I Like Listening to the Radio

Back in the 90s I was a passionate fan of Art Bell's all night radio show. I listened to it due to insomnia--and it was such a wild ride that it made my insomnia worse but I enjoyed every minute of it.

At one point, I agreed to participate in a study on insomnia. I had to be screened by a psychiatrist. He asked me questions about my sleeping habits and lifestyle. As I answered, he checked off boxes on the form on his clipboard.

His final question was, "Could you please explain, in a very few words, what you believe is the main reason for or cause of your insomnia?"

I answered, "Art Bell." And, to my amazement he checked off a box on the form.

I said, "You actually have a category on your form labelled Art Bell?!"

"We had to add a category. Too many people we've interviewed for our study mentioned Art Bell. We don't use brand names or celebrity names in our study so we have it on our form as 'exciting nighttime radio program.'"

Art Bell and his amazing radio program (the forerunner of today's Coast to Coast with George Noory) actually became a category in an insomnia study. And no wonder-- it was keeping a lot of people wide awake.