my mind wanders... on a thought of a green sunset

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The Sleeping Situation

I have to say my sleeping patterns have changed. Back when I was a young, I was a terrible snoozing machine, though I had difficulty falling asleep, waking me up is a very, very hard thing to do. I could not sleep with the lights on, and I need the silence that can make you hear a pen fall (the "pin" is too cliche and too unrealistic; though a pen can make a commotion, it just creates a soft thud *really?!?!?!*; oh... just quiet...). I also read a lot before I slept; I read while lying down and the next morning my book is folded, pressed and even crushed in abnormal ways because of my weight. I also do not indulge in siestas, because I get migraines when I sleep during the day and have difficulty falling asleep afterwards.

During my elementary graduation practice general rehearsal, the practice was so exhausting that when I got home, I went straight to bed. No dinner, and I didn't even wash my face or brush my teeth (icky, I know, but I was so wasted). I woke up in the middle of the night, and my parents have prepared food in advanced just in case I wake up (I love my parents!). Sure enough, the food ceased to exist in the physical world. Then I went back to sleep.

When I reached high school I had a habit of covering my eyes when I sleep. Though I could now sleep with the lights on, my ears are so sensitive that it keeps my mind awake. I just now realized maybe sounds decrease levels of seretonin in a brain in the first stage of NREM sleep. Nah... Doesn't make sense. Then I read somewhere that reading before sleeping doesn't lull people to dozing off, it stimulates the brain more; thus keeping you awake. Now I could not read before I sleep. Also, I slept very, very late, about 11 pm onwards. I also woke up late, but thankfully, most of the time got to school just in time.

If I lost sleep hours, my recovery takes much more time. For my body clock normal sleep takes eight hours. My maximum yet stable waking period is seven hours. Any earlier than that, a groggy Jay-V greets the world. Science Camp is one of the activities that extends waking hours to its fullest. After every camp I get so drowsy that when I reach any comfortable spot I lose consciousness, and wake up to find out that a lot of time has passed.

Once, there was a boring day and I fell asleep. I woke up from my three-hour long nap with a good feeling. Since then I started risking my head for some naps during afternoons. Some were successful at soothing my nerves, some made my nerves throb in dull pain.

When I reached fourth year high school my sleeping hours increased, partly because of my long and tiring bus trips home, and partly because of my inattentive nature and boring lessons. During Physics class I would sleep on top of the lab table even though I was sitting in an armchair (and hide from view). I was also in the front row. Good thing my teacher is so kind and patient that he doesn't mind.

When I moved to my aunt's house, I started sleeping early (I was waking up early anyway). I get sleepy at 8:30, fall asleep from 9 to 10 pm. My latest hour is 11 pm. When I started college, I was not sleeping in classes, though sometimes the drowsy pang hits me. I prefer sleeping in the library. It's much more cooler, and the books provide the narcotic smell of rotting paper that induces lethargy. Since my classes were early, I was required to set my phone's alarm. It took me a long time to adjust my ears, and I ended up running late for appointments or classes.

All Saint's Day is a very good excuse for staying up late. I was with my family and relatives in the mausoleum, taking bonding in a sort of transcendental way, since we are in the place where the dead lay in peace. I was with my cousins, and we went to their home, and started a DVD marathon. Deathnote got me awake until 4 am. Since I was lodging at another home, I was afraid to do what I did last time I slept there. We also slept up late, and I woke up after noon. That was so embarrassing for me, that before I slept, I vowed to wake up at a reasonable time. I did wake up early, just in time, but with a disastrously full bladder (and so the rush to the nearest bathroom commenced).

Just recently I slept in the same room as my very young nephew, who was so active that when he woke up and found that his parents are sleeping, he started screaming and crying and wreaked havoc among the snoozing people in the room. I was so unlucky that time, but I was also too sleepy to be disturbed. My sleep was disrupted a lot of times, but I continued my journey to Dreamland.

I could conclude that now I can be disturbed while I am sleeping. This is sad, but I may come in handy. Imagine if I dozed off too much on a fire.

I also sleep now during daylight. I am not a siesta fan when I was young, and I am discovering it now. I still wake up with a headache though.

Also, alarm clocks now work for me. Yey!

Ciao~

my mind fleeted at :9:27 PM ;