Sleeping patterns

[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.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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. 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.