River: Awake in the dead of night

[mdlbear]

Apparently there is something called middle-of-the-night insomnia. Basically, difficulty returning to sleep after waking in the middle of the night. I often have it.

One of the treatments is zalephon (Sonata), a very fast-acting and short-lasting hypnotic. Unfortunately it's addictive, as one might expect.

There's also something called segmented sleep, which is two or more periods of sleep separated by an extended period of wakefulness. Common in pre-industrial societies, i.e. people who don't use artificial light. They go to sleep when it gets dark, wake up for a couple of hours (maybe without getting out of bed), and go back to sleep.

This period of wakefulness was often only semi-conscious, as the French term implies. It was highly valued in medieval Europe as a time of quiet and relaxation. Peasant couples were often too tired after a long day's work to do much more than eat and go to sleep, but they would wake later on to talk and make love. People would also use this time to pray and reflect, and to interpret dreams, which were more vivid at that hour than upon waking in the morning, and even to visit. This was also a favorite time for scholars and poets to write uninterrupted.

If it weren't for the fact that it requires going to bed early in the evening, I'd try it. The few times Colleen and I have found ourselves simultaneously wakeful in the middle of the night have been very pleasant. She usually goes back to sleep quickly, though, and it often takes me longer. But I'll worry about that a lot less, now, and may be more likely to make use of the time.

Comments

[nimuejohn.livejournal.com]

Many years ago, I was convinced I had chronic insomnia, when in fact I was just waking up several times during the night and immediately forgetting having gone to sleep and woken up. Thus, I assumed I'd been awake all night, until the time I remembered a long and detailed dream and realized that, duh, I had to have been asleep.

[mdlbear]

Yes, I had similar experiences a long time ago. These days I can mostly tell the difference.

[harmonyheifer.livejournal.com]

I frequently find myself awake in the wee hours, usually because of pain. I've found recently that this is a perfect time for me to work on my novel without interruption. I also read or watch TV with the sound off so I don't disturb Patrick, who doesn't have the luxury of napping during the day like I do.

After decades of shift work, most of it graveyard, I don't get too worked up when my sleep patterns are disrupted. No longer having to drag myself to work when I'm exhausted is one of the best benefits of being disabled.

[morganhillchris.livejournal.com]

I find Trazodone works great & it's not addictive.

[mdlbear]

It also takes a while to work, so it's no use for getting back to sleep. I use Flexeril a couple of hours before bed-time for a similar effect; it has the advantage of also being a muscle relaxant.

If I use it, I have to make sure that I don't have to be anywhere in the morning because I sleep longer.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

I have rarely slept through the night. It started when I had Jenevieve.
Currently, I frequently do the "peasant" thing. It's not unusually for me to fall asleep after dinner, then wake up at 9 pm. I watch some TV, then at about 10-11 depending go online and work until 1-3 am, then go to bed and wake up at 9 am again. If I decide to go to bed "early", I read until I get sleepy. And yes, I've been known to nap during the day too. Luckily I currently work from home.
Even when I had a mundane job and had to wake at 7 am, I would go to bed at 11 and wake up about 2. I'd listen to the radio or read a book for an hour or two, then fall back to sleep. And yes, some times I would come home from work, eat lightly and crash, just to wake up at 10 do some things then go to Real Bed at midnight. Gee, just like now only compressed.
Sleeping pills just seem to make things worse. I wake up, but I'm a groggy awake person. I've even had migraines because groggy awake causes that with me. At which point I'll take some advil and caffeine and promptly fall back to sleep again.
Some times, when I'm really exhausted I'll sleep through the night. Surprising even myself. But I have to be wiped out with no earlier sleep periods to do that. Usually it's at a con. :)
I do try to get 6-8 hours of sleep each 24 hours. I have noticed the closer I get to 8 the better I feel, so I do work for that magic number. But they are rarely continuous and haven't been for years.