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A Lull In The Lull

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Today’s guest post is from Dr. Cozy Futon, lead rest-searcher with Physicians for Bedrest.

My Fellow Sleepless Americans,

Yawning? Please pull over and take a nap.

Millions of people are running, walking, driving and sitting around with such an overwhelming sleep debt, they are literally good for nothing. Their brains are addled by constantly being under the low-level strain of Internet surfing, tweeting and Facebook posting. They process information superficially and lash out at anything they don’t understand, which is just about everything, given their diminished state of mind. Bloggers are especially prone to this condition, which is why so many of them are perpteually cranky.

Occasionally, members of the restless masses will resolve to get more sleep and are surprised to find that after a few initial hours of quality repose, they wake up. Their inability to sleep 8 hours straight becomes a concern, then an obsession, and finally a type of mania. They lie awake at 3 a.m. filled with dread over lying awake at 3 a.m..

The result? Deeper depravation, sleep-wise.

On behalf of Physicians for Bedrest, I ask you to consider that perhaps you are merely a two-stage sleeper. As explained in this recent article from the BBC, there is historical precedent to suggest that humans are designed to sleep in two chunks separated by a couple of hours of wakefulness – just exactly the way you do on those nights when you find yourself playing computer solitaire after midnight.

Don’t believe me? There’s a book: At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past. Plan to read it in the lull between your two sessions of sleep.

Here’s a quote about the book and its author from the BBC story:

In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks.

His book At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, published four years later, unearths more than 500 references to a segmented sleeping pattern – in diaries, court records, medical books and literature, from Homer’s Odyssey to an anthropological account of modern tribes in Nigeria.

In many historic accounts, Ekirch found that people used the time to meditate on their dreams.

I’m enthralled with this idea of going to sleep, having a scheduled intermission, and going to sleep again. Like a play or a sporting event, it makes perfect sense to have an interlude in the midst of the enjoyment so you can process what has just happened, and think about what is yet to come!

Among the things Ekrich found reference to people doing “between sleeps” – going to the toilet, smoking tobacco, visiting neighbors, chatting with bed-fellows, reading, writing, praying, and sex. Not necessarily in that order. Of course instead of setting aside eight hours for sleep, you’ll have to reserve ten. But you won’t even notice the difference, and the halftime show could be spectacular!

What keeps you awake?

88 thoughts on “A Lull In The Lull”

  1. Thanks for having a guest blogger; sleep deprivation is a serious problem, that I think we all experience, from time to time. . Great post and I look forward to sharing more with you:)

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  2. Thanks for having a guest blogger; sleep deprivation is a serious problem, that I think we all experience, from time to time. . Great post and I look forward to sharing more with you:)

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    2. welcome wartica. your first post and already you are following the age old tradition of double posting. we didn’t think it was possible any more bt you found a way. if you can do that you will fit in jsut fine. enjoy your blog entries on your word press site. see you on the trail.

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  3. Good morning to all. My problem with not getting enough sleep is mainly due to waking too early and then not getting back to sleep.

    I blame it on the cows. Farmers usually get up extra early to milk cows. I think both of my parents did this at one time or another when they were young and some of their parents and grandparents did also, so I blame it on the cows that needed to be milked very early in the morning. I don’t milk cows, but I have the sleep pattern of people who milked cows as part of my heritage.

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      1. I always though Richard and I might have things in common and now I have found out this is true for at least one thing. I would guess that Richard also saved seeds like I do except his were probably a certain kind of weed seed.

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    2. For about a month I tried milking three times / day. Milked at 8AM, (after getting the kids ready for school) 4PM (so I could get to the theater) and then midnight (after doing the theater party).
      If I had no other life besides milking cows it could have worked for me…

      For some farmers, there is proven milk yield increase by milking 3X / day but it’s easier if you have other people to help with the milking chores…

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      1. In my limited contacts with dairy farmers, I have talked to several who were very ready to take a break from the continous responsibilty of milking cows. I can understand how milking 3 times a day could get old very fast..

