Complete engrossment
November 11th
As I do every morning, after waking up, I looked at my watch to see how long I was asleep. And my watch told me that it was 9 hours and 37 minutes. I was astounded. I don't recall sleeping over 9 hours in years. There are days when I sleep over eight hours and even though I feel rested, I feel like I am cheating myself and not doing something productive. I aim for seven hours of sleep a night, and most of the time I get about this much of a night's rest without a problem and a regret.
But sleeping well over nine hours? I felt like something was wrong — I remembered turning off the lights and checking the clock at 11 pm, and it was 7 am when I woke up, which means 8 hours. Where this extra hour and a half came from? I had to check the details on my phone. And it showed me that it registered me falling asleep at around 9 pm, then being awake for a short while before 11 pm, and then falling asleep again until the morning. I knew it was wrong.
From about 8.30 pm to right before falling asleep around 11 pm, I was reading a book. And I wasn't even in bed. I was sitting in my comfy reading chair, with some choral music in the background (in recent months, I found out that classical music is a perfect backdrop for evening relaxation and reading for me. Specifically, from classical music — choral music from Renaissance and Baroque fits me the best). And apparently, I became so still and so engrossed in reading, that my heart rate and breathing became so relaxed and slowed down as to mimic sleeping. And that’s how it was registered by my smartwatch.
That small and rather insignificant thing made me very happy. I felt a warm, pleasant emotion inside. I felt good about this and quite proud of myself. Reading is, was, and I expect it to be an extremely important part of my life. And the fact that I can still become so engrossed in a book that I don't move a muscle and even my heart and lungs slow down, feels just phenomenal and satisfying. I feel very well-pleased with this knowledge about myself.
