sleeps

[jeremyc]

I used to be an insomniac when I was younger as well! I did get a lot of reading and writing done which was nice, but I felt pretty sluggish throughout the day. It took a while to regulate my sleeping schedule, and I found changing my eating schedule was the biggest factor....your internal clock is based off food, so if you eat late at night it triggers your body to stay away. If you stop eating 5 hours before you sleep it makes it easier, then eat right when you wake up up to trigger your bodies internal clock to 'start a new day'.

[bluerose]

two shots of 3 to 4 hours.

[i_forget]

I'm SO jealous of people who can sleep. I've been an insomniac since I was a teen. I used to have trouble falling asleep, and now that I'm older, I have trouble staying asleep.
At night, I sleep maybe two - 1 1/2 hour sessions. I then nap in the afternoon (thank goodness I can now, never used to be able to).

That would send me right to the doctors for some sleeping pills. I have no idea how you can do that.

[Shwa Girl]

I've always wanted to try a polyphasic sleep schedule (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep) where you only sleep a few hours a day, but break it up into 20minute naps throughout the day. Apparently that's all we really need anyway, because the majority of our 8hours is falling into REM (the good stuff). Sounds interesting to try...imagine all the free time you'd have! (to spend on smart canucks )

Like Kramer from Seinfeld

[erin9mmm]

DH laughs at my sleep patterns. I very seldom go to sleep before 2 a.m. and like to sleep til 10 or 11. If I`m really tired and fall asleep before midnight, I wake up in 2 hours or less and can`t go back to sleep til about 7 . Every couple months I stay awake all night then get back to my usual pattern. It almost killed me when I had to get up at 4:30 to drive DH to work.

Reading this made me tired! I get anxious IF I am up past 12:00 - I'm a morning person and no matter when I go to bet I am up with the first light of morning. Staying up until 11:00 is pushing it for me.

[sheetsofemptycanvas]

I never used to have trouble sleeping... as I get older, I find I have trouble both falling asleep AND staying asleep. I have some great breathing techniques that I do at night to help me fall asleep. I need a good 8 hours to function the next day... when I was was working 6-2 I had to get up at 4:30am to get to work on time... I was in bed before 8 most nights!! It takes me an hour or so to fully wake up in the morning too... I have to have a coffee or two before I start to feel normal!

[Andit]

I average 4 hrs sleep each night. I've been that way since I can remember. Evem as a child, it would take me at least an hour to fall asleep, then I would wake up every hour or so. Except for the 2 days I spent in a coma, the longest sleep I've ever had was 10 hrs and that was only because I was doped up on anaesthetic/morphene/happy juice from one of my surgeries. Yes, yes, I know, I'm weird.

I've always envied those who could simply go to bed, close their eyes and be out cold for the night. When I close my eyes, I either start making loooong lists of things that need to be done, relive minute details of things that happened that day (that year or a previous year) or my imagination runs wild and weird tales are born. If I do relaxation techniques (emtpying my mind of thoughts, etc), it will still take me over an hour to drift off.

To make matters worse, I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed the minute I wake up in the morning - once I realize the sun's up, so am I.

Every so often, I take a nap (or 2 or 3) during the day to recharge.

Oh and I rarely go to bed before midnight (if I'm chatting with one of my best friends, it's more like 3am) and I'm up around 8am (these days, my roommate insists on flirting with the construction workers in my neighbourhood, so she takes me for a walk around 7am).

[erin9mmm]

....I've always envied those who could simply go to bed, close their eyes and be out cold for the night. ...

I'm sorry but I think I'm one of those people you envy so I just wanted to apologize. I wish I could make it easy and say it's because I have 3 kids but I've always had it easy going to sleep. Maybe it's because I wind down early - first chance I get in the evening I put my pajamas on, then dim the lights and do something relaxing....but now that I think of it, it was never an intentional routine to help me sleep just that I guess I'm pooped in the evening and only want to be comfortable.
Anyways I hope you get a good rest tonight Andit - and all you other nighthawks - but as for me it's almost past my bedtime so I will be off to bed (and probably out cold in 5 minutes - sorry again).

