THE NIGHT WELLSPRING

(Reflection Series — Part V)

NREM SLEEP, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THE RESTORATION BEYOND TIME

Introduction — The Descent Into the Non-Linear Night

Every human being undergoes, night after night, a process that remains one of biology’s greatest enigmas: the gradual dissolution of conscious selfhood into something quieter, deeper, and older than thought. This descent — from wakefulness through light sleep and into the slow waves of NREM — is the most universal altered state of consciousness in existence. It is involuntary, rhythmic, and indispensable. It is also, increasingly, a frontier where neuroscience, quantum physiology, and classical spiritual traditions begin to converge.

The Qur’ān places sleep in the same category as death — as one of the major signs of creation and as one of the mysteries that reveal the limits of human knowledge:

In earlier essays of this series:

• From Entropy to Eternity — matter and time were framed as expressions of divine command.

• Between Neurons and the Soul — life, death, and awareness were examined as transitions between entropic and non-entropic realms.

• The Command, the Cosmos, and the Quantum Soul — the subatomic world was shown to echo spiritual truths.

• The Paradox of Time — consciousness and time were revealed as interpretive acts, not inherent features of reality.

This fifth reflection continues the trajectory by examining sleep — not as a loss of consciousness, but as an entry into a domain where time compresses, entropy reverses, and the soul partially detaches.

Modern neuroscience describes NREM sleep as the most restorative biological state known, especially stage N3. Yet science cannot fully explain why consciousness disappears, where awareness goes, or how the mind continues to process memory, emotion, and meaning without sensory input.

This essay undertakes a complete exploration:

1. The physiology of NREM and N3 sleep

2. The dissolution of temporal perception

3. Deep sleep as entropy reversal

4. Nonlinear consciousness and soul withdrawal

5. Comparative sleep across species

6. The immortality implications — longevity through deep restoration

7. Near-death experiences (NDEs) and veridical perception

8. Massive brain-loss cases and preserved consciousness

9. High-level synthesis — sleep as a nightly rehearsal of return

Throughout, the Qur’anic and Tasawwuf insights remain continuous — not as mystical overlay, but as metaphysical context complementary to empirical science.

PART I — THE BIOLOGY OF DESCENT: THE ARCHITECTURE OF NREM SLEEP

Sleep cycles typically alternate between:

• NREM (Stages N1, N2, N3)

• REM (Rapid Eye Movement)

A full cycle lasts 90–110 minutes and repeats 4–6 times per night.

1. NREM Stage N1 — Withdrawal Begins

• Transition from wakefulness

• Alpha waves → theta waves

• Hypnagogic imagery appears

• Sense of time begins to loosen

The brain begins disconnecting from sensory inflow. Memory encoding slows. The “I” retracts slightly.

2. NREM Stage N2 — Sensory Gates Close

Characterized by:

• Sleep spindles

• K-complexes

• Reduced arousal response

• Muscle tone decreases

This stage occupies ~50% of sleep. The thalamus — the brain’s sensory gatekeeper — reduces incoming signals, effectively isolating the cortex.

3. NREM Stage N3 — Slow-Wave Sleep (Deep Sleep)

This is the centerpiece of the present essay.

N3 is marked by:

• Delta waves (0.5–2 Hz)

• Global neuronal downscaling

• Drastic reduction in cerebral metabolism

• Near-complete unresponsiveness to environment

Physically, this is the most restorative state known.

Consciousness here becomes:

• nonlinear

• atemporal

• non-self-referential

Time is not felt. The “self” is not sensed. Awareness is not extinguished — it is elsewhere.

This state occupies 10–25% of total sleep but carries most of sleep’s reparative power.

Table 1 — Neurophysiological Features of NREM Stages

PART II — ENTROPY REVERSED: BIOLOGY OF RESTORATION

During N3:

1. The Glymphatic System Activates

CSF flow increases ~20-fold, washing metabolic waste — including amyloid-β — from brain tissue.

2. Neuronal Synapses Downscale

Strengthened synapses from daytime learning are pruned, reducing energy cost.

