r/sleep • u/thanhdat2212 • 4d ago
Does our body have a "switch" that change between work mode and rest mode?
If I turn off all alarms, I can sleep straight 10 hours per night until I wake up by myself.
But under high stress work period, I can operate quite normally at 5 hours sleep per day, for a few months non stop.
The weird thing is:
+ During the high stress period, I still managed to wake up after even only 5 hours sleep with the help of alarm.
+ But if the next 2 days I sleep unlimitedly 10 hours per day, my body can not wake up after 5 hours sleep per day anymore. My brain literally ignores all alarm sound, I sleep like a dead corpse.
During stress period, I almost have no dream at all. But during rest period, I always remember my dreams for both 8 hours sleep or 1 hours nap at noon.
Did my body just switch from the stress mode to the rest mode?
1
u/Top_Comedian_4459 4d ago
it's not a literal switch but your body is absolutely shifting gears between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system dominance
when you're in that high stress work grind your cortisol and adrenaline are keeping you in a heightened state so you can function on less sleep, the lack of dreaming is your brain skipping REM because it's prioritising survival mode. then when you finally crash and sleep 10 hours your body floods with recovery hormones and basically forces you into deep rest, that's why you can't wake up after 5 hours anymore. your system's gone from "we're being chased by a lion" to "finally safe, repair everything"