How does falling asleep actually work; why can you be mid-thought and just conk out?
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Not a sleep scientist but decided to share my anecdotal experience.
I experimented with lucid dreaming when I was young, and later in life for unrelated reasons started to have sleep troubles, which led me to using various podcasts to help me sleep. That gave me opportunity to experience falling asleep from two different angles. Disclaimer, I am just describing how it feels and speculating.
First of all, if you focus you can stay conscious as you fall asleep. It’s a bit freaky. You gradually lose sensation in your limbs and your eyes start moving violently underneath your closed eyelids.
So it’s a process completely separate from everything else — your body is shutting down.
Other thing, if you can’t sleep — half of you lying there in bed is a dream. I used podcasts to fall asleep and I noticed that occasionally I am lying there in silence and wondering — hey, where is that podcast. And suddenly, the sound appears out of nowhere. I woke up.
You don’t even notice how reality fades away.
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