why do we do that thing where we wake up early roll over for 30 seconds recheck the time and its been hours

Question

i never really understood how this worked because even when you have a dreamless sleep you still know you were sleeping

what i am talking about specifically is when you will wake up at say 2am get annoyed you only slept 3-4 hours roll over to go back to sleep but “cant” then recheck your phone 1-5 minutes later and its suddenly 6-7am the entire process only feeling like it was minutes with no memory of sleeping at all

In: 13

Answer 1

It’s called “sleep misperception” and it acute in people with insomnia. But the phenomenon is not just experienced in people with insomnia. Good “sleep misperception” and you’ll have a great understanding of the concept.