# Do people really enjoy sleeping? Can you actually enjoy being asleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780 "2009-05-17T20:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/1 "2009-05-17T20:57:04Z")
I do not want this thread in IMHO. It is not a poll. I want to know if people actually enjoy themselves while sleeping in the same way someone enjoys watching a film or playing tennis. I have heard people say they do. I generally assume they mean they like the drowsy half-sleep they can have for an extra 2 hours on a Sunday morning when they do not have to get up early to trudge to work. They are happy they do not have to work. I do not think they really mean they like sleeping. Many people in Japan list sleeping as a hobby. They will say ‘My hobbies are Ikebana, watching movies and sleeping’. I assume again they actually mean they are so busy with work,life etc that in their spare moments of leisure they have a nap. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/2 "2009-05-17T21:08:04Z")
Dreams are where we get to act out those things we want to do IRL but can’t. I love my dreams. And I love sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/3 "2009-05-17T21:16:19Z")
You’d have to be conscious to enjoy sleeping, so no obviously. What you can enjoy (I for one enjoy it very much) is not being in sleep debt. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/4 "2009-05-17T21:18:36Z")
I like dreaming. I like drifting in and out of sleep in the mornings enough that I set two alarms an hour apart. I especially like half-surfacing out of an interesting dream when my alarm goes off, thinking “Mmmm…I have time to go back and finish that one”, and drifting off again. Of course, I usually don’t end up in the same dream again, but it doesn’t matter because by that time I’ve forgotten what was going on, and am onto something else good. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/5 "2009-05-17T21:20:02Z")
I really don’t like how I feel when I wake up, particularly after not enough sleep, so sleeping is an improvement on that negative state. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/6 "2009-05-17T21:21:59Z")
I really enjoy falling asleep. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/7 "2009-05-17T21:37:11Z")
I enjoy falling asleep, enjoy waking up and then falling back asleep, I really enjoy dreaming, snoozing. Ah it’s all fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/8 "2009-05-17T21:56:18Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > You’d have to be conscious to enjoy sleeping, so no obviously. > > What you can enjoy (I for one enjoy it very much) is not being in sleep debt. Nice answer. Other than that- this is turning into a IMHO poll. I am not interested in that. We are in GQ. Can anyone answer what people really mean when they say they enjoy sleeping? Do they just mean they feel rested afterwards? Or they are just happy not being in sleep-debt? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/9 "2009-05-17T22:17:16Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > You’d have to be conscious to enjoy sleeping, so no obviously. > > What you can enjoy (I for one enjoy it very much) is not being in sleep debt. Google ‘Lucid Dreaming’. And… Aren’t you sort of conscious when you dream anyway? Specifically I enjoy the feeling of going to sleep. And the feeling of waking up knowing I can go back to sleep again. And hypnagogic imagery. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/10 "2009-05-17T22:20:25Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > Nice answer. > Other than that- > this is turning into a IMHO poll. I am not interested in that. We are in GQ. > > Can anyone answer what people really mean when they say they enjoy sleeping? Do they just mean they feel rested afterwards? Or they are just happy not being in sleep-debt? What I and others have said IS what we mean when we say we enjoy sleep. I.e. we enjoy the things that go with the whole activity known as ‘sleep’. Falling asleep. Having dreams. Having hypnagogic dreams (the things you ‘see’ while you’re still awake but falling asleep). Being in an altered state of mind. Being relaxed. Being warm. Being in bed. Acting out your fantasies. Experiencing heightened emotions. Being well rested after a good sleep. Bonus: Having and sustaining a lucid dream. I had a dream last night about a girl. It wasn’t a sexual dream but it was fantastic nevertheless. edit: If you are getting frustrated that your question is not being answered, try framing the question differently. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/11 "2009-05-17T22:23:18Z")
The evidence seems to be that some people claim to enjoy sleeping and some people claim that it is impossible, implying that their personal experience is that they do not enjoy it and have no empathy for those that experience it. Assuming that the people who say they enjoy it are not all in on a conspiracy to lie, it seems clear that some people actually enjoy sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/12 "2009-05-17T22:25:35Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > Can anyone answer what people really mean when they say they enjoy sleeping? Do they just mean they feel rested afterwards? Or they are just happy not being in sleep-debt? I have never heard anyone say they enjoy sleeping. Maybe you heard them wrong? Maybe they said they enjoyed having slept? Or maybe you should ask them instead of us. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/13 "2009-05-17T22:33:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I have never heard anyone say they enjoy sleeping. Maybe you heard them wrong? Maybe they said they enjoyed having slept? > > Or maybe you should ask them instead of us. I don’t enjoy having slept. It means I’m not sleeping anymore. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/14 "2009-05-17T22:56:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I have never heard anyone say they enjoy sleeping. Maybe you heard them wrong? Maybe they said they enjoyed having slept? > > Or maybe you should ask them instead of us. Maybe I should just opt for this thread to go into IMHO. I get up at 5 every day even weekends and holidays. I am not sleep deprived. I use those hours in the morning- I usually go jogging, clean dishes, read the paper all before my wife wakes up. If I say this to people they treat it like me having a disability- ‘Oh I feel so sorry for you. I like getting up at 11.’ I have always worked shift work and the vast majority of people I have encountered want the shift starting at 11 so they can sleep in. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/15 "2009-05-17T23:08:18Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > Maybe I should just opt for this thread to go into IMHO. I get up at 5 every day even weekends and holidays. I am not sleep deprived. I use those hours in the morning- I usually go jogging, clean dishes, read the paper all before my wife wakes up. If I say this to people they treat it like me having a disability- ‘Oh I feel so sorry for you. I like getting up at 11.’ > I have always worked shift work and the vast majority of people I have encountered want the shift starting at 11 so they can sleep in. You do realize that this whole post is a non sequitur and has nothing to do with your OP or whether you heard other people right, don’t you? I certainly don’t care whether you get up early or not. That is the sort of thing that belongs in IMHO and not GQ. I’ll buzz a mod for you. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/16 "2009-05-17T23:09:19Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > Maybe I should just opt for this thread to go into IMHO. I don’t see how it can be answered in GQ, since the answer is necessarily subjective. Moving to IMHO from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/17 "2009-05-17T23:34:00Z")
Well, one of the side effects of lamictal happens to be really vivid dreams, so that can be pretty entertaining, even when they’re nightmares. (Because it’s always a relief to wake up.) Plus it’s nice to snuggle up under the nice, warm, heavy blankets at night and feel all cozy and snug. Summer – with the window open, and the fans running, you can lie back on the nice cool sheets, with a breeze blowing and just chill. Plus, sometimes Buffy will come in and climb up on my pillow with me. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/18 "2009-05-17T23:45:38Z")
“If you can’t sleep because you are in love. It means your waking life is finally better than your dreams” ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/19 "2009-05-18T00:23:16Z")
**Guin** , everyone would benefit from a Buffy who would climb upon the pillow with them. Your Buffy May Vary, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780/20 "2009-05-18T12:42:48Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I enjoy falling asleep, enjoy waking up and then falling back asleep, I really enjoy dreaming, snoozing. Ah it’s all fantastic. This. My husband is one of those people who considers time sleeping to be wasted time. If he could take a pill and never need to sleep again, he’d do it. I say, “Is there ever a time of greater contentment than you feel when you’re asleep?" ZZZ… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-enjoy-sleeping-can-you-actually-enjoy-being-asleep/496780.md?page=2)