Good night.

[Andit]

I'm sorry but I think I'm one of those people you envy so I just wanted to apologize.

Going on vacation with my best friend was always fun - we'd be lying on a beach and she'd ask me to wake her in 15 minutes so she could take a nap and would be out cold as soon as she said the last word. The first time we went to the Caribbean, I mentioned that I couldn't unwind because of the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. She teased me that people pay good money for relaxation tapes with the sound of the ocean.

[vesper]

This is the first time in a long time I am having trouble sleeping. Normally I read for about 15 minutes, reposition the cats, and fall into slumber within minutes.

[Natalka]

That would send me right to the doctors for some sleeping pills. I have no idea how you can do that.

Docs have tried many times over the years to give me sleeping pills - one time I took a half of one, it scared the crap out of me! There I was in bed, feeling my body parts falling asleep, being totally aware of everything and not being able to move - honestly, it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced, so never again after that.

As for being jealous of others being able to sleep, I have that big time, because my husband is an insta-sleeper. The dude can fall asleep sitting up, in any environment, any noise, etc. His brothers are the same, and their wives feel the same as I do.

And curse the days when I get over-tired and don't try sleep before that hits - then I can't sleep at all, and just stay up for two days.
Thank goodness I'm not a grump, though - I get giddy when that happens, and get the giggles.... my son freaks out a bit.

When my son was born, people said oh yeah, you'll nap when the baby naps - well, no... that didn't happen because when I was younger I couldn't nap at all; I just lived on three hours' sleep if that's what I got. Didn't help that our son wasn't a sleeper - he would sleep for 20 minutes then be up for two or three - it was heck to live through. He didn't sleep through the night til he was a year old. Thank goodness he became a 'normal' sleeper after that, and as an adult he doesn't have my problems.

[hollyquaiscer]

I have issues with sleep too It takes forever to even fall asleep, then I'm lucky if I get more than 3 hours or so at a time. I too, try to take a nap in the afternoon, but that never works. I'll just lie there for about a half hour and then finally get up....at least my legs get a rest If I go to bed at 12am, I'm up at 3 or so. I get so tired around 7 or 8, I head to bed, then I'm up in time for the evening news. I've been like this for over 5 years now. My Dr's have tried different sleeping aides, but nothing works, so I've resided myself to the fact that 3 to 4 hours is all I'm ever going to get in a night. My dh got satellite fir the rv so that I'd have some programs to watch at least.

[SassyAshley]

I need my sleep or else I get sick but unless I am super tired I tend to lay there and not fall asleep. Think this is where alot of my problems come from as I would get so frustrated that I could not fall asleep I would just not go to bed, knowing the only way I would fall asleep right away would be to be totally exhausted. It does not help that in the last few years I have had a couple of bouts of insomnia (so not good when not sleeping makes you sick) seems like when things happen in life it would lead to insomnia. (Knock on wood) this has not happened lately.

Right now I cannot seem to get enough sleep and for the first time in I do not know how long I go to bed and it doesn't take too long to fall asleep. I am enjoying it well it lasts as I know at some point my sleeping pattern will change again. Just really hoping it does not go back to insomnia.

[frugal50]

i can get by with six hrs sleep
but i need eight to nine hrs to feel super good!
my average is sevens hrs per night

[i_forget]

Has anyone here ever gone for a sleep test?

When I was in college I was sleeping like crap so I went to the doctors and had one, turns out nothing was wrong and it was just stress in my case.

My kids dad is a BAD sleeper. He would be so angry all of the time because he was exhausted and he would blame me and the kids for waking him up. I begged him for years to see a doctor and he never did. When he moved out and went to therapy, his therapist suggested he go to the doctors for it (which he did) and it turns out that he actually has a sleeping disorder (I enjoyed telling him that I was right).
They hook you up to machines and monitor your sleep for the night.

If you are having issues, you should go have a sleep test done, a good nights rest is very important for overall health and well being.