# Is anaesthesia restful sleep? (Need answer fa… ZZZZZzzzzzz) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389 "2010-04-26T11:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/1 "2010-04-26T11:30:08Z")
I’m heading in for a lobotomy later today (amazing that you can still get things with S&H Greenstamps). I’m told the procedure will take a couple hours, then I should expect to wake up two to three hours later. I’m very tired at the moment. Aside from the mild surgery-related discomfort, will I wake refreshed and well rested (I promised a friend I’d help move some water fountains)? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/2 "2010-04-26T13:19:07Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’m heading in for a lobotomy later today (amazing that you can still get things with S&H Greenstamps). I’m told the procedure will take a couple hours, then I should expect to wake up two to three hours later. I’m very tired at the moment. Aside from the mild surgery-related discomfort, will I wake refreshed and well rested (I promised a friend I’d help move some water fountains)? There is a period of grogginess, and many people don’t fully snap out of it until the next day. I know the last 2 times I was under I really was dragged out and slept most of the time for a good 8 or 10 hours afterwords. In a pinch, i could have gotten up and been functional, but I just was really dragged out, pretty much like a no headache hangover sort of dragginess. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/3 "2010-04-26T13:40:44Z")
According to an episode of _House_ I watched being anaesthetised and falling asleep are quite different processes. Ah, a cite other than Cameron; “Normal sleep is very different from the ‘sleep’ induced by anesthesia, which is more like a coma.” > **[healthyresources.com - healthyresources Resources and Information.](http://ww1.healthyresources.com/sleep/apnea/contrib/anesthes.html)** > > healthyresources.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, healthyresources.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/4 "2010-04-26T13:47:05Z")
I believe that in the Michael Jackson investigation they mentioned that the irony of him being given Propofol was that it produces general anesthesia which is a different state than normal, restful sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/5 "2010-04-26T14:31:22Z")
Don’t people get very sick if they don’t sleep for long periods of time? Do people who are in medically-induced comas suffer the same deleterious effects? Or are the reasons for putting them in the coma usually so severe that any harm/symptoms are relatively insignificant? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/6 "2010-04-26T14:41:13Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Don’t people get very sick if they don’t sleep for long periods of time? Do people who are in medically-induced comas suffer the same deleterious effects? Or are the reasons for putting them in the coma usually so severe that any harm/symptoms are relatively insignificant? Well, depends how you define ‘very sick’, but it sure ain’t [good for you](http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690). There have been experiments on rats where prolonged sleep deprivation will actually kill them, although I’ve never heard of this in humans. A coma is a different thing from sleep on a few levels. > [@](#): > > A comatose person is still very much alive, but he or she is not simply asleep. The brain wave activity in a comatose person is very different from that of a sleeping person; you can wake up a sleeping person, you can’t wake a person in a coma. [http://www.neurologychannel.com/coma/index.shtml](http://www.neurologychannel.com/coma/index.shtml) Since both prolonged sleep deprivation and a comatose state will damage the brain, their end effects might end up being quite similar - although the causes of comas obviously tend to be more severe, which would speak to the outcome. IANAD, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/7 "2010-04-26T14:52:27Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > A coma is a different thing from sleep on a few levels. Right … I was thinking more along the lines of the medically-induced coma. Not that I didn’t get that idea from television, of course, but I’m under the impression that sometimes it’s necessary to keep the protagonist under for extended periods of time. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/8 "2010-04-26T16:34:54Z")
My dad recently had a period where he had significant difficulty sleeping while hospitalized for another reason. He had some very bad side effects. Those of us in the family but not local to the situation wondered if giving him anesthesia might have helped… he was given various sleep aid medications over the course of his stay to resolve the issue and eventually did get sleep and things turned around. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/9 "2010-04-26T17:04:25Z")
Well, the good news is that after your lobotomy you won’t care whether or not you’re rested. Tell the Chief I said “hi”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/10 "2010-04-26T17:41:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > There is a period of grogginess, and many people don’t fully snap out of it until the next day. . . My digestive system usually takes at least one day more after that to get back up and running. Sleep doesn’t turn of the digestion so much. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/11 "2010-04-26T18:04:55Z")
All I know is that when I had hernia surgery a few years back, that was the best nap I ever had. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/12 "2010-04-26T18:16:05Z")
I had surgery ten years ago, and I can tell you that I woke up in the recovery room anything but refreshed. I wasn’t quite right for several days. And it was strange. When I sleep, I’m somehow aware of the passing of time. With anesthesia, not so much. It’s like those hours were just deleted from the day. It was kind of creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/13 "2010-04-26T20:44:45Z")
> [@](#): > > And it was strange. When I sleep, I’m somehow aware of the passing of time. With anesthesia, not so much. It’s like those hours were just deleted from the day. It was kind of creepy. The only time I’ve been under a general, I had the sense afterwards that those hours had passed, but that I just wasn’t there for them. This is probably the same sensation you’re describing, though language isn’t really adequate for it. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/14 "2010-04-26T20:58:42Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > My digestive system usually takes at least one day more after that to get back up and running. Sleep doesn’t turn of the digestion so much. Standard practice is to allow no food or drink for 24 hours prior to general anesthesia. Seems like that would shut things down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/15 "2010-04-26T21:01:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The only time I’ve been under a general, I had the sense afterwards that those hours had passed, but that I just wasn’t there for them. This is probably the same sensation you’re describing, though language isn’t really adequate for it. Well, yeah, sort of. It’s not like I was aware of being wheeled to the OR, then, like a scene change in a movie, I was suddenly in the recovery room. There was definitely something in between. But it was like a great big empty. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/16 "2010-04-26T21:05:08Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > My digestive system usually takes at least one day more after that to get back up and running. Sleep doesn’t turn of the digestion so much. Well, that’s also a side-effect of narcotics, regardless of sleep patterns. So if you were given any pain killers post-surgery, that’s going to slow things down. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/17 "2010-04-27T02:34:10Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > Standard practice is to allow no food or drink for 24 hours prior to general anesthesia. Seems like that would shut things down a bit. Glad I don’t go to your hospitals … SOP for me the last few years has been: anything by mouth I want until 6 pm night before. clear fluids only until midnight. Nothing by mouth the day of _except for the minimal amount of water needed to take certain oral meds_ [and the anesthesiologist and I work on my list of meds, so I have a schedule of what to take and when so I don’t get adverse reactions to the drugs for the operation] In general for abdominal ops, one also gets the dubious pleasure of clearing out ones digestive tract with extreme prejudice, which I am now exempt from. Instead I get to do clear liquids for 3-4 days previous to the operation because I have seriously nasty reactions to the dehydration caused by the extreme crapping that goes on without the ability to replace the liquids. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/18 "2010-04-27T03:47:44Z")
NO NO NO!!! General anesthesia is not restful!!! (RN and spouse of anesthesiologist) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/19 "2010-04-27T04:03:41Z")
My personal experience is that anaesthesia shuts down my long-term memory. I’ve been told that I can carry on lucid conversations after waking up but I will never remember anything later. My normal memory doesn’t seem to kick in until I get a few hours of real sleep. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389/20 "2010-04-27T05:01:29Z")
I distinctly remember going under. I remember it going black and thinking well “thats that”. And waking up 8 hours later…bloody tired and cranky. I was told that I had a conversation with my mother, I don’t actually remember it, it was almost like…changing a TV channel, from when I went under and when I woke up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anaesthesia-restful-sleep-need-answer-fa-zzzzzzzzzzz/537389.md?page=2)