sleep questions

[cellio]

I got this from gregbo.

1. How many hours do you normally sleep at night?

About 7.5 on average. Sunday is sleep-in day; it's the only day when I don't have to set an alarm and I usually get about 9 hours then.

2. Do you wish you had more time to sleep? Or do you wish that you slept less?

I wish that I required less sleep, or that there were more hours available in the day.

3. Do you like sleeping?

I like the results but I'm indifferent to the act itself. I mean, it's not like I'm really in a position to notice as it happens...

4. What is the longest continuous period that you have spent awake? Why did you do it?

I'm not certain of the longest continuous period; it was probably a stretch of 36 hours or so, either on a gaming weekend or in college due to homework/exams.

The most spectacular stretch of wakefulness that I remember is a 72-hour period in college during which I got approximately five hours of sleep, in chunks no longer than an hour. It was an outrageously busy semester and all the major assignments were due a once. (I was taking an atypical combination of classes, so this timing wasn't hosing anyone else I knew.) This was when I learned that while caffeine in the wild is good stuff, No-Doz is absolutely evil. And yes, I was following the package instructions correctly.

5. If you were offered the chance to eliminate sleep from your life, with absolutely no negative physical or psychological side effects, would you take it? Why or why not? What if this chance was only possible for you, and not for any of your friends or family, or society at large?

No negative effects? In a heartbeat! Sure, there would be some awkward nights in settings like Pennsic, where I can't just stay up and play on the computer or make noise without bothering others, but in general, the idea that I could run out of interesting things to do in my own home is completely foreign to me. I don't understand people who get bored, unless there are external factors (stuck visiting the annoying relatives, illness precluding you from doing things you enjoy, etc). There are so many things I could do to put that time to use, and that don't require other people (so I don't have to care if no one else is awake)! Elimintating the need for sleep would approximately double my free time; I fail to see how this could be bad.

(I am curious to know whether anyone I know would answer this last question differently. It seems that obvious to me.)

Comments

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

I don't know how I'd answer question 5. It does make me wonder how necessary dreaming is, though. Yes, I know there would be no negative physical or psychological effects in this scenario, but I am curious. One thing I have noticed is that my mind tends to slip into semi-dream mode while awake if I miss sleep, particularly if I miss sleep repeatedly. It is a strange thing. I'll find myself awake and yet thinking in somewhat distorted fashion -- my mind will start going down paths that I recognize as dream-logic, and things start looking slightly surreal. It makes me wonder whether I need to dream and my body tries to force it even if I don't sleep.