Anyone sometimes "half" awake?

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It sounds like something called sleep paralysis. I don't think that it has anything to do with AS though. It could have something to do with narcolepsy, but it could also simply be the result of stress, having an irregular sleep schedule, or even just sleeping on your back. It happens to me sometimes (I remember once a couple months ago, it happened to me like three times in the same night! I tend to wake up several times throughout the night). I've found the best way to prevent it happening more than once in the same night is to get up, turn on the light, and just walk around (or at least sit up) for a few minutes before going back to sleep after you wake up to sleep paralysis. From what I've read, your body always paralyzes itself when you go to sleep, but sometimes you wake up before you body wakes up and becomes unparalyzed, resulting in awareness of it.

Here's a link to more information about it: Sleep Paralysis

Interesting that this should come up. It's not quite like that for me, but I can relate to the whole "pushing through water and taking a breath" analogy. The truth is, it's very hard for me to break out of my dreamstate. My brain somehow has that set to "default". I have trouble waking up. It makes me very calm most of the time, but doesn't make me very grounded in reality. Sometimes I'm wondering what contexts of life I'm missing.

...does that make sense?

What you're describing sounds like Sleep Paralysis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

There is an interesting article here which connects the usefulness of melatonin supplements helping sleeping patterns in ASD children at least.

So ASD must somehow affect the melatonin levels - or the pineal gland that produces it.

Anyone taken the supplements? With any success?

Although I found some hearsay that melatonin regulates sleep paralysis I'll try and find something more concrete.

Some feel that SP is just annoying but I find it very disturbing. Especially if accompanied by breathing loss or some hallucinatory element such as a 'presence' - or even being trapped there for some time!

Would melatonin tablets help? I'd like to find out more personally.

Thankyou for all your replies - humourous and otherwise!!

Just found a very good article here talking about high seratonin and low melatonin in ASD and why that is the case.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brai ... _sleep.htm

This is a common phenomenon called "Sleep paralysis", everyone has this at least once in their life even though some may not remember it.

It happens to me sometimes but rarely, usually when I am stressed, when it's too hot in my room or when I sleep on my back. Some people may have this more than others but it's perfectly normal.

This does happen to me, I think. My vision also become blurred, and I am aware of what's going on around me, but can't really like react, I can hear people talking, walking just as if I were awake.

But I'm not sure if what it is with me is actually like microsleep. The oddest part is that no one ever notices. I've gone almost entire meeting and stuff and no one notices. Is it possible to microsleep with your eyes open or something? After one of those 'episodes', I come out feeling like I had a good nap, except my eyelids hurt, and I have a slight headache.

well, i don't have the sleep parylisis thing that others have mentioned, but i know what you mean by half awake.
in the mornings waking up, i'm never fully awake and if anything am usually more tired upon waking than i was even before falling asleep in the first place. i can move, but my body mostly just doesn't want to, and at those times my thinking often doesn't feel entirely conscious