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  4. Bad dreams can really give you a scare. Really bad ones you wake up from only to fall back to sleep to be revisited by the same cursed dream.

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  5. Sleep Baboons, Sleep!

    Apparently it is the time of year and light changing that keeps me awake. I go through these periods around the Spring and Autumn equinoxes of sleeplessness in which I wake up for 2 hours between 2-4am. It drives me nuts because I get so tired during the day. Last week was the most recent one of these. GRRRR.

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    1. Jacque, I also wake up during the night and do it on most nights at all times of the year. I usually can get back to sleep fairly soon if I get up and have a small snack. I think walking down to the kitchen and back helps me because it gets rid of some stiffness that I get from lying in bed. I might have the two sleep pattern that Dale talked about today. However, I have modified this sleep pattern to include only a short break in my sleep, not the hour or more break described by Dale.

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  6. i just saw a news blip on sleep deprivation on the news this morning. the lead people on the list got 6hour and 59 minutes and the next fistfull got 7 hours , 7 hours 1 minute etc… heck if i got 7 hours or anything close i’d be rested for a week. i used to get by on 4 with a 6 hour catch up night every couple of weeks just to keep me spry. lately i do the 11-5 stretch with a couple of interruptions as the norm. today i do on occasion sleep to 6 or 7 but with wake up sessions i have with myself nightly i would guess i am still working on 4-5 per night. a couple of years ago a friend suggested that sleep deprivation may be part of my issue with life and i started to take notice. he may have been correct but…..
    what keeps me awake, sometimes inspired thought, sometimes wondering how the heck i am goig to get everything done, get the bills paid, get the kids looked after in the way i want to, be three places at once, and sometimes i turn to the tv and find a movie at 2am that i would never be able to watch at 2 pm. i do have a stash of movies on the ready for later button on the tv but i seldom if ever get to those and when i do i fall asleep i suppose because i know i can do it at another time if i miss it this time.
    so all i need for a good nights sleep is a lot more money, a lot more time to spend the way i would like and a way to get my ideas looked after so i don’t need to noodle them around for extended periods in the wee hours. as far as sleeping in two shifts, never happens. a 15 minute nap may be just what the digestive system needs but i don’t give it the luxury often. maybe thats the answer. i will look for opportunities to try it out. i always loved the chinese tradition of sleeping for 10 or 15 minutes while riding in the car or waiting for an appointment. here we would call that being inattentive and think the guy odd. there they think of it as a quick recharge. not all dumb.

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  7. We are regularly awakened at 4:00am by our terrier, who needs to go outside and do her business. Then the cats notice that we are awake and let us know they are in danger of starvation and won’t we please go downstairs and open a couple of cans of cat food? We don’t at that time, but the cats are anxious we will forget about them. I usually sleep on my stomach, and our biggest cat decides the way to make sure I know he is hungry is to knead and knead my back while purring very loudly. Then he places all 16 pounds of himself on my back and goes to sleep. Sometimes I can sleep with him there, sometimes I can’t. If the terrier, who also sleeps with us, is in a mood, she will jump up, bark, and chase the cat off the bed. I am usually in a half-sleep from 4 until 6, when I usually get up. I believe I have written here before about my husband’s frequent nightmares that often result in his yelling and striking out and slugging me. If I hear him starting to mumble I try to wake him up since that will interrupt his bad dream, unless, of course, he returns to the dream when he goes back to sleep, and I have to wake him up again.

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    1. I had a similar problem with the demented elderly cat, who was firmly convinced the best time to be petted was around 4-5:00 AM. Sometimes my younger cat remembers to carry on the tradition, but she’s not as protective of her rights as the Dowager Empress was. My main sleep problem is being a night person and keeping morning people’s hours–left to myself I’d stay up until 1 AM and sleep until 9 AM, but I have to go to bed so I can get up at 6:30. After several years of this kind of schedule I wake up, but I don’t feel truly rested very often.

