Sleeping patterns

[Davetello]

Topic has probably been done already but might as well make a fresh one.

Thought I would ask how people sleep. Do you think you get enough hours? Is it that deep REM sleep or is it pretty superficial? How do you feel when you wake up?

[Netkeeper]

I tend to get between 8-12 hours, but I've gotten more sometimes. I chronically oversleep and it's usually during the day. The time in the morning in which I fall asleep varies [usually between 5 and 10AM].

I usually sleep just fine. I wake up instantly. I don't "need time to wake up" hardly ever and I've actually never understood people that do. It feels weird to me. When I open my eyes, I'm awake, nothing can stop that.

I also tend to have vivid dreams, usually able to remember them when I wake up and many of them are lucid. I've experienced reoccuring dreams, sleep paralysis, sleep talking, and usually once per sleep cycle I enter that weird "I'm asleep but I'm still conscious of what's going on around me" state.

I cannot sleep without a constant source of sound [TV, movie on repeat, music, etc]. Loud sounds don't often wake me up, and when they do, I can usually get right back to sleep.

[CyberCubed]

I usually get around 7 hours of sleep, sometimes less because some nights I just don't fall asleep until about 1-2 hours after resting in my bed.

Does that "count" as sleep by the way? You can be laying in your bed for 1 hour, you know you're still awake, but your eyes are shut and you're resting. And you daydream, etc. think about whatever. Is that a stage of sleep even if you "know" you're still awake?

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I also tend to have vivid dreams, usually able to remember them when I wake up and many of them are lucid. I've experienced reoccuring dreams, sleep paralysis, sleep talking, and usually once per sleep cycle I enter that weird "I'm asleep but I'm still conscious of what's going on around me" state.

I cannot sleep without a constant source of sound [TV, movie on repeat, music, etc]. Loud sounds don't often wake me up, and when they do, I can usually get right back to sleep.


I'm similar to that in some ways. While I don't dream often, I DO tend to remember the ones I have. I've also had sleep paralysis, and I'm almost ALWAYS in that "I'm asleep but still conscious of what going on" state when I sleep. I'm also a notorious night owl. (Take a look at the time of this posting, and you'll see what I mean, LOL!)

However, I can't sleep if there's noise or if I go to sleep and the light conditions change drastically, like if it's pitch dark and my hubby turns on the light in the bathroom, because it shines through the door cracks, and wakes me up. If it's daylight when I fall asleep (I sometimes nap in the middle of the day or wake up really late on my days off) I will wake up if it gets dark.

My "weirdest" sleep habit is two-fold. Chronic insomnia (I sleep very little, usually about four hours tops of actual sleep once I'm in bed) and noise/movement. ANY disturbance will wake me up unless I'm so exhausted that my body simply goes into a mini-coma to recharge. Otherwise, anything from the aforementioned hubby going to the bathroom, to a passing car outside the apartment, to the cat getting on the bed can wake me from my usual light sleep. This is why I rarely dream, since REM requires a deeper kind of sleep than I usually get.

[Powder]

I went to bed at 4PM yesterday & woke up at 12:40 AM. I'm f*cked. Sleep schedules are a foreign concept to me.
I'm a disturbed person. Need between 9-13 hours to not wanna leap off a bridge. :tlol:

[PangolinFeets]

I'm pretty sure I've hacked sleep. I work about 60 hours a week and I'm in a Masters program so unless I stay up forever, I get no time for fun stuff.

Like, its 4am now, for me, and I have to be up at 6:30am for work. As long as I have a Monster in my system, I'll be totally fine until 6pm, where I will then take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. I do this during the week and then I crash for half a day on the weekends.

I usually get about 3-5 hours of sleep a day during the week and I can run pretty well. And I usually hit the gym after work. Some weeks I only get 2-3 hours of sleep a day and I'm still ok.

[Candy Kappa]

I usually try to get at least 6-7 hours sleep, and I try to keep a morning routine by waking up 8 in the morning, it used to be 7, but I like to sleep.

