Waking Sleeping

Before we go to sleep at night, we often have at least some sort of routine, even if it's just taking off our shoes and getting into bed. No matter what it is, it is a familiar routine for us. One that we do almost unconsciously. When we stop to think about it, sometimes our routines are rather lengthy. For example: I have to take a bath (to fully relax and detox my entire body - inside and out). Then, I usually put on comfortable clothing (often my pajamas). I'll read a bit, sip some tea (or wine) and listen to soothing music. I meditate, do some Yoga and some deep breathing. Then, I'm fully ready to go to bed. Of course, when we're not feeling all that well, our routines change according to how we feel. This is where we enter what I have come to call the realm of 'waking sleeping'. It is that state of sleeping where you're completely aware that you're sleeping, and yet when you 'wake up', you realize that you've actually been asleep. You know full well that you did a lot of tossing and turning. You were aware of every single noise that took place while you were laying down in your bed. You could feel every little breeze and waft of air pass near you. You were mentally, emotionally and spiritually alert...yet, your body was sleeping. The question is - why? What causes this phenomenon to happen? Is it normal, or is this some sort of off-balance occurrence that took place simply because you did not follow your normal routine of preparing yourself to go to bed at night?

     There are certain things that happen to you physically when your body is telling you that you're almost ready to sleep. Your eyes start to get heavy. You yawn. Your appetite decreases. Your body temperature decreases. Your breathing becomes more relaxed and you may start to feel a calming sense wash over you. Nature did not design the human for only one long period of sleep. Moreover, although many humans do sleep for at least 6 - 8 hours (more if they're not well), that is not the natural cycle of sleeping patterns for the human species. Science has found that humans naturally have 2 sleeping periods that are between 4- 5 hours in length, with a 1 - 3 hour interval between sleep cycles. Less than 200 years ago, the natural human sleeping cycles were based on the rising and setting of the sun, rather than the buzzing and beeping of an alarm clock. The question was brought up to sleep scientists when they had a large group of their patients mention that they were waking up in the middle of the night, wide awake, and were unable to resume their sleeping for an hour or two. Then, they'd fall back to sleep, and sleep for another 4 - 5 hours. When they woke up, they felt alert and full of energy, even though they had broken sleeping patterns during the night. Scientists found this odd, until they began delving into the not-so-distant past, through journals and other such writings.

There were mentions of 'second sleeps' and 'during my secondary slumbers'. Elder practitioners of the alternative belief systems have known of this natural body clock (for lack of a better term) for centuries. Many Elder APs understand that it is not natural for the human species to sleep for long periods of time each night, unless there is an illness involved, which causes the body to require longer sleeping times. All living species of both plants and animals have sleeping patterns and sleeping requirements. Sleeping is the body's way of naturally healing itself. This is also why most practitioners will tell you that when you aren't feeling well, sleeping and resting is one of the most important things you can do in order to expedite your recovery. Sleeping allows the body to go into what many Elder APs call "rejuvenation mode", or "healing mode". This is when the body's vital functions continue on a lower level than when you are awake. Your breathing is deeper, and more relaxed. Your muscles are relaxed. Your skeletal structure is loose, instead of rigid (as it has to be in order to fully support your upright weight and movements). Your heart rate slows down a bit. However, there is far more going on inside of your system than you could ever imagine.

    Your cells start healing themselves and reproducing, in order to replace damaged or dead cells that still remain in your system. Your blood starts revitalizing itself. Your lungs start cleaning themselves out. Your digestive system starts cleaning itself out and your other organs (such as the gall bladder, kidneys and pancreas) begin to reproduce their much-needed enzymes in order to help maintain your health and vitality. When the body goes into this healing mode, the subconscious takes over your thought process, and you begin to dream. Regardless of what types of dreams you have, this is your body's way of allowing your physical system to heal up, while your mind is still relatively active, thereby allowing you to basically enjoy (or not) an alternative reality for awhile. After the first round of sleep, your body will slowly return to its normal state of consciousness. This is when we tend to wake up (even if it's for a brief moment) during the middle of the night. Once our body is ready to start healing itself again, we drift back into our sleeping state. Have you ever noticed that sometimes you wake up just long enough to catch yourself rolling over, mid-snore, or having to use the bathroom? This is your body telling you that it's time to wake up for a moment, and then you can go back to sleep again.

Doctors know that when you have to get up to use the bathroom at night, it's a result of your digestive track having completed the cleaning out process inside your systems. When this happens too often, it can be a sign of a serious illness. The reason? Your body is working over time (per se) to rid itself of an illness. Elder APs often will recommend various types of teas to help your system naturally heal itself. This is why many doctors will tell you that not drinking coffee, and other such sugary beverages before bedtime is a good way to prepare your body for a full night's sleep (meaning a minimum of 6 - 8 hours of un-broken/un-interrupted sleep).  The difference between a general practitioner, and an Elder Alternative Practitioner is that the Elder AP will tell you that you should try to maintain your normal nightly routine as best as possible, so that your body does not get 'thrown off' of its habitual night time sleep preparedness. They may tell you that if you feel caffeine is one of the reasons that you are not sleeping as you normally do, then switching to a decaf type of herbal tea would perhaps aide you in gaining better sleeping cycles (notice the plural of this word). Meditation might be recommended, as would Yoga, breathing exercises, stretching, reading, listening to relaxation music, taking a nice walk in the crisp evening air....anything they can think of that might be of personal help to you.

 So, if you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, try to remember that this is a normal, very natural, part of the human sleeping pattern. When you're wide awake, get up Don't lay in bed, tossing and turning until you get back to sleep. That's not going to do you any good, because your body is going to go back to sleep when it's darn good and ready to - and there's nothing you can do to force it to go back into it's natural state of sleep until the body itself is full and ready to do so. Also, don't think it's unusual for you to go to bed, and not fall asleep the second your head hits the pillow. That's far from the norm. It takes a human between 5 and 10 minutes to fall asleep (unless you are ill). No matter how prepared your body is to sleep, your mind still has to catch up. You still need to get into your comfortable sleeping position. You still need to calm your mind, and spirit, before your body can go into it's healing mode. Keep some fresh lavender, or sage, next to your bed is one way to help ensure that you have a calm sleep. Regardless of how you get to sleep, always remember, while you sleep, your body is extremely active. You simply aren't aware of this because you are mentally in your dream/sleeping realm. Enjoy that. Relax. Take a deep breath, and always know that no matter how good, or bad, you feel when you go to sleep at night - your body is working hard to make sure that you feel as good as possible when you wake up in the morning. most importantly? Think happy thoughts just before you sleep. It will do your mind, body and spirit a lot of good. Sleep well!!