Who needs sleep? Tell me what's that for

[venta]

I mentioned in passing a couple of days ago that I had a very poor night's sleep one day last week. I was stopping at a friend's house, and I retired to bed in a sleeping bag on an air mattress.

It was a pretty comfy air mattress, and I settled down... and didn't go to sleep. I continued to not-go-to-sleep more or less until it was time to get up again.

This happens to me very occasionally, and usually only for a section of the night. I've never described it as insomnia; from what other people tell me, insomnia is unpleasant. I always think of it as asomnia - an absence of, or indifference to, sleep[*]. I don't toss and turn, I don't worry about things, I'm not unhappy about my lack of sleep. I'm warm, comfortable, relaxed and quite happy. I'm just... not asleep. I'd liken it more to the relaxing feeling of waking up at a weekend and knowing you don't have to get up yet.

The day after I was a little tired - and very ready for my bed by the time I got there at about 11pm - but otherwise fine. If I actually get very little sleep of a night, I feel absolutely rubbish the next day. When organising a rapper bash a year or two ago I was up doing things until half past four, slept badly, and got up at half six to help with breakfast. I spent the whole of the following day feeling very queasy, and very grumpy. I think I had to have a little lie-down mid-afternoon.

And so, I'm curious... does having been in bed, resting, mean I'm fit to tackle the next day? Or is it that, in between lying awake, I fitted in some decent chunks of sleep I didn't notice? Or even that when I believed I was awake, I was in fact asleep... Wikipedia has quite an interesting page on Sleep state misperception.

How do insomniacs feel about being awake in the night? I've always understood it to be an unpleasant state, but is that "just" because of the worry that you need to be asleep in order to tackle the next day?

I assume that if - say - someone was unable to sleep because of pain, that wouldn't be classed as insomnia. So do people who regularly fail to sleep "just" fail to sleep, or do they feel that there is something keeping them awake? I know some people talk about racing thoughts when trying to sleep, but I'm unsure whether they count that as a cause or an effect.

And, of course... does anyone else ever experience what I call asomnia?

[*] I tried to ask Wikipedia what the exact definition of the "a-" prefix was. It didn't go well.

Comments

[ceb.livejournal.com]

I get this occasionally. Especially the first night in a new place, but occasionally at home. I have converted to it from insomnia by convincing myself that lying still and resting is *nearly* as good as being asleep anyway. Otherwise I just lie there and worry...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Interesting that you also mention the idea of it being in a new/unfamiliar place - I suspect that's true for me, but I'd never really noticed before. To be honest, I've never really thought about it much because (to me) it's not a problem. In fact, I find it quite a pleasant sensation occasionally.

I have converted to it from insomnia

Oh! Now that is also interesting. I've always wondered if that were possible, but never felt that suggesting it to an insomniac was either helpful or a good idea. Nice to know that has been possible for one sort of insomnia, for one person!

[ceb.livejournal.com]

Well, WFM, but as good advice goes it's up there with telling depressed people to "just cheer up". You probably will find *someone* that works for, but you might get hit a lot first.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Exactly, hence having never suggested it to anyone!