[Metalwolf]

If it's during the night, I sleep about 7 hours. During the day, I sleep more, sometimes 12-15 hours for some reason. I've been sleeping during the day since August, and I don't seem to have the bad effects like there is in other people.

I sleep deeper during the day and tend to wake up less, whereas at night I'm almost always waking up about 1-2 times.

I also tend to lose weight easier when I'm sleeping during the day, while sleeping at night often tends to make me gain it.

I'm less stressed, since I don't have to contend with the sensory issues of eyes being sensitive to light.

Nightlife is nice :)

[Prowler]

It's funny you've made this thread, because I'm currently trying to pull an allnighter. Woke up at 5pm yesterday and been up for about 16 hours now. Even if I manage to stay awake until, let's say, 10pm, it's likely that I'll wake up every 2 hours throughout the night and not be able to sleep past 5am.

Despite fixing and messing my sleep pattern fairly often, I always get a lot of sleep, 8-9 hours most of the time. Hell, if I wobble on the bed after waking up, I'll fall asleep again and only wake up in early-mid afternoon. Not uncommon for me to do that on weekends, thus ending up sleeping about 12 hours. It's very helpful especially after a Friday night where you went out to drink. Good luck getting rid of a hangover by sleeping a few hours only.

[pennydreadful]

I need a lot of sleep, especially when my depression acts up - currently I'm getting at least ten hours on a weeknight and I will fit in naps over the weekend as well where I can.

Like Net, I always sleep with the tv on; I don't usually leave the sound running but I find it harder to doze off in a totally silent, totally black room where nothing's happening.

As far as how deeply I go under, it takes a bit to wake me but I do toss and turn a lot, have night sweats etc... so most of the time I'll actually sleep on top of the blankets and my partner will sleep under them. I have an extra spare blanket that I'll pull over myself and that way I can toss and turn and not worry about taking his share and making him freeze. I am something of the Genghis Kahn of blanket theft.

Never had sleep paralysis; dreams are a mixed bag - sometimes I remember them, sometimes I don't, sometimes they're vivid, more often they're not - I'll usually only remember them if they're really crappy, really erotic or a really good power dream. I do have some particular recurring dreams.

[Netkeeper]

Ah, yes, another note is that ever since I was little, I've found it hard [not impossible] to sleep in total darkness. It always felt unsettling to me. I usually just keep my desktop monitor on.

[BubblyShell22]

I get at least ten hours of sleep every night and if I nap during the day, I usually limit it to one hour. I do find that when I nap a lot, I tend to lose sleep at night, which is why I try very hard not to do so, but it's hard when you have a bad sinus headache and just want to lie down and sleep because it makes you tired. I do remember my dreams if I have any. I also tend to toss and turn and not sleep on one particular side.

[Discogod]

I don't think I've slept more than 4 hours a night for years. As I'm basically a full-time carer when I'm not at work I tend to permanently be "on call", so I'll sleep light, and end up having to get up 4-5 times a night.

I'm so used to it now that if I do sleep more than I'm used to, I feel like crap the next day. I can cope with not having enough sleep, but too much? Just makes me feel hungover.

[Jephael]

I used to be a late nighter, but these days I tend to go to bed anytime between 10:30 to midnight, though for some reason I always wake up at precisely 9:00 in the morning, even though my alarm clock is set to go off at 7:00

[Davetello]

Thanks for all of your contributions, I have enjoyed reading them.

Discogod - amazing that you can get by on four hours of sleep. Plus to be a carer as well - lots of respect.

Prowler - I know how you feel, I've been awake for about 40 hours now. I almost nodded off about an hour ago but strangely I am wide awake again. I find when your eyes momentarily shut (as Cubed refers to above, that sort drifting in and out of sleep state) it can actually refresh you.

