MicroSleep...

Insomnia seems to be the last thing to resolve for most and it seems to take the longest to resolve out of the myriad of symptoms?  I know that was true for me.

 

Many people think that lack of sleep will eventually be fatal or cause some serious harm to them.  That is simply not true.  I had roughly 70 zero nights over 8 months and lots of nights with 1 or 2 hours of sleep.  It doesn't seem possible when you read stories from others on this forum claiming they were awake for weeks at a time. 

 

What keeps us going when we are so sleep deprived?

 

The short answer is Microsleep and other periods of sleep that we are unaware of.

 

Most of us sleep more than we know.  When I say I had close to 70 zero nights over 8 months, what I really mean is roughly 70 nights of no "perceived sleep."  That is the key.  I didn't think I got any sleep but probably got a bunch of micro sleeps or even some 5 - 10 minute sleeps I was unaware of?

 

Microsleeps are short bursts of sleep, often experienced without the person even being aware they took place. They can be experienced by anyone who is tired, but the individuals most at risk are those who work night shifts, have a sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea, or are sleep deprived as is often the case when a person goes through Benzo withdrawal.

 

Microsleeps are brief, unintended episodes of loss of attention associated with events such as a blank stare, head snapping, and prolonged eye closure which may occur when a person is fatigued but trying to stay awake to perform a monotonous task like driving a car or watching a computer screen.  However, they often occur during withdrawal when we are sleep deprived and laying in bed, on the sofa or sitting in a chair.

 

You actually have a greater chance of injury due to operating a vehicle or a power tool, than you do from being sleep deprived.

 

Microsleep episodes last from a fraction of a second to two minutes for most, and often the person is not aware that a microsleep has occurred. In fact, microsleeps often occur when a person’s eyes are open. While in a microsleep, a person fails to respond to outside information.

 

Microsleeps are most likely to occur at certain times of the day when the body is programmed to sleep, such as pre-dawn hours and mid-afternoon hours.  Microsleep periods become more prevalent with cumulative sleep debt. In other words, the more sleep deprived a person is, the greater the chance a microsleep episode will occur.  Microsleep is what helps get us through our Benzo induced insomnia. 

 

Technically, everyone experiences microsleep during sleep onset. Sleep scientists define sleep onset as the first time you have 15 seconds of sleep within a 30-second period.…It’s not that the lights just cut off, the light flickers and flickers and then it’s off.

 

While it is still not entirely clear what happens in the brain during microsleep, several studies have demonstrated that some parts of the brain appear to effectively fall asleep while others remain awake. This could account for selective loss of awareness without the person feeling he or she has been asleep?

 

Part of the challenge in analyzing microsleep episodes is that researchers still have not developed an agreed-upon clinical diagnostic tool for microsleep. EEG recordings are often used in sleep research, but they are more effective when used at a macro-level determining states of sleep vs non-sleep. Changes in the brain caused by microsleep, on the other hand, are much more subtle, and characterized by sections of the brain falling asleep while others stay awake.

 

Regardless of how they actually work, microsleeps are a blessing for those going through withdrawal related insomnia. 

 

yeah i notice that i will be laying in bed at one moment and then the next moment i think "did i just have a dream" because i didnt remember falling asleep or even being close to being asleep.

 

I have these micro sleeps but i dont really have enough of them.

 

 

 

 

Don't worry too much.  Your body will get all of the sleep it needs before anything bad can happen to you.  I didn't handle things well at first.  But sleep returns with time.  Just be patient and know that you will heal and be OK one day.

I hope so, I wanna believe that i will be back to normal soon.  I'm trying to cut all of the melatonin and other stuff i was taking for sleep. Im only taking something every other day and only a quarter of what i was taking originally. So i hope that helps.

 

 

Thanks for posting so much in this forum. Your posts have helped.

Yep, I think this is how I survived. I'd go stretches of days, and even a couple of weeks, with no awareness of sleep. Microsleeps find their way in. Sometimes I'd be aware my mind was on a topic I hadn't intentionally been thinking and I think that was my brain's way of pre-dreaming. It was absolutely shocking to me that I could continue to function. It felt really bad but it wasn't nearly as catastrophic as I assumed it would be. You really can live with very little sleep. Just keep reminding yourself it's temporary and watch the catastrophic thinking (i.e. this is going to kill me, I can't do this, this must mean it's something besides wd, etc.) I've learned through and during wd to notice my thoughts and not believe them. Thoughts and feelings are not facts. Sounds obvious but how often do you treat them as if they were facts?