Falling asleep quickly part deux

March 18, 2007 7:25 PM

If you experienced an extended period of sleep-deprivation while in the military or med-school or what have you and found that you started falling asleep quickly anytime that you had a chance, did you retain that ability? How long did it take for you to acquire that ability? Exactly how sleep-deprived were you for this to start happening? This is a follow-up to this question.
posted by who else to health & fitness (16 comments total)

My boyfriend and I both experienced extended periods of sleep-deprivation in high school. He retained the ability to fall asleep quickly, and I did not. I don't know the gravity of his sleep-deprivation, but I was getting 4 or 5 hours a night during the week for about two years and trying to make up sleep on the weekends. I could curl up in a seat on the morning school bus and get in another hour's nap.
posted by crinklebat at 7:36 PM on March 18, 2007

I was sleep deprived during 4 years of medical training, which ended 4 years ago. In general for the first two years I was not permitted to sleep every 4th night; thereafter it was about every 6th night. I acquired the ability to fall asleep nearly instantly just a couple of months into the training; prior to that I'd been a severe insomniac. I think in the subsequent four years I've experienced fewer than 10 nights where I had any difficulty getting to sleep at all, usually due to a cold with a cough or something like that.

I have no idea why this occurred. I certainly didn't "learn" any special falling-asleep tricks.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:48 PM on March 18, 2007

I'm currently in med school, and although I'm a few years away from starting what ikkyu2 describes, I'm pretty sure the key to falling asleep instantly is staying up until there is nothing else you'd rather do. Once I figured this out, it took me about 2 weeks to actually get used to. It's basically involves doing something productive until you fall asleep doing it, and then going to bed. Of course it helps if you don't have anywhere to be in the morning.
posted by ruwan at 8:02 PM on March 18, 2007

previously...
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:12 PM on March 18, 2007

I think it really depends on whether or not you have an environment that you can fall asleep in. After coming off a 24 hour shift, I'm pretty tired and can usually fall asleep at the drop of a hat but now that the weather is better, the shrieking screaming children at my apartment complex make that very difficult... even with the window closed.
posted by drstein at 8:12 PM on March 18, 2007

ah yes, right. must get more sleep.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:13 PM on March 18, 2007

In basic training I learned how to catch a few winks while standing up - seriously. That ability did not last long, however.
posted by davidmsc at 8:21 PM on March 18, 2007

I was sleep deprived for a period of 7 years while living in various college dorms - a combination of sleeping in a room with 14 other guys and later B-School deadlines plays havoc on your sleep schedule.

I think I picked up the ability to sleep on demand by the 2nd year of living in the dorms - we often had to spend several hours waiting where I did my high school (long story) and we learnt how to sleep while sitting on rocky,stony ground in the height of an Indian summer.

During college, I was getting about 7 hours of sleep, which felt about 2-3 hours too short. It was the same amount of time in B-School, but by then the shortfall was probably in the region of 1.5 hours.

It's been 4 years since I graduated from B-School and so far I haven't lost it (knock on wood). Interestingly, there was a gap between my college dorm days and B-School but that didn't affect my sleep on demand thing either.
posted by your mildly obsessive average geek at 8:56 PM on March 18, 2007

If you want to fall asleep quickly outside of severe sleep deprivation there are a few things you can do.

Get up every morning at the same time, even on weekends, but don't go to bed till you feel tired, that is no set bedtime.

Keep your pre-sleep routine identical every night.

remove all sources of light from your sleep area including a clock with glowing numbers.

don't do anything in bed, or even in your bedroom except sleep.

To answer your stated question however, it took me about two weeks of sleep dep near the end of a term at art school before I could grab a few minutes of sleep sitting up durring a coffee break. That ability went away immediately after the term would end and I'd get a good sixteen hours straight of shut eye.
posted by subtle_squid at 9:00 PM on March 18, 2007

I'm in med school--so who's retained the ability to stay awake and how? (exam is tuesday--and i've gotten into the habit of, oh, it's midnight, time to fall asleep--and can't get outta that)
posted by uncballzer at 9:07 PM on March 18, 2007

I think I first started to be able to fall asleep quickly in junior high, on the bus in the mornings; that's the first time I can clearly remember dozing/napping for short periods (somewhere, I picked up the ability to sleep lightly, and wake up whenever the vehicle stopped moving).

