Disturbed Sleeping and Distance Learning

Disturbed Sleeping and Distance Learning

I suffer from biphasic sleep, rather segmented sleep. It is not a disorder but that is the way I sleep. I go to bed around ten in the night and wake up around 2:00 am to pee. Thereafter for about two hours or so I toss around before sleeping again till about 6:00 am. This segmented sleep has almost become a regular pattern. During the so-called wakeful hours brain keeps thinking about mostly negative, sometimes positive things. I wallow in self-pity at things I have not finished or my procrastination, feeling terribly guilty. At times I think of pleasant things ahead for the day or week and cogitate planning what to do. The only negative aspect about my sleep is that I am forced to wake up anywhere between 2 to 5 times because of prostate problem.

 

Sometimes the self-afflicted mental torture could be so unbearable that I open my laptop and try to catching up with mail or pending online lessons. Answering assignments or exercises at the end of lessons is taken up. Whether I complete the task or not, the very attempt causes drowsiness and I fall asleep. It is easy to fall asleep if I start reading some book – any book for that matter. Printed page is unfailingly soporific.  Despite all these If I proceed, I can cover small portions with some difficulty.

 

A great advantage of trying to learn something new when you are about to sleep or during segmented sleep intervals is that if you brush up that portion again in the day time during regular waking hours, the topic sticks to your mind quickly.  I have tested it several times during college exam days. It works. Why not even now, - at 78 - when I am learning just to spend time.  

 

At times when I am single (my daughter may be away on tour etc), I resort to singing in low voice in the night around 3 am. But the neighbour’s dog feels uncomfortable and starts barking.  So, I have given up learning to sing at odd hours or ever.