Posted by Dream_on on March 15, 2009 at 00:39:20:

I recently read Gayle Greene's book, "Insomniac." She used a term that I will always remember; "Sleep Pressure." Good sleepers have naturally good, strong sleep pressure. Sleep pressure being defined as that overwhelming drowsy feeling that normal sleepers experience at bedtime. They literally can't keep their eyes open.

I guess it's obvious that what we are doing when we take a sleeping pill is we are trying to artificially create this sleep pressure sensation that will allow us to sleep. I think what shuts down our natural sleep pressure can be attributed to many different factors and some are very complex as we all know.

After reading her term, "sleep pressure," I began to think of all the people I know who have very strong sleep pressure.

I once witnessed an entire family of five seated onboard a jet plane virtually fall sound asleep simultaneously within five minutes after we were airborne. I was astounded.

Many of my relatives on my spouse's side of the family fall asleep within minutes after riding as passengers in a car. I know this because I'm usually the driver and watch in the rear-view mirror as they nod off one by one. It always amazes me because I can't even sleep in my own bed under ideal conditions.

Now, here is something that will sound really funny, but it demonstrates just how powerful sleep pressure can be with some people. My brother-in-law used to work the 2nd shift about 5 miles from his house. On his car drive to and from work, the entire distance, he would have to have the window rolled down AND repeatedly slap his face to prevent himself from falling asleep at the wheel. I swear this is true. One night, a cop in a parked police cruiser observed this bizarre behavior and pulled him over. My brother-in-law, with his reddened face (from slapping) explained to the cop that this was how he kept himself awake while driving. The cop couldn't believe it and gave him a sobriety test on the spot. Once he passed the test he was allowed to go on his way, slapping his face of course.

My brother-in-law has the strongest sleep pressure I have ever seen.

On another occasion I remember being over my relatives house early one evening. The family and extended family were planning to take a long distance car trip to Canada the next morning. They wanted to go to sleep early so they could start the trip early the next morning. I watched in utter amazement as most of the family laid down in unison on the floor in the family room. Within minutes they were all asleep even with the lights on and with me still talking with another family member! They had simply willed themselves to go to sleep! It was six people, all at once! They willed themselves to go to sleep...imagine that my fellow insomniacs. I will never forget that scene.

Now, there's an aspect to this that I want to explain. The unknown family that I observed on the plane, my spouse's family and extended family are all of a specific ethnicity of which I am not. And, yes, my spouse of course is also of that ethnicity and also has extremely strong, natural sleep pressure. During my 26 year marriage, my spouse has never once used any type of sleep aid and cannot understand why I need to.

My personal observations lead me to believe that natural sleep pressure is largely genetically based.

So, now I am wondering; have any of you also noticed that certain ethnicities seem to typically possess strong, healthy sleep pressure?

Follow Ups:

• Re: Sleep Pressure F43 13:59 3/15/09 (0)

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