Time keeps on slipping
Somehow, since the end of regular classes for the semester, I have lost the ability to have a normal circadian rhythm. Well, I’ve never had normal sleep cycles, but I somehow have missed even my normal sleep cycle. For the past two weeks, I’ve been unable to fall asleep until around 7:00 am, and then I sleep through the day. It’s becoming a real inconvenience.
I haven’t figured out what is causing it. I haven’t started eating or drinking anything more than normal, and I’m not under any particular stress (aside from the stress of dealing with my grieving parents). I’ve tried going to sleep earlier, but I end up just laying in bed tossing and turning without getting a lot of real sleep.
However, I got a great idea on Tuesday night. I had a take-home final to take care of this week, and the professor gave us the freedom to take it on any day during finals. I planned to take it on Wednesday morning, so I tried to get myself a good night’s sleep before I took the test.
To make sure I was able to get to sleep, I exercised for about an hour and a half before laying down to go to sleep around 11 o’clock, Tuesday night.
It didn’t work. I had a hard time falling asleep and just lay in bed for about an hour. When I did finally fall asleep, I kept waking up about every hour or so. I had set my alarm for 8:30 am, and when I woke up at 7:50, I told myself that I wasn’t going to get any more sleep that night and turned my alarm off.
After my restless night, I was groggy, but I still felt awake enough to take the final. I took my shower, got dressed, and pored over my notes for a half hour. Finally, as I was headed to my front door, I noticed that one of my plants near the front window had a yellow leaf. Thinking it needed some sunlight, I opened my blinds. It was dark outside.
Dark. It isn’t supposed to be dark at 8:20 in the morning. That’s more than an hour after dawn. At first I told myself it must be overcast, or maybe it’s one of those days where it’s going to storm all day long. But even then, those days are lighter than it was when I looked outside. Something was wrong.
In a panic, suddenly I had a thought. I reached into my pocket and retrieved my mobile. Flipping it open, it told me what I wanted to know. It was 8:25 pm – Wednesday night.
I don’t know how it happened. I can’t have just slept through the day again or something, can I? I mean, I woke up at 5:45 am and looked at my alarm clock beside my bed and then woke up again at 7:50. If I did sleep through the day, that means that I slept (in fits and starts) for about four hours before falling asleep for a solid 14 hours.
But if I somehow managed to really sleep for 18 hours within a 24 hour period, then why wasn’t I at least rested? I felt as if I could really have laid down and slept for a bit longer when I got up. Either I was asleep (which it didn’t feel like I was after getting up) or I wasn’t asleep. And if I wasn’t asleep, then what the hell was I doing and why can’t I remember it?
It is truly scary to think that somehow, you lost an entire day, and have absolutely no idea of what happened to you during that period. It is as if my life is a filmstrip and someone sliced out a whole day and then taped the reel back together. I’m not joking when I say that this occurrence has really freaked me out.
I haven’t figured out what is causing it. I haven’t started eating or drinking anything more than normal, and I’m not under any particular stress (aside from the stress of dealing with my grieving parents). I’ve tried going to sleep earlier, but I end up just laying in bed tossing and turning without getting a lot of real sleep.
However, I got a great idea on Tuesday night. I had a take-home final to take care of this week, and the professor gave us the freedom to take it on any day during finals. I planned to take it on Wednesday morning, so I tried to get myself a good night’s sleep before I took the test.
To make sure I was able to get to sleep, I exercised for about an hour and a half before laying down to go to sleep around 11 o’clock, Tuesday night.
It didn’t work. I had a hard time falling asleep and just lay in bed for about an hour. When I did finally fall asleep, I kept waking up about every hour or so. I had set my alarm for 8:30 am, and when I woke up at 7:50, I told myself that I wasn’t going to get any more sleep that night and turned my alarm off.
After my restless night, I was groggy, but I still felt awake enough to take the final. I took my shower, got dressed, and pored over my notes for a half hour. Finally, as I was headed to my front door, I noticed that one of my plants near the front window had a yellow leaf. Thinking it needed some sunlight, I opened my blinds. It was dark outside.
Dark. It isn’t supposed to be dark at 8:20 in the morning. That’s more than an hour after dawn. At first I told myself it must be overcast, or maybe it’s one of those days where it’s going to storm all day long. But even then, those days are lighter than it was when I looked outside. Something was wrong.
In a panic, suddenly I had a thought. I reached into my pocket and retrieved my mobile. Flipping it open, it told me what I wanted to know. It was 8:25 pm – Wednesday night.
I don’t know how it happened. I can’t have just slept through the day again or something, can I? I mean, I woke up at 5:45 am and looked at my alarm clock beside my bed and then woke up again at 7:50. If I did sleep through the day, that means that I slept (in fits and starts) for about four hours before falling asleep for a solid 14 hours.
But if I somehow managed to really sleep for 18 hours within a 24 hour period, then why wasn’t I at least rested? I felt as if I could really have laid down and slept for a bit longer when I got up. Either I was asleep (which it didn’t feel like I was after getting up) or I wasn’t asleep. And if I wasn’t asleep, then what the hell was I doing and why can’t I remember it?
It is truly scary to think that somehow, you lost an entire day, and have absolutely no idea of what happened to you during that period. It is as if my life is a filmstrip and someone sliced out a whole day and then taped the reel back together. I’m not joking when I say that this occurrence has really freaked me out.
posted by The Academian | 9:49 PM
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