Sleep

[Lynne]

I fall asleep fast but rarely sleep all night. I am usually awake several times during the night. Staying asleep is usually the issue.

 

[Stevedog]

Interesting that I wake up and see this topic. I had some emotional issues and deep thoughts which kept me up all night, so seeing a thread titled Sleep my first thought is "Oh yes, I'd love to!"

I normally sleep pretty solid and soundly. Usually I just lay flat on my back, interlock my fingers across my chest, close my eyes and take a few deep breaths; and I'm out. While I typically sleep through the night I'm not always a peaceful sleeper. I have a condition that's like the exact opposite of Sleep Paralysis, if I'm moving around in my dreams I may also be doing those same physical movements while still asleep. It's not uncommon for me to get up and walk around the room and talk to things while still asleep. My wife has come to recognize when I'm really awake or not and she can kind of guide me back to bed and keep me safe. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often, typically it's only when I have a very bad nightmare.

The fact that I can get up and walk around while still asleep is a pretty good clue into how heavy of a sleeper I am. As a kid growing up in Southern California my family was dumbfounded how I could sleep through earthquakes. The whole house is shaking and they are all up and panicking but I'm sound asleep. One time a stack of books got knocked over by the quake and they fell on top of me as I slept, but didn't wake me. Then of course I have had the classic example of hearing my alarm go off but instead of waking up I start dreaming about an alarm clock that won't stop. However there are certain sounds which I have found wake me right up. When my kids were little the sound of a crying toddler had me up and halfway down the hall in an instant, it didn't even have to be one of my kids as sometimes it was some movie or TV show my wife was watching in the other room. Once I woke up because I heard the distinct sound of breaking glass, not like a plate or drinking glass but specifically window glass. I was up and moving and clearing my house like a SWAT officer. It turned out the neighbors were having an argument at 1:00 in the morning and one of them got mad and threw something across the room which broke their front window. How I heard a breaking window coming from outside while sound asleep I don't know.

I have clothes that I sleep in but they're not exactly pajamas. I haven't owned an actual set of pajamas since grade school. In the summer months when it's warm enough I wear cargo shorts to bed. Now that it's winter time and the nights are cold I wear "athletic" pants. They're kind of a cross between track pants and sweats, similar to what body builders wear to the gym.

 

[Debi]

Interesting that I wake up and see this topic. I had some emotional issues and deep thoughts which kept me up all night, so seeing a thread titled Sleep my first thought is "Oh yes, I'd love to!"

I normally sleep pretty solid and soundly. Usually I just lay flat on my back, interlock my fingers across my chest, close my eyes and take a few deep breaths; and I'm out. While I typically sleep through the night I'm not always a peaceful sleeper. I have a condition that's like the exact opposite of Sleep Paralysis, if I'm moving around in my dreams I may also be doing those same physical movements while still asleep. It's not uncommon for me to get up and walk around the room and talk to things while still asleep. My wife has come to recognize when I'm really awake or not and she can kind of guide me back to bed and keep me safe. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often, typically it's only when I have a very bad nightmare.

The fact that I can get up and walk around while still asleep is a pretty good clue into how heavy of a sleeper I am. As a kid growing up in Southern California my family was dumbfounded how I could sleep through earthquakes. The whole house is shaking and they are all up and panicking but I'm sound asleep. One time a stack of books got knocked over by the quake and they fell on top of me as I slept, but didn't wake me. Then of course I have had the classic example of hearing my alarm go off but instead of waking up I start dreaming about an alarm clock that won't stop. However there are certain sounds which I have found wake me right up. When my kids were little the sound of a crying toddler had me up and halfway down the hall in an instant, it didn't even have to be one of my kids as sometimes it was some movie or TV show my wife was watching in the other room. Once I woke up because I heard the distinct sound of breaking glass, not like a plate or drinking glass but specifically window glass. I was up and moving and clearing my house like a SWAT officer. It turned out the neighbors were having an argument at 1:00 in the morning and one of them got mad and threw something across the room which broke their front window. How I heard a breaking window coming from outside while sound asleep I don't know.

I have clothes that I sleep in but they're not exactly pajamas. I haven't owned an actual set of pajamas since grade school. In the summer months when it's warm enough I wear cargo shorts to bed. Now that it's winter time and the nights are cold I wear "athletic" pants. They're kind of a cross between track pants and sweats, similar to what body builders wear to the gym.

I have a son who does that...has since childhood. When he was about 12, he walked out of a sleepover at someone's house and walked two miles home, crawled into his own bed at home at 2 AM. All the while totally asleep and he had no memory of it. He now has to be watched so he doesn't get up and climb into his car or something. Wife takes his keys at night! Doesn't happen often but he can look awake and be totally asleep.

