All heroes have a habit or two that makes us wonder about them.
G Callen is no different. The habit we talk about the least, is the one that makes G the most interesting in my book: his sleeping habits. Granted, we don’t have much proof of what those habits are exactly, based off of what we’ve seen so far. Only four times have we seen Callen asleep. (And, no, we are not going to count the time he got a concussion from those military extremists, ELE. He was unconscious by someone else’s doing, not because he chose to take a nap.) However, from these, we are able to gather a few conclusions about Callen’s sleeping habits. And these can do us until the powers that be bring us something new to add to the mix.
The times we’ve seen G asleep start with that precious moment when dear Hetty covered an exhausted G Callen with a blanket as he slept on the couch at Headquarters.
Next, was the intense nightmare that involved a parkour-filled chase, ending when G loses the man he’s chasing on a roof. He opens his eyes, and he’s at the office, on the couch, and Hetty’s watching him, holding a cup of tea for him. She needs him awake, with a clear mind. He goes on to shake off the dream and lead the Team to victory, same as always. Yet, this part left me wondering something. How early in the morning does Callen find it still allowable to take a catnap?
Because Sam Hanna, himself, said that G doesn’t sleep. “He catnaps.”
Then, of course, there was the time he fell asleep on the return overseas flight, as did the rest of his Team. This one was rather adorable, because he was asleep with Kensi leaning on him.
And, finally, there was that US Military Supply Transport. Granted, Callen was dozing, but we all assume that he was about to knock out for several hours.
I do have my own thoughts about the probability of Callen having secretly taken anti-motion-sickness pills, since being in a confined space like this would be a tragedy for anyone who suffers from motion-sickness. It would be a great explanation for Callen feeling free to sleep in the presence of others who are awake and chatty… Even if this wasn’t a normal sleeping situation.
Sam has perhaps the most experience with G’s sleeping habits. He has mentioned that Callen ‘barely’ sleeps, and has told Kensi that ‘he doesn’t sleep so you can’t’. Now, taking that, and mixing it with Nate’s insomnia question from Callen’s return after his shooting, we get a picture painted of a guy who really doesn’t like to sleep. Or, has had such a troubling life, he just can’t.
“Yeah, all of that… From before I was shot.” -Callen
So.
Here’s what we know.
- Callen has a bedroll that he prefers to sleep on. And, maybe even the floor seems like a better alternative to beds. (To bad Hetty won’t let him bring it to work…)
- He likes the couch at work for catnapping.
- Callen gets his sleep in small spurts.
- He dreams at least occasionally about the latest things in his life.
- He twitches when he dreams.
- If he feels safe, he can turn off his brain fairly easily and sleep on demand. (Need further research on this, but I know he doesn’t worry about closing his eyes around Sam. Like the end of that day when they took down ELE.)
- Sleeping on a plane is no problem.
These observations are yours for consumption, Callen Fans. Sound off. Callen’s sleeping habits just became discussion material. And, whoever is squeeing over there in the back, calm down, or I’ll take the pictures down.
Special thanks to @wwwserena for said pictures.
#CallenSleep
How does someone look so good and have so much energy with so little sleep? I’m envious. He needs a woman in his life -he’d most likely sleep more 😉
I LOVE the last picture.
Crystal
he’d sleep more if he had a woman in his life….hmmm..or not ;)**twinkle**twinkle**
LOL! I was thinking after a long day at work and a long evening at home his “woman”, he’d sleep more at night 😉 But yeah if he was working a lot, his “woman” might want as much time with him as possible and that might interfere with his time to sleep 🙂
Hetty covering him is just an adorable moment. That tiny but tough guardian angel at work again!
You are most welcome for ‘said’ pics, Keviana!
I’ve always envied that Callen manages to stay sharp and do a good job despite getting so little sleep!
BUT when he does sleep, he is superbly adorable and he looks so calm (or maybe he’s just exhausted from the lack of sleep, I know I would be!) so much so I used ‘said’ pics of him to convey a message of good sleep / rest on twitter! Lol.
