Are we actually sleeping??

[[Buddie]]

so was wondering, are we actually getting more sleep than we realize? Just wondering how I can function on zero perceived hours, maybe its just perception and we are more rested than we believe? Thoughts?

[[Buddie]]

Do you ever feel like you've lost a bit of time while you're trying to sleep?  I'd have this and it felt like I lost a few seconds, I couldn't call it sleep exactly but some call this microsleep and apparently its just enough to keep our body going. 

[[Buddie]]

I microsleep.  I feel that I am awake and look at the time.  I think only 15 minutes or so have passed but look at my watch and an hour has passed.  Into my 10th month of recovery and now in a wave of perceived no sleep.  But during this whole time of 10 months during the days I am never tired and I walk 2 to 3 miles daily.  Sleep will come with recovery which takes time.

[[Buddie]]

Yes, "microsleep" is brief periods of time where your brain shuts down or "sleeps" while you are conscious.  It's enough to help sustain you through the very low sleep periods that seem to happen to most coming off Benzos. 

I never understood how I could average 5 - 10 hours per week and yet never get sleepy or tired enough to nap or nod off behind the wheel. 

It's amazing how well we can function on so little sleep.  I looked back as some work I did at my place of employment during the worst of my WD insomnia and it was actually on par with work I did while sleeping "normally." 

And to answer your question, yes, almost everyone gets more sleep than they believe they are getting.  There were several times I was sure I did not sleep at all but my wife said I was snoring or breathing like I would when I sleep.  That's why I qualify "zero nights" with no perceived sleep.  Granted, even if there is unrecognized sleep, it's not a lot, but any sleep is always better than no sleep.

Time is the healer.  Time will even out your sleep and it will slowly return, but is very UP and down.  You could start to sleep OK for days, or weeks and think you are healed only to go back into poor sleep patterns for days or weeks.  Eventually it all evens out.

[[Buddie]]

This just happened to me- I had a month of normal prebenzo sleep-8 hours a night all the way through the night.  Now the insomnia is back with 2 hours sleep last night.  It's very frustrating.

[[Buddie]]

Unfortunately that happens to a lot of people as sleep returns...insomnia waves out of the blue after sleeping well for weeks, months or even years.

The exact same thing happened to me too on 3 different occasions. 

But hold onto the fact that if you had a full month of 8 hours per night, it will DEFINITELY come back full circle and you'll sleep 8 hours again. 

Time will even out this insomnia wave.  Just do your best to get through it.