Question: how do you know if you’re not getting enough sleep?
People have heard me say “sleep is overrated,” but I don’t mean it. And in the last 24 hours I have had the following signals that maybe I’m not getting enough of slow-wave and REM activity:
I had to take a break from participating in the Law School retreat today because in the middle of the morning session I started to think that words spoken by a colleague sitting across from me were sounding awfully much like a lullaby, so that I began to feel an overwhelming urge to snuggle into the shoulder of another colleague not far from me, just because, well, because his shoulder looked like it was in a perfect position for a head rest;
I subsequently went to the local café, ordered a double espresso and gulped it down with such speed that I surprised myself. Unfortunately, I then dozed off, right there, still clutching the empty cup, thereby missing the first part of an afternoon session of the retreat.
Oh, and yesterday, while hiking up and around Gibraltar Rock at dusk, I found myself seriously engaged in a discussion of what would be the consequences of taking a little repose right there on the forest floor*.
I worry that I will fall asleep while delivering a lecture, or while riding Mr. B. The motion is just right for it.
What remedy? Get more sleep you say. My answer: not so easy. I give up on the day late. Very late. Sounds wake me at night. And, inevitably, I look at the clock, see no digit larger than 4 and I get up, thinking: surely it’s time.
Time for what? For putting away dishes carelessly left out hours earlier on the coffee table?
I don’t really suffer from insomnia. I just don’t finish the night in the same way that others do. Or maybe I’m not the only one thinking in those dark wee hours that much needs to be done -- fields need to be plowed and machines need to be built before the sun crosses the horizon and a new day sets in. Maybe.
* Gibraltar Rock, near dusk, tempting:
ah, me too.... here's the diagnosis, a different type of insominia. "In early morning awakening, the patient falls asleep normally but awakens early and cannot fall asleep again or drifts into a restless, unsatisfying sleep. This pattern is a common phenomenon of aging but is sometimes associated with depression. Tendencies to anxiety, self-reproach, and self-punitive thinking, often magnified in the morning, may contribute....Early morning awakening or insomnia unresponsive to simple corrective measures is often due to a significant emotional disturbance (especially depression) or a physical disorder (eg, pain or a respiratory disturbance during sleep)." from the Merk Manual.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately, one of the first things doctors will tell you to do is to cut out caffeine - I always ignore that bit. :)
I also tend to ignore the part about "aging." who me? aging, indeed! I've slept this way since I was a small child!
in sympathy,
sep
Ocassional naps (the 20 minute kind) or sometimes a glass of wine before bed helps me get the sleep I need. But isn't it amazing what can get accomplished in those early morning hours.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to give up on coffee, but decaf is a great substitute.
Hope you get some rest.
It sounds like you DO have insomnia.
ReplyDeleteI actually do not think that I have insomnia. And I most certainly am not depressed. In fact, the only time I sleep late is on the rare occasions that I am overwhelmed (depressed?). And conversely, I sleep even less when I travel (I wake up intoxicated with the possibilities).
ReplyDeleteBut the question I asked myself this past week was this: am I, on some objective scale, not getting enough sleep? Hence the post.
Nina, post something! Please! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about not answering the question and jumping in with suggestions. Once again I'm up at 4 a.m.
ReplyDeleteQ. How do you know if you’re not getting enough sleep?
A. When I long for a horizontal surface later in the day. My body tells me that it's been cheated from rest. I get cranky and my brain doesn't function well either.