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      1. My son and his wife have an insane tortie who loves to attack my son’s feet at night if he gets up for some reason. When he was a small boy, he would jump into bed with a flying leap because he was afraid of a monster he imagined under the bed. Now, as an adult, he does the same thing because the monster cat lurks under the bed and attacks if his feet get too close to the bed.

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    3. I have recently come to learn that sleep apnea is common, is terribly dangerous and is entirely avoidable. Lordy, I wish I’d known this ten years ago. My whole life would be different.

      I invite anyone who suspects she or he might have sleep apnea to contact me. I can explain things and help you find relief.

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      1. I would second this Steve – my dad had sleep apnea. Once he had it treated, it really turned a lot of things around (including lowering his chronically high blood pressure). He was pretty sure he would not have suffered through the severe depression that he went through when I was in college if he had known then about sleep apnea and its treatments. Get it checked out. Get it treated. Really.

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        1. I’m still not clear what the signs are for sleep apnea? Is it something your partner notices before you do? Because it sounds like something you’d sleep through and not be aware of.

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      2. Glad to hear it was discovered and headed down then new trail. I suspected it would be life changing. Does it help the arthritis stuff?

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  8. I used to take a 20 minute nap when I got home from work before I started to prepare dinner and get ready for the rest of the evening’s activities – which was especially handy when I was doing a lot of set construction and would be out late. With a kid who has homework to do and a husband who is hungry now, that nap has gone by the wayside. However, mostly what keeps me awake at night is really not much. I am often up later than I would care to be finishing up the stuff that doesn’t get done before Daughter goes to sleep, but once I am in bed and the light is off, I’m out.

    That said, I have developed a cyclical insomnia now that I am more firmly in my 40s, one that I can predict at least somewhat (much like one would anticipate changes in the phases of the moon), but haven’t found a good remedy for it – and don’t want to go the prescription route, at least not yet. I just know if I have one night that is bad, there will likely be 2 and possibly 3, but by the following weekend I should be past it and can (hopefully) sleep in one of the days to make up for it.

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  9. I routinely wake up between 3:30 and 4am, which is a useful schedule when you need to get about a half day’s work done before you go to work.

    I don’t need to do that at the moment, but the s&h needs to get moving by 5:30 to get out the door in time for the bus (early bus, slow moving boy-tough combination, but we have made it work), so my fear that I will oversleep if I try to go back to sleep for an hour or so keeps me awake.

    Fine time to get some reading in. Only problem is that I am ready to be done with the day long before everyone else.

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    1. my wifes dad was the guy who gave you your seat assignment at the airport ticket counter back in the day when you got those little stickers on your boarding card. he had seniority and loved starting work at 5am before the bosses showed up and being done at 2:01 every day. after taking eary retirement from delta he took on more old guy handy man kind of things like janitor at the summer school program. delivery for a blade sharpening company and always was able to make his going to bed at 830 and up at 4 work for him. now he has nothing to do and he is screwed . ha cant stay up til 9 to save his soul. nothing to do in the florida double wide at 4 in the morning either but when there is movement at 545 out the in the parking lot. he has a hand to lend and a story to pass on. everyone does it a little different. dale thought he was done with the 4 am wake up. wrong again buffalo breath. kfai has the early morning news spot sewn up with our boy heading up the pre dawn crew.
      rituals are an interesting part of persona. watch out what you wish for.

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  10. And here I thought it was menopause!?! It seems to be a “late life” issue for me and most of the friends I’ve polled. I know I never had interrupted sleep till the last few years. It bothered me at first but now I think of it as gifted time and I enjoy it, even look forward to it. Tim, time doesn’t always have to be the villain 🙂 I’ve read many many books in the midnight hours—so much better than lying there staring at the ceiling.

