You know…kind of like laying next to a loved one or sitting in a chair near the bed and–while wide awake yourself–just watched them as they slept?
I’ve talked to a few about this and opinions seem to differ vastly. Some think it’s a fairly loving and sweet thing to do while others think it’s slightly (or very) creepy.
What say you?
Your choices are not complete. Yes, I have watched a fair amount of people sleep… but in pretty much all circumstances because of the situation at hand. I also don’t think it is particularly creepy.
My kids. When they were new babies it was wonderful to hold them, or sneak into their room, or when they fell asleep in bed with us, and just watch them sleep.
I think whether it’s sweet or creepy depends in large part on the relationship between the watcher and the sleeper. A parent watching an infant child sleep is sweet; a relative stranger watching a one-night-stand sleep is creepy as hell.
I’ve watched my elderly mother sleep. I have to stop it because all I can do is think “Is the still breathing?” Her breathing is so shallow.
Me too. Doing the same to an adult seems creepy.
I usually have a camera running overnight. I replay it next morning to watch myself sleep.
Ok, I’ll stop. 
Does sitting the deathwatch count?
Just my dog when I was a kid. He ran in his sleep.
My wife gets up first and falls asleep first to I sometimes just lay back and watch her. For some reason it does calm me somewhat after a long or brutal day of adulthood.
I used to watch my fiance sleeping to see if he was breathing (severe sleep apnea - if he wasn’t snoring, he wasn’t breathing). Now I frequently catch myself watching him sleep, marveling at how peaceful and relaxed he is (and how quiet he is). I also watch our dogs sleeping because they’re so cute when they twitch and chirp and chase cats in their dreams.
Me too although I was always too tired to watch her for long.
I have also watched people sleep when they were sick, and I was sitting up with them. I used to be a terrible insomniac so I have watched boyfriends sleep as well, though not for more than a half-hour or so.
I think it’s the “all night long” part that makes it creepy. If you are supposed to be in the room, and it’s for a reasonable length of time, then yes, it can be a sweet and loving thing.
Depends on the circumstance as well. For example, if you’re sneaking into someone’s room at night (ala Twilight), just to watch them sleep, that’s fucking mega-creepy. On the other hand, if you have a loved one in the hospital and you’re waiting by their bedside for them to wake up from an injury, surgery, etc – I think THAT’s practically required.
I agree the poll choices are not complete. I don’t think it’s creepy, but I do think it’s boring as all get out. Right up there with watching grass grow.
I agree. Unless they start talking in their sleep, then it could get interesting.
Do you two mean kids as well? It would be utterly alien to me if someone foind watching their own child sleep to be inherently “boring.”
There’s no better feeling than laying next to the person you love and they don’t know you love them or that you’re in their house again.
–Author unknown
Then how do you know when it’s time to leave?
my boys, my new grandbaby, my mother in her final days