Sleep With One Eye Open (Copy)

“Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work…”  Heraclitus

Masako Tamaki, in a YouTube TED-Ed talk asks the question, Can you be awake and asleep at the same time?

What say you?

Masako says YES – introducing a condition called asymmetric sleep and a rare condition called uni-hemispheric sleep.

In uni-hemispheric sleep, one hemisphere may appear completely awake while the other is in deep sleep.  Masako provides an example,

Fur seals might spend weeks on end migrating at sea.  They slip into uni-hemispheric sleep while floating horizontally, holding their nostrils above the surface, closing their upward facing eye and keeping their downward facing eye open.  This may help them stay alert to threats from the depths.

You may ask – WHY?  Why am I noting uni-hemispheric sleep?  Answer – I am now aware that I am a, or at least at times, a uni-hemispheric sleeper.  Last night, actually during a fitful, ruminating early morning stint, I was awake, aware, and frustrated that I wasn’t sleeping; made worse with my dependence on a CPAP breathing machine for sleep apnea.  I find it hard to have my CPAP mask on when I am “awake,” so I took off the mask but kept it close to put it back on when sleepiness returns.  During this “awakeness,” my wife stirred me a few times with the ol’ “put your mask on, you’re snoring.”  Huh?  My reaction – frustration, anger, terseness. 

I am now aware and thankful for my wife and Masako in helping me understand my uni-hemispheric sleep condition.  I now, need to research what caused me to slip into uni-hemispheric sleep and determine if this condition prevents me from receiving needed restorative rest.