    One thing I’ve noticed (and love) about 3-5am reading is that I’m in some netherworld between consciousness and deep sleep. I’m in some permeable fluid place with no protective mental/daytime barriers. All things seem believable, plausible. You’re truly inside the tale, not at a distance. Just last night, thanks to baboons’ recommendation, I read over half of “Cocktails Under the Tree of Forgetfulness” and it reminded me of another autobiography I read, “Casting With a Fragile Thread” about the writer’s childhood in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and her sister’s death during the independence conflict. Darker than “Tree” but completely engrossing. And “The Witch Doctor’s Wife” by Tamar Myers was an African tale that was bewitching/humorous, too. In so many stories of Africa the colors, smells, just the topographical terms paint incredibly vivid and tangible scenes in my mind, but especially when “night reading”. Night reading is the best time to armchair travel! These stories fascinate me because I’m a third culture kid, too. Another good thing, it’s easy to drift off seamlessly from reading into sleep again.

    Only downside to night reading is I have to censor anything TOO dark and foreboding — No Joyce Carol Oates at 3am for me.

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    1. Similar to your censoring your night reading, I have a friend who I exchange book recommendations with and we have a category for “not to be read during the darkest weeks of winter” (e.g., “A Thousand Acres”).

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      1. I know! I’m just realizing that it’s a universal “gift” 🙂 Or genetic as the research seems to point out. Think of all the books you’ll get read, or snacks (read: pounds) you’ll pack away over the next 50-60 years, Jacque.

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    4. I met Joyce carrol Oates and you would never guess she has a dark side by talking to her but all the storylnrs she comes up with are dark dark dark

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  11. I see that several of you have sleep problems like I do. My doctor recommended that I get a test for sleep apnea. The hospital supplied a device that attached to my finger that I took home to measure my oxygen level and heart rate while I slept. I did this and now I am waiting for the doctor to tell me about the results of the test.

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      1. I hope I don’t end up with a mask. I am just being careful and giving in to the advice I am always getting on having all kinds of medical testing done. I prefer to stay away from doctors as much as possible. In this day and age the doctors seem to think most people my age should already be taking a wide range of medicines and they are suprised when I tell them I’m not taking any.

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      2. I’m with you on that one JiCG… exposure to doctors CAN be hazardous to your health. Here’s hoping you can find a simpler solution. I swear by Yogi Bedtime tea… I drink a cup each night right before bed & I’m out cold till morning. I’ve recommended it to many others and it seems to remedy their sleep issues. Might be worth a try for you.

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      4. Yogi is the brand and “Bedtime” is the name of the tea… it’s chock-full of herbs (valerian, passion flower, licorice root, spearmint, skullcap, etc) and makes you feel like it’s time for bed almost immediately after drinking it. You should be able to find at at any whole foods store/coop or the natural food section of your grocery store. Couldn’t hurt, JiCG.

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      1. I will call the doctor’s office if he doesn’t get back to me before long. I’m not pleased that he has not been very prompt about giving me the results. You are asked to come early for doctor appointments, but they usually are late, often more than an hour. Now I will probably have to make a call to find out why I haven’t received the results of the sleep apnea test.

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      2. I have several friends that use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and it would appear to be sleeping with scuba gear on your face. Is that what it’s like Steve? Can you / could you still snuggle with the spouse / pet / stuffed animal or pillow? Do you have to stay on your back?

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      3. Ben, alas I sleep alone. My mask is not crimping my social life. But you can easily leave the mask off on nights when you plan something. In the sweet afterwash of sex, thank her, kiss her and put your mask on for the rest of the night. I think people can sleep on their sides with the mask on. I sleep in chairs, so that isn’t something I’ve experienced myself.

        When you finally learn how good it feels to have a night of real, restorative sleep, all presumed problems just blow away.

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    3. So how do you tell if you’re just waking up or it’s sleep apnea? Is that when you wake up with a snort? There must be something that points you in that direction, yes? I’m thinking that if you just drift awake or have a cat on your head it doesn’t count.

