Friday, September 25, 2009

Insomniac:

My first philosophical paper is due in less than a week.

I have to take my first abnormal psychology test this weekend.

My story is being workshopped on Wednesday.

I haven't been sleeping. Or to use basic math: A + B + C = D

I wake up in strange intervals, they nearly hit two hours.

I had a 1:23am, 3:28am, and a 5:36am "wake-up" pattern one morning--

followed by a 1:13am, 3:28am, 5am (forgot to look) and 7:36am this morning.

Usually sleepers pass through five stages: 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM sleep. These stages progress cyclically from 1 through REM then begin again with stage 1. A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes.

I think I'm waking up in REM sleep (the more I look at charts) because it's not a "gentle" wake-up. It's a crazy eyes-snapping open kind of sensation. I don't know if that's even possible, but that's what I'm sticking with for now.

REM sleep, or dream sleep, is essential to our minds for processing and consolidating emotions, memories and stress. Most of dreaming occurs during REM sleep, although it can happen during other sleep stages as well. There are different theories as to why you dream. Freud thought that dreams were the processing of unconscious desires. Today, researchers wonder if it may be the brain’s way of processing random fragments of information received during the day. Much of dreaming is still a mystery.

Strangely enough, this makes sense. I think I get to the point of "dealing" with whatever it is or trying to process it all and BAM! I'm awake. Kinda scary, I would say.

And being the lover of literature that I am, the entire time I have been writing this entry I've had Puck from A Midsummer's Night Dream whispering in my ear:

If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber'd here

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme,

No more yielding but a dream,

Gentles, do not reprehend.

I will let you know when I figure it out or when I get several hours of uninterrupted sleep. A girl can dream...maybe.

~~J

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sleeping at night is hard. I would say at least you're getting SOME sleep, but that eyes-snapping-open sensation is enough to make you not feel rested at all. Hope your stress goes away and dreams come to play.

Oh my. Yes, I just said it.

Anonymous said...

Two thumbs up! Thanks.

*teehee*

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