If Callen got more sleep he’d have supernatural powers!!
or better: If he got more sleep he’d remember more things from his past.Let’s get this man to sleep!!
Love the pics!The one with Kensi is adorable indeed.
I’ve always wondered how he functions when he barely sleeps. If I don’t get a good nights sleep, I tend to yawn through my entire day.
And yes, the picture of him and Kensi asleep on the plane is extremely adorable:)
‘Legend says when you can’t sleep at night, it’s because you’re awake in someone else’s dream.’
No wonder Callen never sleeps: with all those enemies it’s impossible, IF this Indian Legend is true.
But most probable it is the motion sickness indeed and he uses medication that makes him sleepy. That indeed must prove that Sam is a perfect driver, since I’ve never seen Callen sleepy in the Challenger 😉
Reminds me that I would love to be on that intercontinental flight; might have asked Kensi if she would want to swap seets so she’d have some more space for her nap 🙂
Love the pics and love the article. I also like the concept that he doesn’t sleep- it is just another part of the puzzle that makes g callen who he is. I love the ep when everyone else gets woken up from the phones ringing- yet g is taking apart a toaster and practicing his languages- that tells a story in itself!
And yes I am squee’ing- how can anyone not!
Which episode is it when he’s practicing languages at night? I cant remember D: I know it was in the boatshed…
The language practicising is in Season 1 / Ep 21 “Found”. The other team members are sleeping, G is not…
Oh! Thank you so much!!
At the end of Purity he told Alex that if he slept well the first night he was in a good place. Clearly Callen was rarely in a good place when he was growing up. Love the pictures.
Insomnia. Just makes our guy that much more interesting. I like to imagine that his difficulty sleeping stems from his childhood – not feeling safe, sleeping with “one eye open.”
What few times we’ve seen him sleeping, we get just a glimpse of his vulnerability. Maybe that’s why it is so precious.
The post and the pictures were definitely squee-worthy. And I agree with you guys. He IS adorable when he’s asleep.
Which eps are the plane rides from? I’m drawin a complete blank.
Interesting indeed and I think with the recent actions, even less sleep is likely in Callen’s future. Will be interesting to see if anything plays out in Season 5
The episode where the team sleeps on a plane is the end of s4 ep2, Recruit.
Thanks for bringing this up, Keviana! G’s sleeping habits have always fascinated me.
Hetty covering him was one cute moment!
I wonder how he can sleep so little and still look so gorgeous 🙂
As for the scene when he sleeps during that Military Transport flight – he reminds me a lot of Gibbs in that scene, I don’t know why…
There is this one scene in season 2 when Sam stops Kensi from offering Callen a place to sleep explaining all the things G does at night while NOT sleeping. Callen then kind of bounces down the stairs wide awake and full of energy and then he happily says to Sam „You look like crap“ – this scene always cracks me up!!!!
I, too, believe that his sleeping habits are rooted in his past – the need of always being alert, not feeling safe, ready to get up and react quickly if necessary. And that he is able to relax and sleep when Sam is around for me is one more sign of the deep trust between the two of them.
His sleeping habits only add to his mysterious, intriguing character!
@Richtsje: Nice legend you mentioned. It might not only be the enemies’ dreams that prevent Callen from sleeping. I am fairly certain that when this legend is true some of us Callen fans can also be blamed for depriving G of sleep 😉
*coughs*
Don’t you feel any guilt at all?
*coughs*
Thought néver came to my mind. Really?
*coughs*
Oh, and no squeeing this time – I would not want to risk Keviana taking the pictures down 😉
Good one, thanks Kevi!
Well I think his sleeping habits are direct consequences of his past. Sleeping when you don’t feel safe (like in 37 foster homes) doesn’t work properly. He’s not like Sam the Seal who has learned to sleep everywhere and anytime. So he’s still a bad sleeper but learned to go with it. That’s the mysterious G.