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  12. hey ot sort of

    sorry its late. but game board day 3/3 at 3 will include soup exchange for those who would like to participate. i am suggesting a gallon split into 4-6 big baggies. ive got pans and burners to do a trial on a bunch of them during the games. so i will repost at an earlier hour and try to sound the heads up with enough notice for those who are interested.

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  13. Pingback: An Effective Approach To Histamine Intolerance Now Made Possible | Histamine Intolerance

  14. Over the past couple of years a few medical problems have cropped up requiring treatment. Amazingly enough I manage to have side effects to medicine that everyone else tolerates. Many of these effects have impacted my sleep either leaving me waaaay too sleepy or keeping me awake. I actually have begun to forget what my baseline is. I also think that we need a better vocabulary. I can tell the difference between sleepy (wanting/needing to sleep) and tired (fatigued, worn-out wanting to rest) but the words don’t display it. The time I said to my magnificent physician “Remember how tired you felt when you were an intern? Well, that ‘s how I feel.” resulted in a new approach to my conditions.

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  15. I find that my not sleeping (either can’t get to or back to sleep) is usually tied to some upcoming responsibility, or excitement about something brand new, and I’m working out the details. Happened last night, as I’m preparing and packing for this weekend’s folkdance workshop… called SNOPA (cross between Opa! and snow). 🙂 Pretty fun flyer, a parody on PHC’s Guy Noir, if your interested http://www.snopa.org/snopa2012Registrationflier.pdf

    I do keep a good book by the bed just in case, though.
    Have a great weekend, Babooners.

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  16. Afternoon.

    I stay up way too late; we hardly ever go to bed before 1:00 AM and I’m up at 6:15. Wife is up about 5:45.
    What keeps me awake? Code Red Mt Dew mostly. Or those nights my brain just won’t shut off. But usually I’m so tired when we go go bed I go right out. And I don’t even have cable but I can usually find something to watch on the various PBS stations. On weekends, I’ll wake up at 7-ish and not be able to go back to sleep unless I get up, let the dog out, have a snack, play some computer solitaire and then I can go back to bed for a few more hours.

    LOVE the late afternoon nap! When I was farming for real, it was normal to sit on a straw bale in the barn in front of the calf pen and take a little nap…

    I, for one, am glad to see the ‘Sleep Intermission’ verified!

    Does falling asleep on the couch before I get up and go to bed count as ‘Sleep Intermission’?

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    2. If memory serves, it is another blog or web site linking to another blog in a particular way – often these are something that the blog administrator has to approve.

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  18. I try to avoid taking naps in the evening before going to bed because I have more trouble sleeping during the night if I do that. I will not be able to avoid napping in the evening if I just sit in one place watching TV or doing something like that. I need to be a little busy during the evening to avoid napping. Wne I get to bed I fall asleep without any problem except when I have been very active up to the time I go to bed. I need enough evening activity to keep me awake and not so much that I get too worked up late in the evening.

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  19. I don’t know what keeps me awake, but I go through cycles. For a week or two, I will sleep fine, and then a week comes along where I can just not get to sleep. Unlike many of you, I don’t wake early, but I just can’t get to sleep. So about the time some of you are waking up early, I am finally drifting off. I don’t know what causes it, but I’m tired of it! The upside is if I have an entire week of that, I get to the point where I can fall asleep early and sleep late for a night or two and that feels great.

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  20. Once my head hits the pillow, I’m pretty much comatose for the next 7 hours… sirens, phone calls, blaring tea kettles… I hear none of it. Much like Bir, if I have something that involves me being responsible first thing in the morning, it might take longer to fall asleep as I mull it all over. The other thing that keeps me awake is if I’m waiting for someone to arrive home safely. I was never able to sleep until I knew my kids were home safe from a night out. They’re long gone from my house, but I still catch myself laying awake waiting for my husband to arrive home safely when he travels.

