---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had had insomnia badly when she was…"
description: "\"“She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home… She had had only occasional bad nights since then. Bad? she thought. Why bad? I rarely feel m..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png"
---

#  She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home……

![“She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home… She had had only occasional bad nights since then. Bad? she thought. Why bad? I rarely feel much the worse the next day, except for a sort of moral irritability that seems to go with the feeling that I ought to have spent all those silent…” quote by Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png)

> ““She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home… She had had only occasional bad nights since then. Bad? she thought. Why bad? I rarely feel much the worse the next day, except for a sort of moral irritability that seems to go with the feeling that I ought to have spent all those silent hours asleep.””

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

After insomnia, the narrator experiences lingering moral irritability, reflecting how sleep deprivation can affect emotional regulation.

**In simple terms:** Lack of sleep leads to irritability.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize healthy sleep habits.

Themes

health psychology wellbeing

Mood

practical concerned

Type

health psychological

When to use this quote

- night shift work
- student life
- high‑stress jobs
- parenting

Key Concepts

sleep hygiene emotional regulation mental health

Questions to Reflect On

- What daily routines can improve sleep quality?
- How does sleep affect moral decision‑making?

A Different Perspective

Chronic insomnia may require professional treatment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bad Nights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-nights-1198580/) [Bad Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thought-532719/) [Insomnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia/) [Insomnia Badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia-badly-5943925/) [Next day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-day/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Thought Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-bad-800877/)

## Related quotes

> [People say, 'Jay, you're a great guy, you just had a couple of bad nights.' People that have themselves under control don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-williams/people-say-jay-you-re-a-great-guy-you-just-had-a-couple-of-bad-nights/)

[Jayson Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-williams/)

> [It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-is-pointless-to-say-that-this-or-that-night-was-the-worst-of-my/)

[Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/)

> [There's nothing I've felt that compares to fighting. Even on the bad nights. Even on the nights when you're just not there or you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/there-s-nothing-i-ve-felt-that-compares-to-fighting-even-on-the-bad/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [“All bad nights come to an end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-schutz/all-bad-nights-come-to-an-end/)

[Samantha Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-schutz/)

> [Bad nights lead to better days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/bad-nights-lead-to-better-days/)

[Ryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-adams/)

> [That which we call civilization is merely the accumulated debris of a chilling number of bad nights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/that-which-we-call-civilization-is-merely-the-accumulated-debris-of-a/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [Yeah and it's over before you know it It all goes by so fast Yeah the bad nights take forever And the good nights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/yeah-and-it-s-over-before-you-know-it-it-all-goes-by-so-fast-yeah-the/)

[Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/)

> [Bands have good nights, and they have bad nights. I'm not going to cover up anything or pretend. For me, personally, that's just my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corabi/bands-have-good-nights-and-they-have-bad-nights-i-m-not-going-to/)

[John Corabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corabi/)

> [I feel like I've had bad nights or destructive nights or nights where I don't remember anything or nights where I was seriously injured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-baker/i-feel-like-i-ve-had-bad-nights-or-destructive-nights-or-nights-where/)

[Julien Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-baker/)

> [“Growing up can really suck, he thought. And bad things sure as shit do happen to good people and for the most part the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brom/growing-up-can-really-suck-he-thought-and-bad-things-sure-as-shit-do/)

[Brom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brom/)

> [If any of us had a child that we thought was as bad as we know we are, we would have cause to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/if-any-of-us-had-a-child-that-we-thought-was-as-bad-as-we-know-we-are/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [We thought it was a bad idea, just the idea of your own daughter sort of putting herself at the very front line of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svante-thunberg/we-thought-it-was-a-bad-idea-just-the-idea-of-your-own-daughter-sort/)

[Svante Thunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svante-thunberg/)

> [Some of the best things I have ever thought of I have thought of during bad sermons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/some-of-the-best-things-i-have-ever-thought-of-i-have-thought-of/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/)

[Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/)

> [“I always thought you had you a bad case of head-up-your-ass-itis. -Kramisha”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-c-cast/i-always-thought-you-had-you-a-bad-case-of-head-up-your-ass-itis/)

[P.C. Cast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-c-cast/)