What are people views on scientists possibly curing sleep in future? 'Cure' is possibly the wrong term, since the necessity to sleep is not a disease, but it would be very nice if we didn't ever tire. We waste at least a third of our lives sleeping and it seems so unproductive. I know people will say "but beds are comfortable and sleeping feels so good" but the point is that if sleep was cured and we didn't tire we wouldn't really desire rest anyway.

Just wondered what people thought.

[pennydreadful]

Definitely - if I didn't need to sleep, I'd have so much time for other (more fulfilling) things. I hate that so much of my weekends are wasted on sleep.

[Davetello]

Definitely - if I didn't need to sleep, I'd have so much time for other (more fulfilling) things. I hate that so much of my weekends are wasted on sleep.

Yes, many people say life is too short as it is, so to spend 1/3 of it sleeping - minimum - seems like a major waste, really.

[CyberCubed]

On the weekends I oversleep, I seriously don't wake up till 12:30pm....and I always get bitter because I wasted my whole morning sleeping. Yet I can never push myself out of bed when I don't have to go anywhere in the morning. :lol:

It is kinda sad that we waste a large chunk of our lives sleeping. Even if you're not going anywhere outdoors, you can still use that time to catch up on TV and movies, videogames, reading, or whatever else you do in your free time.

[Leo656]

Erratic, to say the least. I'm much more a night person and get much more done at night, I feel much more creative, motivated, and energetic when everyone is asleep and nobody's in my way. I generally get between 4 and 6 "solid" hours and catch catnaps through the day when I can. Due to my work schedule not being a standard 9 to 5, every day is different. Some days, like tonight/tomorrow for example, I'll probably crash around 4 or 5am, wake up around 9:30am for work, be done with my morning appointments and home for lunch by about 1 or 2pm depending if I work out, then catch a nap at some point, head to the other gym for a couple hours of appointments and be done around 9 or 10. Then I gotta cook dinner and take care of other stuff around the house, and make time to play video games and just jerk around. Sometimes I get a Yoga jones around 2am and do that for a half hour, helps me unwind before bed.

It changes day by day, though, I've never had a "set" sleeping schedule. I shoot for a total of 6 to 8 "good" hours per day but they're rarely all at once. Sometimes on a day off I'll overdo it and get about ten hours straight if I have absolutely nothing to do. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes just worn out.

[Slade]

Depends on the shift I'm on. 8am-4pm I go to bed around 11 up at 6. 4pm-12am well I go to bed around 1-2am up at 7am. 12am-8am I go to sleep best I can about 6:30pm get up at 10:30 pm and depending on what I'm doing at work I can sleep for either 6 hours or 2.

[Jester]

Yeah...working 4:30ish PM to 6 in the morning reeks havoc on your sleep schedule. You may only work 3 days a week, but that first day of is wasted sleeping. I get home from work about 6:40 but I need to wind down before bed, so I'm up until at least least 7, maybe 8...I think this morning I pushed 9. And sleeping during the day isn't easy....especially when the kid is playing and being loud...but can't help that...he's 2. So I sleep fitfully until 3:30, get ready for work, leave by 4, get there at 4:30ish and sit on tuchas until 6:00, making it all the harder to stay awake. :P

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I don't think I've slept more than 4 hours a night for years. As I'm basically a full-time carer when I'm not at work I tend to permanently be "on call", so I'll sleep light, and end up having to get up 4-5 times a night.

I'm so used to it now that if I do sleep more than I'm used to, I feel like crap the next day. I can cope with not having enough sleep, but too much? Just makes me feel hungover.


I'm the same way. it doesn't matter how many hours I spend in bed, I usually get maybe four hours of actual sleep- IF I'm lucky. Since my "sleep" is so light to begin with, that four hours isn't even really a full four hours. The rest of the time I spend tossing and turning, getting up, or just lying there with my eyes closed and my mind going 90 miles an hour refusing to shut down.