 

[garnetsilver]

When I roll over most nights, I awake so that I can ensure that my big boy dog is far enough down in the bed so that my right leg and knee will align around his butt while my right thigh falls below my sweet female mutt. We are like a jigsaw puzzle pieced together in the laziness darkness. Then immediately back into deep sleep and snoring.

I used to sleep with 8 cats that way, when I was a teen. Every time I shifted to another position, they would all stand up, wait until I settled, then lay back down. I had two cats by my shoulders, two by my waist, two by my knees and two by my feet. In the winter, I was toasty warm! :kissingcat:

 

[Debi]

I used to sleep with 8 cats that way, when I was a teen. Every time I shifted to another position, they would all stand up, wait until I settled, then lay back down. I had two cats by my shoulders, two by my waist, two by my knees and two by my feet. In the winter, I was toasty warm! :kissingcat:

You've heard the term "It's a three dog night?" That is used to describe how to keep warm in winter. In your case, 8 cats did the trick!

 

[Stevedog]

I have a son who does that...has since childhood. When he was about 12, he walked out of a sleepover at someone's house and walked two miles home, crawled into his own bed at home at 2 AM. All the while totally asleep and he had no memory of it. He now has to be watched so he doesn't get up and climb into his car or something. Wife takes his keys at night! Doesn't happen often but he can look awake and be totally asleep.

When I was that age I would wake in different rooms of the house, sometimes in awkward and uncomfortable positions. Once I woke up on the front porch and that was pretty scary. The worst was waking up under my bed, it was a waterbed so there is no real "under" to it. What it did have was a tight little crawl space where the heating element wires were and I could only fit if I tucked my arms up tight into my chest and slithered in like a snake. The crawl space went from one side to the other so in theory I could have just crawled forward and gotten out, however my bed was in the corner of the room so the only way out was to slowly and calmly back up. Waking up in a closed tight space like that with not a whole lot of light to clearly see where I was; one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever had. It's what I imagine it would be like to wake up in a coffin after being buried alive.

 

[Debi]

When I was that age I would wake in different rooms of the house, sometimes in awkward and uncomfortable positions. Once I woke up on the front porch and that was pretty scary. The worst was waking up under my bed, it was a waterbed so there is no real "under" to it. What it did have was a tight little crawl space where the heating element wires were and I could only fit if I tucked my arms up tight into my chest and slithered in like a snake. The crawl space went from one side to the other so in theory I could have just crawled forward and gotten out, however my bed was in the corner of the room so the only way out was to slowly and calmly back up. Waking up in a closed tight space like that with not a whole lot of light to clearly see where I was; one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever had. It's what I imagine it would be like to wake up in a coffin after being buried alive.

That sounds absolutely terrifying!

 

[garnetsilver]

That sounds absolutely terrifying!

Yes, claustrophobia is one of my worst phobias and that description had me gasping for air.

 

[WitchAndShaman]

When I was that age I would wake in different rooms of the house, sometimes in awkward and uncomfortable positions. Once I woke up on the front porch and that was pretty scary. The worst was waking up under my bed, it was a waterbed so there is no real "under" to it. What it did have was a tight little crawl space where the heating element wires were and I could only fit if I tucked my arms up tight into my chest and slithered in like a snake. The crawl space went from one side to the other so in theory I could have just crawled forward and gotten out, however my bed was in the corner of the room so the only way out was to slowly and calmly back up. Waking up in a closed tight space like that with not a whole lot of light to clearly see where I was; one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever had. It's what I imagine it would be like to wake up in a coffin after being buried alive.

Stevedog, I used to sleepwalk in my teen and prepubescent years too. I think the incident which scared me the most was, at 11 years old, waking up on the corner of a very busy street which was an on-ramp to I-5...SoCal’s busiest freeway. I was standing about 200’ from the on-ramp in the middle of the night in my BVDs and a t-shirt. Luckily I had not locked the front door when I left the house so I let myself in without disturbing my parents.

 

[Stevedog]

Stevedog, I used to sleepwalk in my teen and prepubescent years too. I think the incident which scared me the most was, at 11 years old, waking up on the corner of a very busy street which was an on-ramp to I-5...SoCal’s busiest freeway. I was standing about 200’ from the on-ramp in the middle of the night in my BVDs and a t-shirt. Luckily I had not locked the front door when I left the house so I let myself in without disturbing my parents.

Yikes!! I'm glad you were able to get through that safely. I'm pretty familiar with the I-5 corridor, we lived in Santa Fe Springs for a little bit right were the 5 and the 605 meet. I would want to walk around that area while wide awake!

Do you still sleep walk? I've definitely been doing it less and less as I get older but it's not something that's really gone away.