Sleep--need more?

[Crankin]

I've been surviving on 6-7 hours of sleep my whole adult life. I always had to be at work, teaching, by 7:30 and usually got up at 5-5:30 AM, sometimes at 4:30. For five years I taught an aerobics class at 5 AM.
Now that I am not working, I find I naturally sleep until 6, sometimes to 7. In the summer, when it is light out, I do still get up at 5. But, I feel so much better! I never realized how sleep deprived I was, even though I go to bed early (9-10). I was fueling myself with caffeine, which was actually raising my blood pressure. I still drink coffee, but not at the same level.
Hard exercise makes me much more tired, the older I get. And like Veronica said, weight training, affects me more than riding.

[GLC1968]

I'm the opposite of the 'trend'. When I was younger, I was fine on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. Now I'm finding that's not the case anymore. I'm lucky if I get 7 hours a night during the week and by Friday, I'm exhausted. I also sleep poorly (always have), so that might be part of it. BUT, give me uninterupted quiet, dark and a good temperature and the longest I can sleep is about 8 hours anyway (unless I'm sick). It's frustrating. I feel like my body needs more sleep, but when given the oportunity, it doesn't take it! I do sleep more soundly when I'm weight lifting regularly.

I have no solutions for you. One word of advice though, don't get farm animals. Now I find I get even less sleep. Ugh!

[lph]

I try to get 8 hours a night, usually don't and end up trying to catch up in the weekends. If I sleep too little over a longer period I get depressed, weepy and irritable, but not necessarily more sleepy. I can even have more trouble getting to sleep then because I feel stressed. When I'm training a lot I need the same amount of sleep, I just need it MORE! During long vacations I fall into a rhythm of falling asleep at midnight and waking at 9, which seems to indicate I should be getting 9 hrs and not 8.

If I'm really sleepy at work I lock the door and take a 20 min nap. I have a large office with a sofa and I figure I might as well nap properly and be productive afterwards than sit there drooling over my documents for hours...

The most important thing for me in getting enough sleep is really getting to bed at the same time every evening. The more of a habit it is to me and my family and friends, the easier it is.

[teawoman]

The more the better. I do well on 8-9 hours, but I don't always get that, so I steal afternoon naps after work or crash on the weekends as some have said.

[Kvixen23]

I'm not sure why, but I am a sleeper. I go to bed by 10 most nights and have to get up at 730'ish....however, I can hit the snooze 5 - 6 times (that's an extra 9 min's each time ). I know that's not healthy, not to mention the cats and dogs hate it!!

I used to be a nanny and could nap with my kiddo's but was going to bed later due to school and late classes. Now that I'm out of school and "only" working I still need A LOT of sleep. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I work in a classroom with 8 children ages 0-3 years () and I like to workout, bike, walk the dogs, mow the lawn, work in my yard.....(yes, I enjoy mowing!!).

Anyways, I don't think there is much else you can do if your body needs more sleep. You just have to make sacrifices here and there so you get your bodies necessary amount of sleep.