trinityvixen: (blogging from work)
[personal profile] trinityvixen
I stayed late at work on Friday to do some studying and I was here for much of the weekend as well to the same end. I've now been at my job for more than a week straight. I'm having issues figuring out times and such. I think I have test today. That's about as far as I've gotten with scheduling. I also have a presentation to give on Friday for which I've planned not at all. But Friday is so far away. Isn't it? That's the problem with the holiday season: everything feels like a marathon. And despite my disinclination for running, I'm jogging along as fast as I can between events. If I can just avoid sleeping between now and Friday, I'm sure I'll get everything done.

In other disorienting news, I had gone more than two weeks without any soda at all until last Friday. I bought a Diet Pepsi on Friday to help keep me awake through a marathon study session and drank it at about 9 pm. At 3 am Saturday morning, I had the most uncanny and horrible experience of knowing myself to be awake but being unable to move or do anything about this. A quick Wikipedia check marks this as probably being "REM atonia," a perfectly normal part of the REM cycle in which your motor neurons aren't firing. It's perfectly fine with being the usual thing so long as you aren't awake for it. Not fun. Needless to say, I didn't sleep especially well as a result of caffeine and paranoia about that event. The good thing about caffeine is how quickly you can adjust to it. The next night, I saw Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (phenomenal, by the way) and drank 44 oz of Diet Coke and though I behaved like a speed freak for a few hours after, I slept just fine.

Date: 2011-12-19 04:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ivy03.livejournal.com
I had the most uncanny and horrible experience of knowing myself to be awake but being unable to move or do anything about this.
I had that the one time I took melatonin. It was still probably good to take it, as it was my first night in Egypt, and with jet lag, you just need your body to STOP at night so it can adjust, but yes. Unsettling.

Date: 2011-12-19 05:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com
It's kind of what I imagine being one of those people who don't go fully under during anesthesia must feel like. A lot less horrible than that, but still.

How does melatonin reset your sleep cycle? I'd not heard that.

Date: 2011-12-19 06:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ivy03.livejournal.com
Melatonin is a sleep aid (albeit one that is used in way too high doses). What I mean is, though I don't normally take sleep aids, the problem with jet lag going east is that the second night in particular you're exhausted but your body just won't fall asleep at the right time because it thinks it's mid day. So taking something that made me go to sleep at the right time helped me adjust.

Date: 2011-12-20 02:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xannoside.livejournal.com
Melatonin temporarily makes your body think it spent a full day outside and now its time to sleep!

I use it when I go to Europe. Works like a charm, but I've heard that after enough regular doses, it stops being effective.

Date: 2011-12-20 05:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bigscary.livejournal.com
Fun Fact: This phenomenon and endogenous DMT production together explain alien and elf abduction experiences.

Date: 2011-12-20 10:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trinityvixen.livejournal.com
...ELF abduction experiences?

Profile

trinityvixen: (Default)
trinityvixen

February 2015

S M T W T F S
1234567
89 1011121314
15161718192021
22232425 262728

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 28th, 2025 04:57 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios