You are always awake

Consciousness never sleeps

When I was in my 20s, I had bad insomnia. It started the night before one of my university finals when I couldn’t fall asleep - and a seed of doubt was sewn which subsequently grew into a significant issue.

I felt like I had forgotten how to fall asleep. It seemed like sleeping was a process that I should be an active participant in, as if it were something that could be forced. Yet inevitably the more I tried, the more elusive it became.

Things are thankfully much improved but looking back, I recognise part of my confusion stemmed from the fact that we never actually experience falling asleep.