In the couple of previous blog posts I analysed my sleeping habits and believes. Today my girlfriend shared another information or belief that each hour of sleep before midnight counts double comparing to each hour of slee after midnight. So for example if one goes to sleep at 10 pm, the first two hours of sleep count as four hours of sleep or as much as sleeping from 12 pm to 4 am. I don't know if this is a fact or if this really is true, but this motivated me in considering that I should also try getting to bed earlier and also waking up earlier. Thus today I will go to sleep at about 10 pm and see what will be the effect.
But now I want to write also abut my sleeping sensations. It was about 6 years ago when I started to notice a moving sensation when falling into sleep. When I firstly encountered this, I believed that I am experiencing an earthquake and I became frightened. After couple of similar experiences I became used to this sensation and began to understood what was really going on. The fact is that physical body is constantly shaking and vibrating or pulsating, but we somehow do not register that. The shaking is due to pulsation of the hearth or pumping blood throughout the entire body.
Think about this! Human body is quite large comparing to most of animal species and all the cells in every part of the body need a flow of fresh blood. It is about 2 meters from toes to top of the head and each part needs to be reached. It takes a massive force to pump the blood and hearth is doing this action by contracting and expanding approximately once or twice every single second. Every time when blood is pushed through the veins, the shockwave is created that shakes entire body. So couple of years ago, when I laid down into bed, within the process of falling into sleep I slowly started to feel this vibrations. And now this has become a standard sensation basically every time I go to bed or even lay down just for a short rest.
The next perception in regards sleeping is even more strange and somehow frustrating. It is about perception of time. The experience of time is very different and relative to motivation and also physical movement through the space. It is also very different to being awake and being asleep or unconscious. What bugs me the most is that sometimes when I go to bed for my famous 20 minute midday nap, I set the clock to ring after 20 minutes. Then I relax and wait for the clock to ring. Sometimes when it rings, I perceive it like just 3 second have past since I went to bed and not 20 minutes! So the time duration of sleep somehow does not really matte.
What basically creates the effect of being rested is very specific event that happens during the rest. I observed it for many times and it is like this. Firstly I lay down and totally relax every all the muscles on my body. Then I usually start to feel shaking of the body, like a gentle earthquake. Then after certain time, a transitions occurs where I feel like a weight would be lifted from within my body or my body would become lighter and also my mind clearer. From stage of mind activity and thinking, I would transfer in a stage of no thought but just awareness and presence.
So during my midday nap, the main objective is to experience this sensation of transition from heaviness to lightness where I would become refreshed or reset and ready for a new action. But during the night sleep I guess there is a bit different process going on. But it makes sense that sleeping habits can be improved and thus maximum relaxation and regeneration achieved by using as little of sleeping time possible. This will be my challenge to research and implement in order to make more of my daily potentials.