But the GOOD news is that that time is when I get some of my best story ideas, since my mind tends to go in some really weird directions in the down time before I (FINALLY!) fall asleep.

[DarkFell]

Depends on how my day was like and my mood. If I'm tired from working a long shift, had a rough school day, or I just feel like crap, then I'll do a little over eight hours.

Most of the time my sleep pattern is messed up from simply being a night owl.

[Sumac]

If I had a choice, I'd prefer to go to sleep at 11-12 in morning and wake up somewhere at 6-8 in evening. I actually have done something like that, when I was without job. It felt very good and since I am much more productive and clearheaded during the night, it also was the best time for writing and everything else.

Nowadays I forced to go to sleep at 12 in night and wake up somewhere at 6 in morning. It's not so bad, but it doesn't feel "right" for some reason.

Generally, if I feel like it or really want to, I can fall asleep wherever and whenever I want. It doesn't matter, if I have working TV and computer in the room, I still can get 3-5 hours of sleep. I think, I need, something like 7-8 hours to wake up with a clear head. If I don't, then there is a big chance I will be angry in the morning and will feel myself like a snail for the rest of the day.

I hate that I need to sleep. So many precious time is wasted. And since I often have nightmares or unsettling dreams, it's really something, that I would have gladly got rid of, if I had a chance. Alongside with necessity to eat, of course.

[slashpieturtlemix]

I tend to get about 7-8 hours. It is usually a deep sleep and I do not remember my dreams. I put this to my willingness to not over think things or lay down anxious. Nothing in this world is enough trouble for me to dream about it.

[Discogod]

If I had a choice, I'd prefer to go to sleep at 11-12 in morning and wake up somewhere at 6-8 in evening. I actually have done something like that, when I was without job. It felt very good and since I am much more productive and clearheaded during the night, it also was the best time for writing and everything else.

Yeah, I used to sleep between 4 am and 10 am when I was self-employed. Most of my clients were in the US, so it made sense to keep similar hours. Now I sleep between 11 pm - 5 am, and even after over a year of this routine I still can't get used to it.

I actually took a sleeping pill a few weekends ago - I'd been awake for 4 nights straight and was pretty desperate. Big mistake... Took it around 10 on the Friday, was asleep less than 30 minutes later, woke up Saturday lunchtime feeling like a zombie and didn't shake the drowsiness until Monday. Not a pleasant experience.

[Lethal Lullaby]

I tend to sleep kind of late. Usually starting anywhere from 12-2am until whenever I wake up (sometimes on my own, or by an alarm). My sleep usually consists of me laying there changing positions for I don't even know how long until I can fall asleep. Then sometimes I just randomly wake up in the middle of the night (either for the bathroom, a quick snack because I get the late night munchies, or just no reason at all) I do dream, but I tend to forget them lately. If I sleep for too long I just get more sleepy and it takes me forever to get up out of bed. One night I only slept from 2am until 6am and was able to make it through the day. I notice that when I take naps during the day, which I try to avoid, I tend to have more vivid dreams, and I wake up confused after most of them.

[Sumac]

I actually took a sleeping pill a few weekends ago - I'd been awake for 4 nights straight and was pretty desperate. Big mistake... Took it around 10 on the Friday, was asleep less than 30 minutes later, woke up Saturday lunchtime feeling like a zombie and didn't shake the drowsiness until Monday. Not a pleasant experience.
Never tool sleeping pills or anything like that.
Not sure about their effect on me.

[shuriken]

oh jeez. It depends on my schedule and how much homework i get. SInce I'm an architecture major every once in a while I'll stay up for 26-40 hours with no sleep just working on stuff then sleep 13 hours when I'm done. When that's not happening I'll get 5-7 hours easy. Can't sleep more than that if I haven't been awake for more than a day.