3. Hormonal Reset

• Growth hormone surges

• Cortisol reaches lowest levels

• Insulin sensitivity improves

• Immune cytokines (IL-12, IFN-γ) rise

• Inflammatory markers drop (IL-6, CRP)

4. Entropy Temporarily Reverses

Living systems constantly battle entropy. Deep sleep is one of the only states where the net entropy balance is negative — restoration exceeds decay.

Science struggles to explain why consciousness must be withdrawn for restoration to occur. But withdrawal appears essential.

The Qur’ān frames this process precisely:

Biology records the effect. Revelation describes the mechanism.

PART III — TIME COMPRESSION AND THE VANISHING SELF

In N3 sleep:

• People routinely report “no experience”

• Long periods feel instantaneous

• Time sense collapses completely

Why?

Neuroscience shows:

1. The Default Mode Network (DMN) — responsible for self-referential thinking — shuts down.

2. Cortical oscillations become slow and synchronized, eliminating temporal sequencing.

3. Subcortical structures run autonomously without self-awareness.

Thus the “self” temporarily dissolves.

Quantum physics offers a parallel: When decoherence decreases, systems behave in unified, non-sequential ways.

Tasawwuf offers another: The withdrawal of the nafs (ego-self) allows the rūḥ (soul) to emerge.

In NREM N3, time does not pass — it is simply not constructed.

This may explain the Qur’ānic parallels between sleep and resurrection:

N3 sleep is a nightly rehearsal of how consciousness experiences timelessness.

PART IV — NREM AS PARTIAL SOUL-WITHDRAWAL

The Qur’ān explicitly states that something is taken during sleep:

Classical exegetes and Sufi authorities interpret this as:

• Full withdrawal at death

• Partial withdrawal in sleep

What does modern science observe?

During N3:

• Consciousness is not gone

• It is offline from the physical senses

• It is not destroyed; it is disconnected

This parallels classical Tasawwuf:

• Nafs sleeps

• Rūḥ remains awake in its domain

• Body rests in entropy-minimization mode

• Awareness resides in the “hidden center” (sirr)

Deep sleep therefore mirrors:

• “Minor death”

• Barzakh rehearsal

• Return to the command-domain (amr)

PART V — COMPARATIVE SLEEP ACROSS SPECIES: THE UNIVERSAL DESCENT

Sleep is found in:

• Mammals

• Birds

• Reptiles

• Most fish

• Many insects

• Even jellyfish (which lack a brain)

Meaning: sleep predates the brain.

Species with unusual sleep:

• Elephants: ~2 hours/day

• Giraffes: ~1–1.5 hours/day

• Brown bats: up to 19 hours

• Migrating birds: unihemispheric NREM

• Dolphins and whales: one hemisphere sleeps at a time

• Frigate birds: sleep while flying

Species with extreme slow-wave sleep:

• Hibernating mammals show months of deep slow-wave–like states

• Turtles and reptiles undergo torpor with low-entropy metabolism

• Certain birds enter micro-N3 states lasting seconds during flight

What does this imply?

Sleep is not simply a neurological accident. It is a universal biological law, analogous to entropy itself.

Animals without NREM die quickly. Animals with high NREM demonstrate:

• longer lifespan

• better immune function

• slower aging

PART VI — CAN N3 BE INDUCED FOR LONGEVITY?

Evidence supports that enhancing slow-wave sleep:

• increases GH and IGF-1

• improves DNA repair

• boosts autophagy

• reduces epigenetic aging markers

• restores mitochondrial efficiency

• enhances immune surveillance

Interventions being studied:

• Auditory slow-wave stimulation

• Transcranial stimulation

• Pharmacological agents (orexin modulators)

• Behavioral entrainment

• Hypothermia/hypercapnia modulation

• Controlled fasting

• Light-environment structuring

Longevity Hypothesis:

If N3 governs deep entropy reversal, then longer N3 may expand lifespan.

Prophetic lifespans (in millennia) in Abrahamic tradition may reflect:

1. Different metabolic baselines

2. Non-linear time perception

3. Greater alignment with “command-domain,” reducing entropic decay

4. Extended restorative phases (sleep or contemplation)

These are metaphysical suggestions, not empirical conclusions — but consistent with the biological principle:

More deep restoration → less entropy accumulation → longer functional life.