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  21. For the last couple of nights,and days for that matter, for me it has PAIN that has kept me awake. Wednesday morning I took a nasty fall, and am at Regions Hospital since with fractures in my right pelvic bone and right front if the humerus. I’ll be pretty much out of commission the 3 to 4 months, but as of today they seems to have the pain meds figured out, so now I should be able to get some sleep.

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      2. Too bad good luck with the cocktails ( I had to read carefully) I am very sorry you are toast for a while what a shame, I’d appreciate detai.ls but I am very sorry regardless of circumstances. heal up and Let us know what we can do. Is Hans needing anything?

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    4. Oh, PJ, I’m so sorry to hear this. 3 to 4 months sounds like an unreasonably severe sentence for a fall. Sending wishes for as swift a recovery as possible.

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    5. Truly sorry to hear this. I hope you’re able to focus on recovery and not be rushed into going back to work or something like that. Take care.

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      1. Robin, I’m retired, so I don’t have to worry about that. But washing myself or my hair, cooking, doing anything really, is pretty much impossible at the moment. Can’t lift anything or push against anything with my right for six to eight weeks. Can’t put any weight on right leg.

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        1. PJ, my sister has just come through a somewhat similar injury these last few months. She’s strong and determined as you seem to be and is doing well now, although it’s taken time and patience. Please pace yourself and don’t rush or push too fast or hard, all right? Because if you overdo, it will only set back your recovery. Slow and steady will get you home faster in the long run. Please ask for help when you need it and take care.

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      1. i won’t be writing much because i can only use one hand. I’ll be in the hosp. another day or two, then transfer to a transitional care unit for rehab. i’m very grateful that at the moment the pain seems under control if I don’t move the right side of my body. This could have a lot worse. i haven’t read yesterday’s blog yet, have a little catching up to do,

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      2. Sending warm thoughts & good healing energy your way, PJ. Even if you can’t type for now, I’m sure the Trail can help pass the time while you recover. It will be nice to know that you’re out there lurking. Listen to your body, it will tell you what pace you should go.

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    9. Sorry to hear about the fall, PlainJane. Thanks for staying in touch – we would have started worrying about you and then NOBODY would get any sleep.
      Let the paid meds ease you through … your baboon tribe will be here for you when you’re able to write.

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    11. So sorry PJ! Do you know where you will go for TC? I can highly recommend Shalom Home East in Saint Paul. It is not exclusively Jewish by any means. It’s only about 3 years old, beautiful facility, fantastic caring staff, excellent consistant PT and OT, plenty of (completely optional) activities to keep boredom at bay. It’s where we took my mom recently and where a very dear friend stayed for several months following a surgery. Excellent place. I told my mom it was the closest she was going to get to an all-inclusive spa resort vacation any time soon. Definitely where I would choose to go if I had a choice.

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  23. One hand is enough. You are not getting off that easy. You have nothing else to do now. I was so envious of the wonderful sounding Chinese meal you had on your last post. Can we bring you some egg drop soup or something?

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  25. Sleep is the drug we don’t recognize
    It flavors our lives and spices our days in ways we don’t understand
    Dream study could take lifetimes to understand and appreciate
    Have you ever realized a dream and the clues it was trying to give you about what is going on and where you should be focusing?
    Dreams that wake you or haunt you or steer you are amazing in how they are solutions that you perscribe on the inside scoop you are privey to but cannot perscribe in a conscious so the subconscious enters on your own behalf and tries to let you know what would be obvious if you were an outsider looking in but is completely obstructed when you are an insider looking out.
    Dreams are jewels to be collected and valued in the purity of their essence.
    They never lie but are masked and jumbled to keep them from being obvious. Dig dig dig you can not learn too much from your dream state, it does not lie or deceive. Who or what else can you say that about?

    Dreams don’t keep you awake. But if you have a minute and a pencil it will be worth writing down for anaylsis later on

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