[Davetello]

Mine is still messed up. I collapsed in the afternoon and stayed asleep until about 10pm. It's now 5 am and I have an appointment at 11.30 - too late to really sleep well (risk of oversleeping) and early enough to know that I will be pretty tired by the time I have to leave. This would all be fine but I have an essay due to be submitted on the 11 December. This would not be a problem if not for the fact that I'm behind in the reading and there doesn't appear to be much material of relevance so this might take a few days to write rather than the few hours it generally takes. So, essentially, I'm struggling with messed up sleeping and eating patterns, general fatigue, and the stress of a deadline.

It's at times like this that I wonder what the point in going on is. Life seems to be far more hassle than it's worth. Are the meagre rewards really worth the effort? On balance, I'd have to say a resounding 'no'. Eternal rest sounds far more enticing.

[shuriken]

^^I applaud your articulate yet depressing poetry.
You ever stay up because you can't sleep and end up writing a 10 page short story for no particular reason other than the compulsion of writing a ten page story at 5 in the morning? Cuz I have. And it's wierd

[Davetello]

^^I applaud your articulate yet depressing poetry.
You ever stay up because you can't sleep and end up writing a 10 page short story for no particular reason other than the compulsion of writing a ten page story at 5 in the morning? Cuz I have. And it's wierd

Thanks. Deep but depressing is often my thing. I'm somewhat of a cynical pessimist. I should really be Hungarian - I'd fit in well there.

Nothing wrong with that - at least you're getting something creative done.

[Davetello]

Well, this is totally fvcked up again. This is probably the biggest obstacle to me getting into a really healthy living routine this year. I can't get into a long-term sleep routine.

On New Year's night I went to bed at 1.15 am (after being awake for over 24 hrs). I awoke at 5am, went back to sleep at 8am, awoke at 12.50pm. I've been awake since then, which is approximately thirty hours. So I've had 7-8 hours sleep in the last 72 approx.

I just have no idea how to get into a good routine. I try but one late night just annihilates it & it takes forever to sort it out. My meds help but they don't solve the problem. Might have to live the rest of my life on fvcking sleeping tablets.

[IndigoErth]

Ever done or considered doing one of those sleep studies test things? (If available where you are?) Surely there's a better answer out there then having to live on sleeping pills that aren't working so great. My dad will be doing one of those tests this month, as part of trying to narrow down an issue he's having and see if there are issues occurring during his sleep that could be related.

As for me, a couple rough mornings this week, Monday and today, waking up repeatedly, and a nice headache as a result. Usually I sleep ok most nights, my main problem is just combating my tendency to be a night owl... Ya mean to get off the computer by 1a.m. and before you know it, it's 3:30 or 4. :roll: I wouldn't be doing too good though if I had to get up early right now.

[Davetello]

Yeah, the night owl thing is me as well. It's a real issue isn't it?

Nah, I've never had a sleep test, but thanks for putting it on my radar. There's nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to talk about this with some experts, so there's a strong chance I will look into that. There's certainly something not right, though. I went to sleep at 8 pm and I've just woke up. It's only 2.35 am, so that's less than 7 hours. Given how sleep deprived I was I should have slept for twelve hours or so. Very concerning. So yeah, I think I will look into the sleep test which you suggest. Thanks.

[ProactiveMan]

I try to get at least seven hours, but I can't always fall asleep easily so I often get much less than that.

I've got a really stiff neck, and lying in bed sometimes causes compression and irritation of a cluster of nerves. Unfortunately, they are the nerves that govern the 'fight or flight' response, and when they act up, my body reacts as if I'm under attack i.e. my heart rate goes way up, I become hyper alert, and I get hit by a bunch of adrenalin. It happens about once a month, and it takes a good couple of hours to calm back down. Suffice to say, if it happens during the week, I'm going to work on an empty tank that day.

It has the added benefit of making me really anxious about going to sleep for several days following. On the bright side; I think I have identified what I'm doing to aggravate the nerves, and I'm being more careful about my posture.

[Prowler]

Oddly enough, irregular sleeping patterns aside, I sleep more nowadays than I did back when I was a teenager.