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Bookmarked in case I ever have trouble sleeping. I have the opposite problem, I can just fall asleep pretty much anywhere and in any position. Just had a tripl

Bookmarked in case I ever have trouble sleeping. I have the opposite problem, I can just fall asleep pretty much anywhere and in any position. Just had a triple espresso or four cold brews, no problem. I frequently take “desk naps” throughout the day. I’ll set a timer for 15 minutes and lay my head down on my wrist rest. I fall asleep in less than a minute. Does anyone know if there is a name for that? I generally refer to it as controllable narcolepsy or “luck”.

hh3k0 9y ago
That could be many things, to be honest. I wonder, though, since you particularly mentioned "desk naps": Does focussing on your work exhaust you to the point of sleepiness?
- odammit 9y ago
  I usually do it when I can’t figure something out or I’m flip flopping on a solution (software engineer). I originally started doing it to try to take my mind off the problem to not overthink it. But then I’d find that I’d slept for an hour or so. Thus the timer.
rsyring 9y ago
My son has narcolepsy. When they tested him using a day time sleep study, it was his ability to fall asleep quickly, in just a couple minutes, that was the primary indicator of his condition. I believe the doctor said an ability to fall asleep and hit a certain deep stage of sleep in less than eight minutes is what they look for. In movies and such narcolepsy is often portrayed as uncontrollably falling asleep mid-activity. Turns out that's not actually narcolepsy but a specific form of cataplexy. They are often present together, but are distinct. My son, for example, has very strong narcolepsy but relatively mild cataplexy.
- odammit 9y ago
  Oh so it could actually be narcolepsy and I’ve just been an ass making a joke about it for years. I’m not familiar beyond the movie tropes (that I now know are misrepresentations). Are there complications or other serious things that it can lead to? Are people with narcolepsy generally deep sleepers?
  - rsyring 9y ago
    I think tiredness and ability to sleep quickly are less binary and more of a spectrum. My wife, for example, is often tired and can fall asleep anywhere and relatively quickly. It affects our lives a bit, but it's not life dominating. She can push through it when needed. My son, when not on meds, is always very tired, debilitating so. It's life dominating. He can sleep 12 hours, have breakfast, and sleep a few more hours, etc. It's not just a matter of being able to sleep or wanting to sleep, he feels exhausted roughly 20 of 24 hours a day. He would not wake up in 15 mins because a timer went off. I, on the other hand, am rarely physically tired, even when I've not got a lot of sleep. So, it may be that you are just more on the tired end of the spectrum. If your tiredness and ability to fall asleep quickly has more than a casual negative effect on your life, it may be something to talk to your doctor about. HTH.
    - odammit 9y ago
      Thanks for all the info! I’m generally not tired until nighttime. It started as a way to relax my thoughts when working. I’m going to bring it up at my next physical though!
  - joveian 9y ago
    People with narcolepsy frequently have trouble staying asleep at night. With narcolepsy, the brain jumps into REM sleep, so it can be very difficult to get enough of the slow wave sleep that is the most vital form of sleep. It can sometimes get worse over time, but I don't know of major complications other than those directly caused by the sleep trouble and AFAIK treatment is entirely symptom based at this point. Medical treatments for sleep disorders are generally not that good (but in some cases better than nothing). Ideopathic hypersomnia or other hypersomnias might cause your symptoms also (maybe more likely if you are a deep sleeper). Antihistamine use might also make that easier (even second generation antihistamines affect some people that way and some random medications are also antihistamine). Or it could just be luck as you say that you are able to do that :). Unless there is more than what you mention, it sounds like an entirely good thing at this point and hopefully if so it will stay that way. I've heard some people with that ability call it a superpower and as someone who has trouble getting to sleep it certainly sounds like one to me. The rare diseases summary of narcolepsy notes: "However, because narcolepsy often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed, determining its true frequency in the general population is difficult. The onset of narcolepsy can occur anytime between early childhood and 50 years of age. Two peak time periods have been identified; one around 15 years of age and another around 36 years of age. Some researchers believe that narcolepsy is under-diagnosed in children. Narcolepsy tends to remain a lifelong condition. Although the nature and severity of symptoms experienced by an affected person may varying over time, the disorder is not progressive." https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/narcolepsy/ https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/narcolepsy/ Edit: As someone mentions above, sleep apnea can also cause this and can be treated.
huffmsa 9y ago
Boredom. Your body is not engaged or interested in what it's doing, so it seems no reason to not sleep.

