Q:

と particle usage - am I understanding it correctly?

These two sentences don't seem to fit to the grammar rules on と that I've been able to dig up so far:

ぼんやりとした意識｛いしき｝のまま窓｛まど｝に視線｛しせん｝をやると、とっくに日が昇｛のぼ｝っていた。

This form seems to fit と as an 'if/when' conjunction, however the grammar book I'm using states that と must be a natural consequence of the verb clause the precedes it [lit: "a subordinate conjunction which marks a condition that brings about an noncontrollable event or clause"]. Surely, the speaker turning her head couldn't have caused the sun to have "risen a long time ago" (this doesn't make any sense to me, at least)?
What else is it, then?
From the context it seems to be "when I turn my head, I see the sun's already risen" but I this is pure conjecture on my part. How does と work here?
The next sentence seems to fit another familiar structure, と used as a particle to list things:

冬｛ふゆ｝にしては暖｛あたた｝かな空気｛くうき｝と、シーツにくるまりたい欲求｛よっきゅう｝と少しだけ格闘｛かくとう｝した。

So ～空気と、～欲求と少しだけ格闘した would make sense from pure grammar standpoint but it doesn't make sense when I translate it as "I [slightly] grapple with the temptation to roll up in my sheets and (???) the air that is quite warm considering it's winter". Fighting a temptation makes perfect sense but fighting air? Is it just a creative quirk on the author's part (and I'm completely fine with that if it's the case here) or am I completely misunderstanding something from the grammar standpoint?
よろしくお願いします

A:

ぼんやりとした意識のまま窓に視線をやると、とっくに日が昇っていた。

The と is like "when I ~~, (I found) ~~".

冬にしては暖かな空気と、シーツにくるまりたい欲求と少しだけ格闘した。

The first と means "and", connecting 空気 and シーツ; you want to roll up in the warm air and the sheets. 
The second と is "against"; you fight against your desire, or resist the temptation (=欲求と格闘).　

