“During sleep, my consciousness and sensory activity is altered – I love the condition of being cut off from the awareness of 'being' very much.”

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DURING THE DAY?

I‘m a doctor working in a private hospital in Graz, Austria, as a general practitioner. I was born in Ljubljana - the Capital of Slovenia, and left my hometown for studies. During my medical studies I was working as self-employed with families and children and I did a bit of modelling and fashion as well. 

ARE YOU AN EARLY BIRD?

I never was an early bird, I need lots of sleep, therefore my week consists of sleeping and working, due to my work life which means doing 25-hour-shifts at the hospital, I’m in a state of a permanent jet lag. 

HOW DOES YOUR JOB INFLUENCE YOUR SLEEP PATTERN?

I really try hard on getting a sleeping routine since being forced to work for 25 hours through the whole night. This working life always fucks up my circadian biorhythm leaving my mood at rock bottom for the rest of the day. During sleep, my consciousness and sensory activity is altered – I love the condition of being cut off from the awareness of „being“ very much. There has been a great deal of research into potential methods to relieve the effect of sleep inertia, caffeine ritually helps me as well as light at dawn and driving sound.

Night time workers sleep at average 3 hours less than daytime workers due to sleeping during the day is generally shorter and less consolidated. Acute sleep deprivation often occurs when working long shifts without breaks - depending on the fact that I‘m often awake for more than 25 hours this results in a major lack of sleep. When I go to my duty room in the evening I hope to not having many emergency actions during the night.

I'm simply trying to get as much sleep as I can, so I‘m sleeping 9-10 hours in advance to prepare for the working night.

HOW DOES YOUR ALARM SOUND?

Successive high-frequent electronic beeping. My clinical beeping alarm though is a sequence of tones I‘m conditioning with work and it always catches my attention when I hear it elsewhere.

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS YOU DO IN THE MORNING?

In the morning I'm quickly checking cell phone messages, I mostly don‘t have time to check messages later, leaving a lot of them unanswered. Checking the messages before going to bed would keep me awake longer.

DO YOU LIKE HAVING BREAKFAST?

I have no time for breakfast on workdays, actually I never have breakfast at the conventional time because when I can sleep long it is mostly lunch or dinner I‘m starting with. I eat loads of vegetables and meat in a long routine. 

DO YOU THINK YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP, AND WHAT ARE YOUR NIGHTTIME RITUALS?

I never get enough sleep! I do love the smooth and soft feeling when I get enough sleep.
I determine a time that I want to be in bed, counting in that under normal circumstances it will take me approximately one or two hours to fall asleep, when I’m not in lack of sleep. It‘s more of a mind work to bring down my energy level, but watching TV shows in bed helps as well.

FAVORITE SLEEPING POSITION?

On the belly or on the side.

WHERE DO YOU SLEEP BEST?

In my own bed in my flat.

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS?

I only remember my dreams when I sleep enough and mostly those are nightmares. I used to dream me flying or losing my teeth when I was younger and I love to analyze my dreams with my father who is a psychotherapist.

DID YOU EVER HAVE AN IDEA IN A DREAM THAT YOU BROUGHT TO REAL LIFE?

The vast majority of our ideas enter our subconscious minds, often our thoughts pop into awareness before bedtime while brain cells are to link up-allowing for more creative thinking. I can remember having eureca-effect moments on that way, but real night dreams are mostly very chaotic and incoherent. We can analyze and approach the inner world, the traumas or hidden desires or fears by speaking about them. 

At daytime I‘m mostly aroused from a pleasant daydream, I like daydreaming - a parallel world where I put myself into different pleasant situations and roles. 

DO YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU WEAR FOR SLEEPING?

I love wearing natural cotton basics as well as silk, mostly wearing the seamless side on my skin and the stitching turned outside.

DESCRIBE YOUR BED IN 3 WORDS?

Grounded breathing platform.

WHAT IS THE MOST SPECIAL SPOT YOU'VE EVER SLEPT IN OR FALLEN ASLEEP?

I once fell asleep in the library, while studying anatomy. I woke up with my head on the book I was reading and my saliva dribbling from my mouth tickling my chin. 

FROM A MEDICINAL STANDPOINT, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS WHILE WE SLEEP?

Sleep plays an important role in the function of the brain by forming and processing new pathways and helping improving memory, learning and creativity. But it’s also essential for maintenance of physical health, healing and repairing of cells and processes of growth and development of the immune system. There are different sleep cycles that oscillate during our sleep, slow-wave (deep) sleep and REM sleep. During slow wave sleep secretion of various hormones, homeostatic function (for example thermoregulation) occur. This is the period when the neocortical neurons are able to rest which is very important for memory consolidation- the most fascinating processing information system we can work with in our lives! 

ANY RITUALS BEFORE GOING TO BED?

I determine a time that I want to be in bed counting in that it will take me approximately one or two hours to fall asleep when I’m not in lack of sleep. It‘s more of a mind work to bring down my energy level, but watching shows in bed helps as well.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DREAM ABOUT TONIGHT?

Endless orgasm. 🙂