How much sleep do you get (on average)?

[SWriverstone]

Another STN behavioral poll.   Prompted partly by my inability (lately) to get 8hrs sleep a night.

I'm 50...and I've found that especially as I've gotten older, I simply can't function on much less than 7-8hrs/night. (Hence my "under 40/over 40" breakdown in the poll---I'm curious to see if the poll suggests suggests any correlation between age and amount of sleep). I remember back in my college days (like pretty much all college students) I existed for months at a time on 3-5hrs/night. There is NO WAY I could survive that now. Seriously, I'd be in the hospital!  

But I'm also frustrated as hell, because I need to be able to get by on less sleep right now more than any other time in my life, but just can't do it.   Between my job and family and saving some time each day for a workout...that's it---it comes down to a simple choice: get enough sleep but don't do anything else...or spend time (late at night) doing things I enjoy (like organizing photos, working on music, etc.) but suffer from lack of sleep. It's a real catch-22.

Scott

[Sport-Touring]

[dm_gsxr]

Go to bed at 8:30, to sleep at 9:30 after reading for an hour, get up at 4:30 more or less (this morning it was 4:15) so 7 hours. I had a harder time getting to sleep last night so 6 hours. On the weekends I go to bed at 9:30 or so and get up at around 6, 6:30 depending on the cat.

Carl

[Wockman]

Long time insomniac, I'm lucky to get 5-6 hours.

[Mac]

I never have a hard time getting to sleep, I have a hard time getting up. I could probably sleep all day if I let myself.

[bajakirch]

I guess I'm lucky in that I've always been able to function pretty well on 5-6 hours of sleep a night, and I rarely have trouble falling asleep, regardless of the time of day or night.

My typical schedule is to spend some time with my wife/son after dinner until they go to bed, usually 9:00-10:00 p.m. Then I stay up doing my own stuff -- watching TV shows my wife has no interest in, surfing the web forums, scanning Craigslist for deals, etc. -- until 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. I crawl into bed and read for a bit, but usually only get a few pages in before I start nodding off. Most mornings I get up at 5:00 a.m. to work out, then it's breakfast, shower and leave for work.

I work a couple of part-time jobs in addition to my day job, and those often have me up until at least midnight during the week. On those days, I often will skip the workout the following morning so I can get an extra hour of sleep.

The PT work also sometimes requires me to work through the night. I only do these on weekends. So I will lay down around 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and sleep until 9:00 p.m. Then I get up and work all night. When I get home in the morning, usually around 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., I lay down and sleep until 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. I find I can function fine when I do this, but if I do it 2-3 days in a row, I start to get a bit 'loopy'.

So basically, I'm breaking every rule the sleep experts recommend and it's had no ill effect on...

[expatbrit]

"Not enough", generally.

[X1Glider]

Had sleep apnea since I hit double digits and only gotten worse.  Can't sleep when I'm tired even but I do like to lie in bed as if I'm sleeping in late.  To me, my body gets it's rest even if my mind doesn't.

[SuperHans]

Im lucky if I can stay up until 10 pm and Im up at 6 am. I usually work 6 days a week with a couple of 14 hour days. I dont do hard manual labor. Mostly a mix of desk work and checking on jobs out in the plant.

I have always been overly tired for as long as I can remember, even in my late 20's early 30's. Within the last few years I had full blood work done and found both my thyroid and testosterone were super low for someone my age. Ever since I sarted on meds for both I find my energy levels have gone up and I need less sleep.

I was on Claritan D years ago and found it caused me trouble sleeping.

My point is there are many factors that will effect energy levels and sleep patterns, so if you are having issues have yourself checked out.

[coucours grad]

4 or 5 hours typically....At 50 I find that that is not enough but its all I manage to lay still for.


  Of course, Once every 2 or 3 weeks I crash and dont wake up for 12 hours...I guess its catch up!

[Cobalt]

Not nearly enough. I'm a very light sleeper. I'm up way too much.  

[bomber]

Over 40 (lol) . . . . .and 6 hours, in a row, is remarkable . . . maybe 3 nights our of 7, with the remaining 4 nights being less than 6 hours

6 isn't QUITE enough . . . .  . .

[agent9]

Long time insomniac, I'm lucky to get 5-6 hours.

I hear ya. I can remember being 3 years old and wondering why I couldnt sleep like my brothers. I average 4-6 with at least 2-3 wake ups. I cant remember the last 8 hour sleep ive had. Ive had sleep tests done, different meds, etc. In contrast one of my brothers we joke about because he can sleep up to 20 hours if given the chance. Lucky bastard.

[Big Shiny]

New girlfriend. I'll sleep later.  

[UFO]

Go to bed at 8:30

 

I wouldn't have a life if I did that.  As it is I probably only have 2-3 hours a day that's "my time" that doesn't involve fucking work or doing shit around the house or ancillary to work (commuting, cooking, eating, cleaning, fixing).  In between I get about 6 hours of sleep on weekdays.

And all the interests I have do not really work with 2-3 hours of free time.

[Open Sore]

45 years old.  Usually get about 7 hours.  Some nights less, some nights more.  Less than 6 along with drinking is no fun anymore.  I remember the younger days when I could get 3-4 after a great night out with no problem.  A good night out now, usually includes a couple days of being lethargic, no matter how much sleep.

Last night got 8 and feel great.

[Giaka]

I am 50 and get 7 to 8 hours. I don't feel like I need that much sleep but I have had more than one Dr tell me 6 hours or less will eventually kick your butt. But pretty much anything will eventually kick your butt so..........

[MisterSmooth]

I'm 52 years old.  I only get about 6 hours a night.  Stretching it into 7 hours occasionally on a weekend.  But that's it.


And I wake up at least once a night.


For me, worrying about getting enough sleep is probably more of a problem than the amount of sleep that I get.  Six hours seems to be all my body is willing to do, so why worry about it?  But I do.

[CLAY]

43, 6-8 (usually around 7-7.5), usually sleep like the dead within minutes and awake refreshed.  If I get below 6 a couple nights in a row life does not go well.  I will usually then compensate by getting 9 or so for one night to "catch up".  It's probably mostly a head game, but it's my head and I like it.  

[zer0netgain]

I plan on getting 8 hours.  I figure I probably get a shade over 7.

[dm_gsxr]

 

I wouldn't have a life if I did that.  As it is I probably only have 2-3 hours a day that's "my time" that doesn't involve fucking work or doing shit around the house or ancillary to work (commuting, cooking, eating, cleaning, fixing).  In between I get about 6 hours of sleep on weekdays.

And all the interests I have do not really work with 2-3 hours of free time.

No wife or kids to deal with. Just the cat. I'm 5 miles from work so the longest commuting time is when I bicycle to work in the nicer months (81 high today although it's supposed to snow Wednesday with a high of 39 ). I get home at around 4 so I have 4.5 hours of time to do stuff when I get home. So I write web sites, play rocksmith or practice on the guitar, watch a tiny bit of TV, read, and on weekends read some more, more rocksmith/guitar practice, go on bike rides, do yard work, go for rides in the mountains, go on hikes, play board games at the game store, role playing games with friends every other Sunday, etc.

Honestly, as bad as it felt up to a few months after Rita left, it's been surprisingly better this year. If I can just get the cat to stop peeing on the carpet, it'll be perfect

Carl