With no evidence other than my experience, I divide people into those who awaken gradually and those who do so abruptly. I suspect that people may get along better if they can at least sometimes use the same awakening style as each other.
All my life, I have felt strongly that full, deep sleep is important. As a 5th grade teacher, I felt that having a good sleep was the single best preparation for the day that a student could have. I realize that not everyone can manage good sleeping conditions but they do matter. So, when possible, I like to let everyone, including me, wake up naturally, on their own, without an alarm clock. I used an alarm for years so I would be on time and I have nothing against them. But, to me, it is better if I wake up on my own five or ten minutes before it is set to go off.
That means that if someone is sleeping late, I like to be so quiet that I am not the cause of their wake-up. I doubt if is ever possible to be completely certain what sounds might lead the ears to signal the brain to come out of it but I like to try being very quiet. Very quietly putting my foot down and then slowly and gently putting my weight on that foot. My biggest difficulties are the sound of flushing toilets and running water. Our coffee-maker is quiet to use but the smell of coffee can awaken sleepers, too. For some sleepers, light itself can awaken, even though the eyes are closed.
Technology has helped. I like to turn my modem off at night but I have it plugged into a remote control switch that allows me to turn it on from the other end of the house. Similarly, we have a lamp that can be turned on when one of us is awake to signal that noise is ok. It too can be turned on remotely.
I have read that for most of the time there have been people, they tended to sleep in a mass. I picture a litter of puppies asleep in a box in various states of body overlap. A friend introduced me to the interesting book The Head Trip by Jeff Warren, about all the various ways we can be conscious. That book elicited pictures of people living before candles or electric light bulbs. Most of time, adult humans can't sleep as much as the hours of darkness there are each day. Thus, people typically awoke in the midst of their sleep, became quite awake, and worked on small tasks or simply stared for a while, before resuming sleep. That pattern meant more than one waking up each night.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
