the boys leave for Scout camp? Do their hiking boots still fit? I know their soccer cleats don't. Practice starts next week." And, the list goes on and on and on.One night, the Wonderful Husband, who is usually snoring before his head hits the pillow, asked me why I can't just turn off the light and go to sleep. I started telling him everything that was in my brain. After about three minutes, he asked for a mute button. So, this brings me back to those precious nine minutes. I think that I have convinced myself that after making it through the dark and dangerous night, with the sun starting to shine, nothing bad can happen in those nine minutes and I can finally go to sleep. It's not much, but 9 solid minutes of uninterrupted sleep times three or four, and I'm good to go!Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.