I mean like: How long does it take before you brain goes: oh shit, I exist… I remember, I am a living thing, human, my name is [■■■ ■■■] and my current location is [■■■] and oh shit I’m late for [work/school/event] (or if its weekend, its like: oh… nothing’s happening, life is boring)
Like you know what I’m saying, like the Terminator HUD thing after it reboots and it takes a few seconds before it can identify a target and then recognize its mission… that type of thing.
Or do you wake up and within 1 nanosecond realize the state of your existence?
It varies. If you have this all the time, I’d suspect your sleep duration is not aligned with your sleep cycles. I’ll be more confused if I had dreamy sleep, I’ll be more confused if I wake from REM or deep, and I’ll be very confused if I awake from a dreamy sleep during REM or deep. I don’t think I forget I’m human, but it can take a second to adjust to not having a dream reality. I’m definitely, often enough, entirely confused as to where I am for a moment.
However, this effect is lessened when I awake from light sleep. It feels more natural. There’s a lingering sleepy feeling, but it somehow feels like I’m well rested, even if it’s a short sleep. Sleep cycles are typically 90 minutes (light-rem-deep-rem-light). 6 hours isn’t great, but waking is acceptable. 7.5 is good enough for me. 9 is too much commitment to test.
Ironically, when I drink until bedtime, I can sometimes wake instantly if the timing is right. However, it’s like a low power mode. I’m alert, but lazy. Like I just blinked away my entire sleep. Alcohol tends to prevent REM and disrupt deep sleep.