Sleep Perception Gap
You didn’t sleep at all last night? Why that’s probably not true
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Insomnia can take a toll on us. They often get worse when our brain plays tricks on us: it likes to pretend we haven’t slept at all when in fact we’ve slept for a few hours. What the so-called sleep perception gap is all about.
“I lay awake all night and once again didn’t sleep a wink” – when we often struggle with insomnia, a sentence like this is sure to come across our lips quickly. In fact, in the rarest of cases, we really haven’t slept at all. It is much more likely that we slept for a few hours – but perceived it differently. This phenomenon is called “sleep perception gap” or “sleep misperception”.
Sleep Perception Gap: Why we sometimes don’t even realize we’re sleeping
We owe this misperception to the way our brain works. When we doze off, it doesn’t switch off immediately. The sleep therapist Dr. Kat Lederle explains this to British glamor magazine: “When we fall asleep, one area of the brain usually shuts down first, the others gradually follow. But it can also happen that one half of the brain shuts down and the other stays awake .” This often happens when we sleep in a new environment in which we don’t really feel comfortable (yet) – for example in a hotel. The brain then works in Stone Age mode, so to speak: Because back then, people always had to stay alert to see if there was danger lurking somewhere, even when they were sleeping.
We think we can’t sleep – and that’s exactly why we really don’t sleep
This primeval functioning of our brain can still be used today. When we’re stressed or feeling unsafe, our brains may not shut down properly when we sleep. Then the next morning we think, “I really didn’t sleep at all”—even though we didn’t. dr Lederle explains: “In this state, our sleep quality is not as good as in deep REM sleep, but we mistakenly perceive it as no sleep at all.”
This sleep perception gap becomes really problematic when we sabotage ourselves and make our sleep disorders worse. If our thoughts are constantly revolving around the fact that we can’t sleep and that we certainly won’t close our eyes again tonight, then that can actually happen – or at least that’s how we perceive it because we don’t sleep relaxed, but with a half-awake brain.
How to break out of the vicious cycle of the sleep perception gap
It may sound easier than done, but what really helps is one thing above all: relaxation. Because freaking out all day in anticipation of a (supposedly) sleepless night is likely to do just that. In the case of insomnia, it is important to take the pressure off the subject. And maybe even the information helps to see the sleep perception gap, the whole thing a little more relaxed. After all, most people sleep more than they probably think they do. In addition, you can also try the classic relaxation methods, such as meditation, yoga, a nice tea or a good book – whatever helps you personally to find a little peace.
Sources used: webmd.com, glamourmagazine.co.uk