5 replies to this topic

[Royal]

I'm having a discussion with a wife about wether or not the mind can tell time during sleep? It started like this. Every morning my alarm goes off at 6:30,and I always wake up a few seconds before it chimes.So I reset the alarm to 6:45, and the same thing happened.She says its because my concious mind knows that the alarm is set to whatever and it reacts accordingly.I think that my mind is playing a trick on me,by making me think I was awake before the alarm sounds.Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[Mr Right Wing]

Royal, on 13 December 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

I'm having a discussion with a wife about wether or not the mind can tell time during sleep? It started like this. Every morning my alarm goes off at 6:30,and I always wake up a few seconds before it chimes.So I reset the alarm to 6:45, and the same thing happened.She says its because my concious mind knows that the alarm is set to whatever and it reacts accordingly.I think that my mind is playing a trick on me,by making me think I was awake before the alarm sounds.Anybody have any thoughts on this?

I think you already know the answer but you're trying to undermine it as you dont believe your mind could do that.

[Armchair Educated]

if you go to bed at 11 every day and then you stay up later, your body feels tired, by the same logic your body will remember to wake up at a certain time, i think

[Imaginarynumber1]

Royal, on 13 December 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

I'm having a discussion with a wife about wether or not the mind can tell time during sleep? It started like this. Every morning my alarm goes off at 6:30,and I always wake up a few seconds before it chimes.So I reset the alarm to 6:45, and the same thing happened.She says its because my concious mind knows that the alarm is set to whatever and it reacts accordingly.I think that my mind is playing a trick on me,by making me think I was awake before the alarm sounds.Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Circadian Rhythm

Quote

The primary circadian "clock" in mammals is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (or nuclei) (SCN), a pair of distinct groups of cells located in thehypothalamus. Destruction of the SCN results in the complete absence of a regular sleep–wake rhythm. The SCN receives information about illumination through the eyes. The retina of the eye contains "classical" photoreceptors ("rods" and "cones"), which are used for conventional vision. But the retina also contains specialized ganglion cells which are directly photosensitive, and project directly to the SCN where they help in the entrainment of this master circadian clock.
These cells contain the photopigment melanopsin and their signals follow a pathway called the retinohypothalamic tract, leading to the SCN. If cells from the SCN are removed and cultured, they maintain their own rhythm in the absence of external cues.
The SCN takes the information on the lengths of the day and night from the retina, interprets it, and passes it on to the pineal gland, a tiny structure shaped like apine cone and located on the epithalamus. In response, the pineal secretes the hormone melatonin. Secretion of melatonin peaks at night and ebbs during the day and its presence provides information about night-length.
Several studies have indicated that pineal melatonin feeds back on SCN rhythmicity to modulate circadian patterns of activity and other processes. However, the nature and system-level significance of this feedback are unknown.
The circadian rhythms of humans can be entrained to slightly shorter and longer periods than the Earth's 24 hours. Researchers at Harvard have recently shown that human subjects can at least be entrained to a 23.5-hour cycle and a 24.65-hour cycle (the latter being the natural solar day-night cycle on the planetMars).^[27]

[Royal]

Thankyou for the responses,I can always get good feedback from UM'ers.These questions came out of a conversation about me being a lifelong morning person and if that had any correlation with the time of day I was born.

[John from Lowell]

Royal, on 13 December 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

I'm having a discussion with a wife about wether or not the mind can tell time during sleep? It started like this. Every morning my alarm goes off at 6:30,and I always wake up a few seconds before it chimes.So I reset the alarm to 6:45, and the same thing happened.She says its because my concious mind knows that the alarm is set to whatever and it reacts accordingly.I think that my mind is playing a trick on me,by making me think I was awake before the alarm sounds.Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Many years ago I wanted to establish a better relationship with my subconscious mind. I did this by not using an alarm clock. I tell myself what time I wish to wake up the next day and leave that task in the hands of my subconscious. This works for me.

In your case you could ask to wake up 5 minutes before the alarm goes off. You could vary that to 4 minutes or 6 minutes from day to day until you reach a point where you can trust your self-that inner self who is you and who is always awake.

Learning to not use an alarm clock can be like another step into expanding your awareness about your self.

Best Wishes!!
John