hh3k0 9y ago

That could be many things, to be honest. I wonder, though, since you particularly mentioned "desk naps": Does focussing on your work exhaust you to the point of sleepiness?

odammit 9y ago
I usually do it when I can’t figure something out or I’m flip flopping on a solution (software engineer). I originally started doing it to try to take my mind off the problem to not overthink it. But then I’d find that I’d slept for an hour or so. Thus the timer.

rsyring 9y ago

My son has narcolepsy. When they tested him using a day time sleep study, it was his ability to fall asleep quickly, in just a couple minutes, that was the primary indicator of his condition. I believe the doctor said an ability to fall asleep and hit a certain deep stage of sleep in less than eight minutes is what they look for. In movies and such narcolepsy is often portrayed as uncontrollably falling asleep mid-activity. Turns out that's not actually narcolepsy but a specific form of cataplexy. They are often present together, but are distinct. My son, for example, has very strong narcolepsy but relatively mild cataplexy.

odammit 9y ago
Oh so it could actually be narcolepsy and I’ve just been an ass making a joke about it for years. I’m not familiar beyond the movie tropes (that I now know are misrepresentations). Are there complications or other serious things that it can lead to? Are people with narcolepsy generally deep sleepers?
- rsyring 9y ago
  I think tiredness and ability to sleep quickly are less binary and more of a spectrum. My wife, for example, is often tired and can fall asleep anywhere and relatively quickly. It affects our lives a bit, but it's not life dominating. She can push through it when needed. My son, when not on meds, is always very tired, debilitating so. It's life dominating. He can sleep 12 hours, have breakfast, and sleep a few more hours, etc. It's not just a matter of being able to sleep or wanting to sleep, he feels exhausted roughly 20 of 24 hours a day. He would not wake up in 15 mins because a timer went off. I, on the other hand, am rarely physically tired, even when I've not got a lot of sleep. So, it may be that you are just more on the tired end of the spectrum. If your tiredness and ability to fall asleep quickly has more than a casual negative effect on your life, it may be something to talk to your doctor about. HTH.
  - odammit 9y ago
    Thanks for all the info! I’m generally not tired until nighttime. It started as a way to relax my thoughts when working. I’m going to bring it up at my next physical though!
- joveian 9y ago
  People with narcolepsy frequently have trouble staying asleep at night. With narcolepsy, the brain jumps into REM sleep, so it can be very difficult to get enough of the slow wave sleep that is the most vital form of sleep. It can sometimes get worse over time, but I don't know of major complications other than those directly caused by the sleep trouble and AFAIK treatment is entirely symptom based at this point. Medical treatments for sleep disorders are generally not that good (but in some cases better than nothing). Ideopathic hypersomnia or other hypersomnias might cause your symptoms also (maybe more likely if you are a deep sleeper). Antihistamine use might also make that easier (even second generation antihistamines affect some people that way and some random medications are also antihistamine). Or it could just be luck as you say that you are able to do that :). Unless there is more than what you mention, it sounds like an entirely good thing at this point and hopefully if so it will stay that way. I've heard some people with that ability call it a superpower and as someone who has trouble getting to sleep it certainly sounds like one to me. The rare diseases summary of narcolepsy notes: "However, because narcolepsy often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed, determining its true frequency in the general population is difficult. The onset of narcolepsy can occur anytime between early childhood and 50 years of age. Two peak time periods have been identified; one around 15 years of age and another around 36 years of age. Some researchers believe that narcolepsy is under-diagnosed in children. Narcolepsy tends to remain a lifelong condition. Although the nature and severity of symptoms experienced by an affected person may varying over time, the disorder is not progressive." https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/narcolepsy/ https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/narcolepsy/ Edit: As someone mentions above, sleep apnea can also cause this and can be treated.

huffmsa 9y ago

Boredom. Your body is not engaged or interested in what it's doing, so it seems no reason to not sleep.