Too Soon to Start Dreaming

I know I’m not getting enough sleep…

…when I wake up from a dream only thirty-minutes into my sleep cycle.

Our first period of REM (dream) sleep usually occurs 90 minutes after we fall asleep. Subsequent REM periods arrive every 90 minutes, with our last and longest occurring just before we wake up.

So, if we sleep six hours instead of our usual seven or eight, then we may miss out on our last period of REM sleep.

I’d probably cut my sleep short for only a few days. Nonetheless, my mind needed make up for that lost dream time and so, started going into REM sleep more quickly than usual.

It was a surprise to be awoken so soon after falling asleep. Perhaps those dreams seemed even more mysterious as a result…

But this part of their message was plain: get more sleep.

About Michael Patton

Michael R. Patton, in his own words, “likes to make stuff”. This stuff includes novels, new fables and myths, poetry, cartoons, essays, and videos. The ideas that run through that work can be found in the titles of his books. For example: “Searching for My Best Beliefs”. Basically self-taught, he describes his slow, tedious journey of discovery as “crawling blindfolded through the labyrinth”. He has lived and worked all over the United States.

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