SLEEPY TIMEOn some days our meditation practice can provide an excellent source of much needed sleep. This is nothing to worry about. Most of us in the United States do not get enough sleep, trying to get by on five or six hours when we need a minimum of eight, as the sleep scientists tell us.
So when a sleep-deprived person sits comfortably, perhaps closes their eyes, and tries to meditate, what tends to happen is a recipe for napping, not awareness. In fact, today I spent a nourishing hour of meditation completely asleep. Every now and then I would realize this and, with great will, lift my bobbing head up. But soon it would go back down, and I would be sound asleep again.
Sometimes we don’t actually fall asleep but exist in a kind of dreamy presleep state. Or we feel like we’re floating around, not really anchored to anything, not so aware, but not actually asleep. There are many meditative states that are close to sleepiness, so it’s easy to get them confused. The test is whether or not there is awareness present. If not, it’s likely you were asleep, which may have made you feel quite peaceful, but not so aware. Sometimes we can feel like we’re resting in natural awareness when we’re actually dreamy, spacey, or sleepy.
What do we do? Most importantly, don’t make it into a problem. Try to practice at a time of day when you are least likely to get sleepy. If you do notice sleepiness occurring, open your eyes and stand up. Take a break.
Or take a nap and try again later; it’s possible that you just needed sleep. Years ago my great-aunt, who was in her eighties, would attend my mindfulness classes at UCLA. She was struggling with insomnia. She later informed me she got the best sleep of the week in my classes. I thought that was a great success.
Awareness can be present even in sleepiness. To determine if it is, here’s what you can look for:
• You can notice what sleepiness feels like in your body, practicing a deliberate mindfulness of the state of sleepiness and your reaction to it. (Aversion, anyone?)
• You can try to tap into an underlying sense of awareness that is present even while you are sleepy.
We can notice, be curious about, and connect with awareness no matter what the circumstances are—including being sleepy. That is the beauty of awareness. It doesn’t require life to be a certain way in order for it to be present. Awareness is always present. Just tap into it, even in the midst of the sleepiest mind experience.
(I know you are going to ask, “Is awareness present when you are asleep?” Honestly, I can’t answer that question.)