Have you ever felt like you slept through the entire night, and yet at the same time, didn't at all?

Well, believe it or not, there's a whole name for that occurrence and here it is. 

What Is Paradoxical Insomnia?

This is a form of insomnia where people believe they barely slept, but sleep studies show they got normal or near-normal sleep. Also called sleep state misperception, subjective insomnia, or subjective-objective sleep discrepancy (SOSD).

People with this condition often don't feel rested, even after a full nights sleep.

It's not rare,  up to 24% of insomniacs may experience SOSD. Around half of people with insomnia sleep more than six hours a night similar to healthy sleepers.

Why does it happen?

People may not perceive sleep accurately, especially during transitions between sleep stages. Brain imaging shows wake-like activity in deeper brain regions even when someone appears asleep.

This suggests an altered state of consciousness not fully awake, not fully asleep.

Can you experience it?

Even good sleepers may misjudge early sleep stages. People with paradoxical insomnia are more likely to:

- Feel awake during REM sleep

- Report being awake after multiple hours of sleep

- Misjudge sleep during serial awakening studies

What can you do?

CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) is effective for both regular insomnia and SOSD. Besides that, paradoxical intention is also  a technique that encourages people to stop trying so hard to sleep can be helpful.

Worrying about sleep can worsen SOSD, so reducing anxiety is key.