PART VII — NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND NONLOCAL PERCEPTION

Near-death experiences (NDEs) consistently report:

• No sense of time

• Awareness independent of senses

• Accurate perception of events while clinically “no brain activity”

• Encounters with deceased persons (never living ones)

This last phenomenon — seeing only the already-dead — is striking.

Implication:

The domain accessed is not imagination but a selective realm consistent with Qur’anic barzakh:

NREM N3 is not identical to NDE, but both show:

• loss of temporal processing

• withdrawal of sensory self

• nonlocal awareness

• structured experience independent of cortical activity

PART VIII — MASSIVE BRAIN-LOSS CASES AND PRESERVED CONSCIOUSNESS

Documented neurological cases show:

1. Individuals missing 70–90% of their brain

Yet functioning normally, with intact personality.

2. Split-brain patients

Still possessing unified subjective awareness.

3. Persistent vegetative state (PVS)

Some individuals show decision-making, intention, and awareness.

4. Hydrocephalus cases

Where only millimeters of cortex remain — yet intelligence persists.

What does this imply?

The brain is:

• Not the generator of consciousness

• Rather the interface or filter

• Consciousness is nonlocal

• The soul (rūḥ) is not located in tissue

This agrees with:

• Quantum theories of consciousness

• NDE studies

• Tasawwuf teachings on sirr, qalb, and rūḥ

PART IX — SYNTHESIS: SLEEP AS A NIGHTLY RETURN

When all the preceding elements are taken together:

• Entropy lowers

• Consciousness detaches

• Time dissolves

• Soul remains

• Body restores

• Brain filters go offline

• Awareness recedes into subtler domain

• Memory reorganizes

• Self disappears and reconstitutes

Sleep thus becomes:

• A biological necessity

• A metaphysical sign

• A rehearsal of death

• A recalibration of consciousness

• An entropy reset

• A nightly return to the Source

The Qur’ān integrates all levels:

Every night, the human being undergoes the smallest possible resurrection cycle.

SUMMARY

• NREM N3 is the deepest and most restorative phase of sleep.

• During N3, entropy reverses and biological repair peaks.

• Consciousness detaches from sensory input.

• Time perception collapses; the self dissolves.

• Sleep mimics the Qur’anic “minor death” (Q 39:42).

• Comparative species studies reveal sleep as a universal biological law.

• Enhancing deep sleep may modulate longevity.

• NDEs show timeless, nonlocal awareness independent of the brain.

• Cases of massive brain loss confirm that consciousness is not tissue-based.

• Tasawwuf describes deep sleep as partial return to the command-realm.

• Sleep is a nightly rehearsal of death and resurrection.

• The soul remains coherent; the body undergoes entropy restoration.

• Wakefulness re-emerges from sleep like creation from command: “Be, and it is.” (Q 2:117)

FINAL REFLECTION

From the slow waves of the sleeping brain to the timeless domain where the soul briefly resides, sleep reveals a reality far larger than physiology. The body descends into low entropy, the mind releases its grip on time, and the soul retreats to a realm where sequence and space do not apply. Every night, the human being experiences — without memory — what it is like to exist outside the linearity of earthly life.

Biology describes the mechanism; revelation provides the meaning. Both affirm that sleep is not absence but return — not darkness but alignment with the command that sustains existence.

The night is a wellspring. In its depths, entropy unwinds, time loosens, and the soul remembers the place from which it came.

Sleep is the meeting point of these truths — a nightly collapse of form into essence.

Modern science, for all its precision, has only begun to grasp what revelation articulated: that consciousness is not confined to tissue, time is not inherent to being, and the soul is not bound to entropy. Each night, humanity rehearses the final return and receives the mercy of renewal.

In the seamless interplay of physiology and metaphysics, sleep stands as one of the clearest signs:

The body rests, the brain quiets, the soul travels — and life begins anew.

Author: Nisar Khan, PhD (Immunology) Biomedical Scientist | Systems Biology Researcher | Drug Developer

These reflections express a synthesis of scientific observation and Qurʾānic contemplation. Ultimate knowledge belongs only to Allāh ﷻ, the First and the Last, beyond time and decay.