If you can’t sleep so you lay still for an extended period of time with your eyes closed, does that do anything to restore energy? Or does the fact you’re still awake make it a useless gesture?
In: Biology
2 hours of sitting after 8 hours of standing / being active is restorative in a sense. It gives the muscles time to relax and recuperate. So a period of inactivity at all would be relaxing, but it wouldn’t have the same benefits as would normal sleeping.
Consider it like this. You’ve got a machine that is constantly in use on some level except for a period of downtime every day where maintenance is done. Some of this maintenance can feasibly happen any time, but ideally the best time to do it is during downtime. The rest of it can only be done during downtime.
Let’s say a few days happen where there’s a crunch and there is little to no downtime possible. Would it be a useless gesture to attempt to do the maintenance that was possible during this time?
The body is much the same way. Eventually it will need downtime in the form of sleep, but any rest you can give it will help keep it, and you, going.
I think it would have a similar effect to meditation, no?
The way I see it, the less energy you use up the more rested you feel. Let’s look at it from the other side and make the differences more extreme for comparison sake.
If you run a marathon, you become exhausted. So, would you still be as exhausted if you went for a walk in the park instead? A marathon uses much more energy than the park walk. Now, if instead of walking in the park we just sat on the couch, that would take up even less energy.
Sitting on the couch = sleeping
Walking in the park = resting but awake.
Marathon = Actively up and doing something in case it’s a “wasted gesture”
Anytime you’ve removed the need for rest, you put your body in the same state as resting would have. So conserving energy would be equivalent to resting.
Important to not, that just existing also uses up energy, so you do eventually need actual rest/sleep. You can’t sustain on only ever conserving the energy you have because some is always used up. Just less than a marathon does.
Eyo neuroscientist here! You’ll be producing slower waves of neural activity (alpha waves) as you rest, but this is not nearly as slow as the waves you get in deep non-REM sleep. So, yes it would be better than being completely awake, but it wouldn’t have the same effect as sleep. Hope this helps!
Not moving is one of the ways your body knows it’s time to be unconscious. Fastest way to get to sleep is to get comfortable and then stop moving **completely** (except to breathe). Unfortunately, any muscle movement will reset the process to zero. In short, you don’t toss and turn because you can’t sleep; you can’t sleep because you keep tossing and turning.
[Mythbusters tested something similar in a deadliest catch special](https://mythresults.com/deadliest-catch-crabtastic-special) and did find that 20 minute naps significantly improved their test results. I can’t find the episode online easily but IIRC they did mention that even just closing your eyes for the 20 minutes helped even if you didn’t fall asleep.
It’ll conserve energy somewhat, but your brain won’t be able to recharge properly. Sleep is also important for maintaining your body’s circadian rhythm and regulating other things like hormones. If you can’t fall asleep for a long time, I think some doctors recommend getting up and doing something else until you get tired enough to fall asleep. That way you don’t start to associate the bed with frustration and anxiety about not being able to fall asleep.
I’ve heard that lying still and thinking of nothing (or not actively thinking so meditating would be ok) for 8 hours, has a similar effect of having about 6 hours sleep
To add onto this question, one time I experienced what felt like sleep paralysis (I couldn’t move but was completely aware) but instead of just lasting a couple seconds it lasted for like 6 hours. Is this something I should be concerned about or just my mind reacting badly to the melatonin gummies I had taken for the first time that night (I followed the directions perfectly)? During the time that I was stuck there I kinda freaked out a bir at first but quickly got bored and just started makin up a story until at one point I heard my dad get up for work and about an hour later my alarm went off and I was finally able to get up. Once I was up I felt tired but thinking back it kinda just felt like a regular lengthed night, maybe it was all a dream?
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