Later on, when I was first in the Army in BCT, I was (obviously) sleep-deprived throughout, and within the first few days I and everybody else would be dozing whenever we had the opportunity and were allowed. Sometime early on in the Army was probably the first time I'd ever really experienced really severe sleep deprivation, as in more than 24 or 36 hours straight without sleep. (I'd say the longest I've ever been up continuously bordered on 72 hours, and I don't remember much of the last bit of it.)

Since then, and this is years later at this point, anytime I get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night for a week or so, I'll get the 'ability' (and desire) to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Same thing happens if I'm up 24 or more hours in a row -- I'd say right around the 23rd or 24th hour (so, "morning") I'll start to seriously feel it. It seems almost regardless of caffeine intake. When I 'sleep' in odd places/times (standing up, in vehicles, etc.) it's not particularly restful sleep; it's more of an eye-rest than anything else, but it does make me feel better than nothing at all.

There have been times when I've been insomniac, but they've mostly been stress-related and short-lived.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:05 PM on March 18, 2007

After I have been up for more than 24 hrs, falling asleep takes about two minutes whether it is eleven pm or one pm. If that's not happening a five minute meditation, I know they say not to, usually erases the stress that is preventing the passing out.
posted by caddis at 10:14 PM on March 18, 2007

I learned to fall asleep quickly, and I learned to sleep very lightly ("one eye open") where I am semi-aware of sound, while dreaming (bizare dreams when the radio plays!). I was 16 when I learned the light sleep trick. Excpet when I was a child, being forced to bed (I sleep less than most people), the only trouble I've had falling asleep was occasionally when over-tired.

My problem is staying asleep when I can. LOL! Today I was up at 3:30. I could have used another hour.

In the military, I discovered serious sleep depravation could make me quite nutty. I can say the stupidest things! In my 20's, I became addicted to skipping sleep, and woudl frequently work 36 hours before sleep.

My to-sleep method is a simple one: random association. Follow the thought down it's own path, if I need sleep, it leads to dreamland.
posted by Goofyy at 10:44 PM on March 18, 2007

In the past year I've probably gone 72+ hours without sleep at least 15 times (and over 100 a couple of times) and falling asleep after something like that isn't too difficult at all, but I've always had the ability to go to sleep pretty much instantly. I find that I fall asleep in a method somewhat similar to Gooffyy-- I just lay there and think and suddenly I'm asleep.

I had a friend in college who would just go to sleep whenever he wasn't doing something. He called it "screen saver mode."
posted by atomly at 1:17 AM on March 19, 2007

My son's first year at usafa, he actually fell asleep ON the toilet. (They weren't allowed naps at that stage plus all his classmates were equally sleep deprived.)

I don't think it's a matter of learning as much as a gauge of how sleep deprived you are-altho when I worked a third shift job and had small children, sometimes I would be TOO tired to sleep.
posted by konolia at 5:31 AM on March 19, 2007

On preview, this is not 100% relevant to the question as such, but is a counterpoint in the fact that in spite of sleep-deprivation, I was never able to fall asleep at any time or any place.

My personal experience for doing national service for 9 months: I've always been quick at going to sleep (so I can't speak of retaining the ability) when I'm comfortable. Most notably this means being warm and in a relaxed position (plus head-support for me; I need a pillow-like support to sleep, nothing else is necessary). This was especially true when sleep was limited for extended periods of time. I was able to fall asleep quickly and the sleep was very deep instantaneously.

However, I was never able to have naps. I can not fall asleep for 20 minutes or even an hour. If I know that I have to wake up soon, I am unable to fall asleep. This was true even in my most sleep-deprived state (never much more than 26 hours though).
posted by slimepuppy at 6:09 AM on March 19, 2007