And others over the years, and talking to others I see that some of you don’t like sleep. I want to know why, are you all type A workaholics?
Some people find sleep ‘not pleasent’ - What is unplesent about it?
Some have citted increased productivity, but if you have those extra hours you will find something to fill it and still not have enough time (IMHO) and w/ o sleep you have absolutly no buffer time.
I think you can enjoy sleep while still appreciating that you’d just have more spare time if you didn’t have to do it. Personally, I rarely take more than four or five hours sleep per night and I do actually like sleep, but I’d like the option to omit it entirely for an indefinite period.
I simply resent the notion that I’m supposed to be wholly unaware of a full 1/3 of my existence. I also cannot fathom a desire to increase that fraction by any significant amount. Whatever pleasant the sensations sleep may bring, I would much rather experience consciousness. It seems to me to be the driving point behind this whole “life” thing.
I will, however, add that one of the advantages of sleep is that it aids in preventing one from writing things like “whatever pleasant the sensations sleep may bring”.
Please mentally substitute either “whatever pleasant sensations”, or “however pleasant the sensations”, at your preference.
As an insomniac… when I die, if there is any such thing as heaven (or at least my version of it), I want to be provided with a California King size feather bed, with down comforters and pillows (and more pillows), locked in a quiet room with low light, and sleep until I can’t sleep anymore.
I appreciate the sleep I get, and I only get it dispensed in little sugar packet sizes.
My darling husband and I are greatly divided on the sleep issue. I love to sleep, and nothing will turn me into a raving bitch faster than three consecutive nights of not-enough sleep. Hubby doesn’t understand how I can love doing something that I don’t know I’m doing while I’m doing it. Along with religion, and certain political stances, it’s one of the things we’ve agreed to disagree on.
I would ask the reverse question: Why don’t some people have a beef with having to sleep? I don’t particularly see the joy in sleeping; what exactly is so enjoyable about it? I suppose if I had vivid dreams (hell, even hazy, non-descript dreams that I remember more than once a month), perhaps it would be appealing. As it is, what do I get out of being unconscious for 5-8 hours every day (outside of the obvious biological necessities)?
Based on others’ answers, it would seem that it is not sleep itself that is so attractive. It’s the “feeling terrible” when one does not get enough sleep that is bothersome. Seems to me that whenever I (or anyone else) complains about sleep, it’s always phrased as “I wish I didn’t have to sleep”; in other words, yes, sleep is necessary. But again, outside of that, what is enjoyable about being unconscious?
It’s funny – I feel the same way about eating. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the gustatory pleasure of, say, a good T-bone with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. But I’d much prefer not having to eat.
Not a workaholic by a long shot, I want the time to have more fun.
I like sleep just fine, but I don’t like the fact that I have to spend at least a quarter of my day doing it, or else everything else I do begins to deteriorate. I look at the question “if you had the chance to never need sleep again, would you take it?” as another way of saying “If you had the chance to extend your healthy life by 33%, would you take it?”
Oddly, I disagree with this; it’s all part of the experience of being human, otherwise we might argue for stripping away everything that makes us what we are.
Ideally, I would like to have a switch that in one position means I’d just be able to keep going without sleep (substitute eating if you like) and without feeling awful about missing it, and in the other position, things would just work normally; I’d get tired/exhausted (substitute hungry/ravenous) and would remedy that predicament in the natural fashion.
The physical sensations of exhaustion or hunger can be enjoyable in their own right, and they’re things I’d not want to put away forever. I’d just like to be able to exert occasional control of whether and when I experience them.
Well, that’s part of it (for me, at least) but not all of it. I like the feeling of that point where you’re just drifting down into sleep. I like the feeling of waking up at 3AM to go to the bathroom and crawling back into the warm, cozy bed to get that drifting down feeling again, and knowing that I still have three hours to sleep. Now, perhaps I only have these pleasant associations because I do feel so good after a full night’s sleep, but maybe they’re just pleasant in their own right.
What do you guys do that’s so fun you’d replace sleep with it? Is it free? 'Cause if I’m missing out on something that incredible, I sure want to know about it!
Even if I didn’t need sleep, I think I’d still get tired out. My brain needs rest, man! For example, I just spent the night writing a paper (resenting every minute, by the way) and while I don’t feel like I need to sleep, my brain is fried. Besides the delicious sensations of falling into a nice warm soft bed, sleep is the pleasure of letting my mind just relax. I think I get overloaded too easily.
Interesting point. One might spin this into a “you can’t recognize what is good without the bad” type of view. You’re right in that it can be satisfying to sit back after a hard day’s work and just be plain tuckered out. And certainly, I’ve never had a better meal than a burger I bought after emerging from a week-long, back country camping stint. The deprivation enhances the satisfaction.
Well, speaking as a chronic kidney stone sufferer, maybe I’m qualified to answer this. There is a certain euphoria to being pain-free after being in intense pain, that I’m glad I’ve experienced. Now, don’t get me wrong. If someone came along tomorrow and told me there’s been a cure found for kidney stones and I’ll never have to get another one, I’d pay almost anything for it. But still, most of the time most of us are not in pain, but not appreciative of being not in pain. But after that kind of pain, believe me, the appreciation is almost like a high.
I have been overheard to say in the past that there is no pleasure to match the sudden absence of intense pain. Not sure if that makes it worthwhile though - last year’s bout of dental pain made me seriously consider throwing myself across the railway tracks.
A lot of the exercise I do certainly qualifies as being painful. And while I can’t say I really enjoy deadlifting, there’s certainly a perverse pleasure in grunting out that last rep, with blood streaming down my shins, purple, covered in sweat, veins popping out while a bunch of middle-aged chrome and toners cluster at the other end of the room looking horrified, adrenaline raging in my ears, etc.
Having said that, there’s good pain and there’s bad pain. I mostly enjoy the good pain, even if I’m not exactly addicted to it.
I spend a 1/3 of my life at work. 1/3! What a freakin waste of time - I honestly believe we should work 20 hours a week and spend 20 hours studying or playing.
So then I should spend *another * 1/3 sleeping? I love sleep but I do wish I could go without it.
