Poll: How much sleep do you get?

[emily_in_nc]

I voted 5-7. I would really like to get 8 hours of sleep a night, but lately I have had trouble falling to sleep and staying asleep, so it's more like 6-7 during the work week and 7-7.5 on weekends. Better than many here, but not as much as I'd like or as much as I used to be able to get easily.

It's gotta be the perimenopause thing....

Emily

[light_sabe_r]

I need my sleep. Desperatly.

I can't function on anything less than 8... And I function well on ten or more. ^_^

After big rides (with a big night's sleep by the way) I usually sleep for two hours then sleep my normal night's sleep!

[Bicyclette]

I need 8 - at least 8 - I'm actually better with 9 and the time between 5AM and 6AM is just the best for me - I love being able to sleep until 6

I think some of my need for 8-9 hours is because I rarely sleep through the whole night - I wake up at least once a night - usually more

[margo49]

6 or 7 in the summer.More in the winter - tho' winter is not very long
SO was in agriculture and really the whole place runs on agricultural hours.
I had years of disturbed sleep - pregnancy, kids, SO snoring, menopauses (Yes, plural - one medically induced by chemo and then extended with some pill with a really long name - and then a natural one. Note that the pills didn't "knock me off my cycle" permanently .

Keeping with the sun (and moon) is the best (if your lifestyle permits )
Also being reasonably happy. Any kind of calm I guess.

[Melstar]

My sleeping patterns can be really erratic and messed up. When i'm on job assignments, sometimes i get as little as 3 hours of sleep, and other times when i get the chance, i REALLY sleep in...

But most of the time when i'm not working, i try to get 8 hours of sleep, plenty of cycling, and a general healthy livestyle going hahah... so yea 8 hours was my vote

[dobielover1]

I've had insomia for years....I tend to go 3 or 4 days when I only get a couple of hours of sleep that crash the following night and get a solid 8.

[biking4health]

I voted 5-7, but 6-7 is about average for me or less if the cat decides he wants to lay next to me. I like it be cool when I sleep but between the magic age of 51 and the cat it's not always possible.

Carol

[surgtech1956]

When I was younger(20s and 30s) I could sleep 9 - 10 hours. Now at age 51 and menopause I sleep 7-8 hours. At least I'm sleeping good now - for awhile those darn hot flashes. Nancy

[eclectic]

7-8 is the norm - I am realizing now that I am older I can't pull the all nighters like I used to and think I can function the next day.

Since I have quit eating wheat and oats my quality of sleep has improved immensely. (limiting the beer consumption before bed has improved sleep patterns also - I AM getting old :P

[Crankin]

I get about 6.5 hours a night, sometimes 7. I sometimes get in bed by 9, but often don't go to sleep until 10:15. I get up at 5 and at 4:30 on the days i commute. It's easy at this time of the year, though. I always have been a light sleeper. There are nights once in awhile that I just can't sleep and i just fill up on caffeine and crash the next night. I wake up at least once, sometimes 2-4 times, but usually only once. On the weekends, I wake at 5, but force myself to go back to sleep until 6 at least. I will go through stretches in the summer when I'm not working where I sleep to 6:30. I do feel better, but thn, I am going to bed later, too. It will beinteresting to see what happens when I stop working in 3 weeks... when the fall/winter starts, I wonder how early I will get up.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I get 7-8 usually. So I fall right in between two categories, and didn't vote.

[Popoki_Nui]

...... (limiting the beer consumption before bed has improved sleep patterns also - I AM getting old :P

LOL. Funny how that works. I'm noticing the same thing. Something else I'm noticing, is that I can't ride hard or do anything strenuous after about 6pm. If I do, I just cannot get to sleep. I'll lay there twitching and buzzing well into the wee hours, tired but wired. Glass of wine? Nope. Hot relaxing bath? Doesn't help, either. Don't want to start playing with sleeping meds, so I try to finish my rides early in the afternoon. That helps.
I need about 8-9 hours' sleep a night, or I'm Frankenb*tch in the a.m.

[sarahlou]

I had to vote 5-7 because the sun barely sets here (you know what I'm talking about CWR). But ask me again in 6 months and it would be in the 8-10 catagory (because my body hates waking up in the dark).

[LBTC]

Well, I voted 5-7 because the best I get on a weeknight is 7, but it is often 6 or 5 1/2....
I function best on 8

Lately, I will often have an after work nap.

I get up just after 5 am so that I can do yoga, and take my time as I feed pets, get ready, and catch up on the forum. I am not a morning person so I despise hurrying to get to work on time.

I can not remember a time when I did not get up at least once in the night to pee. I read in some bike magazine a few years ago that you can tell that you are adequately hydrated if you pee once per hour during the day, and about every 4 hours during the night. So, yes, at least according to that article, it is perfectly normal to get up during the night for a pee break! Thank goodness!

I used to sleep in really late on the weekends - 9 was an early wakeup. A couple of years ago discomfort would wake me up earlier....I think it was an early sign of Crohn's. I definitely feel it these days and recognize that it's my internal organs tired of gravity! heh. Nowadays sleeping in until 8 on the weekend is a huge luxury! No worries, though, naps are readily available on non-work days.! whew!

Just about every night as I fall asleep with or without a book bonking me in the head, I am grateful that it is only a problem getting to sleep when I'm getting the flu. It's one thing this body is actually good for! Yay!

Hugs and peaceful sleepy butterflies,
~T~

[trekin']

I only need 6 - 7 hours of sleep to feel rested. Everyone seems to think that is too little, but I read an article somewhere on the internet (when I find the link I'll post it on this thread) that postmenopausal women don't require as much sleep as when they did in their 20's and 30's (middle aged men require 8 hours or more, as is evidenced in my DH's sleep patterns!).

My problem is staying asleep. I drop right off when I go to bed, then 2 AM comes and, wham! my eyes pop open, and sometimes I feel like it's time to get up for the day. I usually have to go the bathroom, then I start thinking about things, then the tossing and turning starts....and then I'm up with the cat, reading a book. I fall asleep again about 4:30, then it's time to get up by 5:30, and I feel like I haven't slept in 3 days....

Most of the insomnia information deals with people who can't get to sleep in the first place, so I was perplexed by this until I heard a naturopath on the radio mention that waking in the middle of the night was often the result in a drop in blood sugar levels. He recommended keeping a small piece of cheese or a small handful of nuts by the bed...something that would raise blood sugar without spiking it...I now keep 1/2 a mozarella cheese stick on the bedstand and eat that when I wake up, and it has worked wonders for me! I have also eaten a few nuts or small bit of cheese just before bedtime, and that also seems to help me get through the night.

So, that's my epic story about sleep...