The Strange World Between Wakefulness and Sleep
The Strange World Between Wakefulness and Sleep
by James Porter
Most of us think of being awake and being asleep as two completely different states. But they're not. Between the two lies a fascinating transition known as the hypnagogic state—those fleeting moments when the conscious mind begins to let go and the dreaming mind starts to take over.
If you've ever felt like you were falling just as you drifted off, heard someone call your name, seen a vivid image with your eyes closed, or experienced a sudden muscle twitch that startled you awake, you've probably visited this strange little borderland. Most people simply don't realize there's a name for it.
I was reminded of this just the other night. I had turned out the light and was lying quietly in bed when I heard someone snoring. "That must be my wife," I thought. Then I remembered she was away. I was alone in the house. A few moments later I heard the snoring again. Looking back, I suspect I may actually have been hearing my own first soft snores as I drifted into sleep. Because I was suspended somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, my brain briefly interpreted the sound as if it belonged to someone else. Whether it was my own snoring or a hypnagogic illusion, it was a fascinating reminder that the mind doesn't switch from awake to asleep all at once.
A few days later I had another experience. I was reading a news article on my phone in the middle of the afternoon when I became vaguely aware that I was getting sleepy. Suddenly there was a man standing in my field of view. Somehow I had the distinct impression that he knew more about the story I was reading than I did. As I began waking up, my first thought was, "I wish I'd asked him a question before he left." Only after I was fully awake did I realize something amusing: the person I wanted to question didn’t exist. He had been part of a dream that quietly slipped into my waking consciousness.
These experiences may sound odd, but they're perfectly normal. As your brain changes gears, parts of your dreaming mind begin turning on before your conscious mind has completely turned off. The result is a fascinating mixture of reality and dream that may last only a few seconds.
For years I've struggled less with falling asleep than with getting back to sleep after waking in the middle of the night. Like many people, once I've had four or five hours of sleep, my mind sometimes wants to become active again. Instead of worrying about whether I'll fall back asleep, I've learned to watch for the clues that sleep is returning.
After reading a book or magazine for a while—not watching television or scrolling endlessly on a screen—I close my eyes and begin meditating while lying in bed. Meditation teachers often advise against meditating lying down because you're likely to fall asleep. In most situations that's true. Traditional meditation aims for relaxed awareness, not unconsciousness.
But my goal at two o'clock in the morning is different. I want to fall asleep.
So I simply count my breaths and become an interested observer of whatever happens next. I look for the small signs that my brain is making the transition toward sleep. A yawn. A spontaneous stretch. A brief muscle quiver. A sudden feeling that I'm floating or falling. A random image. A tiny dream that lasts only a second or two. Each one tells me the same thing: sleep is getting closer.
Ironically, noticing these signs has made it easier for me to relax. Instead of wondering, Why can't I fall asleep? I find myself thinking, There it is... another hypnagogic moment. Each little clue reassures me that nothing is wrong. My brain is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
Stress is one of the biggest contributors to insomnia because it keeps the mind focused on staying awake. But the hypnagogic state offers a different perspective. Rather than fighting for sleep, you become a curious observer of the remarkable process by which your mind gently lets go of the waking world and enters the dreaming one.
The next time you're lying awake at night, don't just wait for sleep to arrive. Watch for the signs that it's already on its way. You may discover that the mysterious moments between wakefulness and sleep are not something to worry about—they're some of the most fascinating experiences your brain has to offer.
Erica Tuminski
Author