[extropy-chat] Sleeplessness

[Harvey Newstrom]

Alfio Puglisi wrote,
> On Tue, 13 Jan 2004, Paul Grant wrote:
> 
> >I've also experienced a weird state where I've been mentally
> > processing stuff at night, and wake up instantly alert with
> > a bunch of new stuff already figured out.
> 
> Same for me. I often wake up and have a clear solution in 
> mind. Also I noticed that the evening->morning memory is 
> absolutely the best one

I do this as well.  The brain will keep churning on ideas and can come up
with solutions without conscious effort.  This is good for coming up with
creative solutions.  But it is bad when you have worries or problems you
can't solve, and your brain keeps mulling them over while you are trying to
sleep.  It can be very exhausting.

I also practice what is known as "Lucid Dreaming."  This is where you can
recognize you are in a dream state and become conscious of that fact.  I
have consciously worked on project plans while asleep in a dream, and woken
up with usable step by step solutions already worked out.  I have no idea if
this allows me to work while in the REM state, or if this level of conscious
thought interrupts the benefits of sleep.  I don't do this often, since it
is not reliable whether I will become lucid in my dreams or not.  So I can't
rely on this time for scheduling work.

-- 
Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, CISA, CISM, IAM, IBMCP, GSEC
Certified IS Security Pro, Certified IS Auditor, Certified InfoSec Manager,
NSA Certified Assessor, IBM Certified Consultant, SANS Certified GIAC
<HarveyNewstrom.com> <Newstaff.com>