## More by Robin McKinley

> [It's hard to look too grand when you're led by someone who looks like a pudding with legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/it-s-hard-to-look-too-grand-when-you-re-led-by-someone-who-looks-like/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“The most serious drawback to the telling-nothing approach is that it made that much more of a mystery of what had happened, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-most-serious-drawback-to-the-telling-nothing-approach-is-that-it/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“There was something very odd about the carpet this morning… More hedgehogs? Many more hedgehogs? Positively a lake of hedgehogs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-something-very-odd-about-the-carpet-this-morning-more/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [He didn't look insane or inhuman. He did look uncooperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/he-didn-t-look-insane-or-inhuman-he-did-look-uncooperative/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“But he hated to see his people people unhappy--because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one--”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-he-hated-to-see-his-people-people-unhappy-because-he-was-a-good/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [ “\[the sheep\] sidled up beside him and bumped him lovingly with its head. Val looked at it sadly. "I am sorry, you ugly creature,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-sheep-sidled-up-beside-him-and-bumped-him-lovingly-with-its-head/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“Rosie hated her curly golden hair. When she was old enough to hold minimal conversations, the itsy-bitsy-cutesycoo sort of grown-ups would pull the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/rosie-hated-her-curly-golden-hair-when-she-was-old-enough-to-hold/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“There was, too, a reality to her new life that her old life had lacked, and she realized with a shock that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-too-a-reality-to-her-new-life-that-her-old-life-had-lacked/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [Oh,' she said, too bone-weary to pretend: 'I would far rather that I love you as I saw yesterday I do than that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/oh-she-said-too-bone-weary-to-pretend-i-would-far-rather-that-i-love/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [But I'm going to try to tell the truth. Except for the parts I'm leaving out, because there's still stuff I'm just not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-i-m-going-to-try-to-tell-the-truth-except-for-the-parts-i-m/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [“The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled-2/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

> [Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/roses-are-for-love-not-silly-sweet-hearts-love-but-the-love-that/)

[Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

[Explore all 225 Robin McKinley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/)

## More Insomnia quotes

> [“If you go to bed too early and get up too late you probably won't sleep especially well. This could show up as either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-a-lewis/if-you-go-to-bed-too-early-and-get-up-too-late-you-probably-won-t/)

[Penelope A. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-a-lewis/)

> [ When they \[people with insomnia\] start worrying about not sleeping, I'll say, "Say the mantra to myself; if I don't sleep tonight, I'll likely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/when-they-people-with-insomnia-start-worrying-about-not-sleeping-i-ll/)

[Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/)

> [For me being depressed means you can spend all day in bed, and still not get a good night's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/for-me-being-depressed-means-you-can-spend-all-day-in-bed-and-still/)

[Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/)

> [“Right now I can't even control my own imagination as it grips my hair and drags me into the dark”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/right-now-i-can-t-even-control-my-own-imagination-as-it-grips-my-hair/)

[Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/)

> [Unfortunately, I suffer from insomnia, so my bedtime is as soon as I start to feel the least bit sleepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-jackson/unfortunately-i-suffer-from-insomnia-so-my-bedtime-is-as-soon-as-i/)

[Cheyenne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-jackson/)

> [I'm so tired, but I can't sleep. Standing on the edge of something much too deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-tired-but-i-can-t-sleep-standing-on-the-edge-of-something-much/)

[Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/)

> [My life has been regulated by insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/my-life-has-been-regulated-by-insomnia/)

[Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/)

> [Don't fight with the pillow, but lay down your head And kick every worriment out of the bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-vance-cooke/don-t-fight-with-the-pillow-but-lay-down-your-head-and-kick-every/)

[Edmund Vance Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-vance-cooke/)

> [The mania started with insomnia and not eating and being driven, driven to find an apartment, driven to see everybody, driven to do New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/the-mania-started-with-insomnia-and-not-eating-and-being-driven/)

[Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/)

> [O polished perturbation! golden care! That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide To many a watchful night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-polished-perturbation-golden-care-that-keep-st-the-ports-of-slumber/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Use insomnia to do something more than insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/use-insomnia-to-do-something-more-than-insomnia/)

[Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/)

> [We try not using medications initially, and we use something called behavioral therapy for insomnia. This changes behaviors people do in bed, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/we-try-not-using-medications-initially-and-we-use-something-called/)

[Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/)

> [Its at night, when perhaps we should be dreaming, that the mind is most clear, that we are most able to hold all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/its-at-night-when-perhaps-we-should-be-dreaming-that-the-mind-is-most/)

[Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/)

> [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/)

[Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/)

> [Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many different ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/cats-are-rather-delicate-creatures-and-they-are-subject-to-a-good/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

[Browse all 384 Insomnia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insomnia/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home… She had had only occasional bad nights since then. Bad? she thought. Why bad? I rarely feel much the worse the next day, except for a sort of moral irritability that seems to go with the feeling that I ought to have spent all those silent hours asleep.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robin McKinley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was-fresh-from-home-she-had-had/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Insomnia"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was-fresh-from-home-she-had-had/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/robin-mckinley-1591_insomnia_she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was_1576182.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“She had had insomnia badly when she was fresh from Home… She had had only occasional bad nights since then…” — Robin McKinley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Robin McKinley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“She had had insomnia badly when...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was-fresh-from-home-she-had-had/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/she-had-had-insomnia-badly-when-she-was-fresh-from-home-she-had-had/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
