How much sleep do you get?

[DawnM]

I think I am dealing with "the M word" and starting to just not sleep well, but this isn't going to be fun.

I really need 7-8 hours every night, consistently, to function well.   I am not getting it.  

 

Last night I went to bed at 1am and woke up around 6:30am.

 

The night before, I went to bed at 10:30pm and got up at about 3:30 and was awake until 6:30 and finally caught another hour or so of sleep at 6:30.

 

The night before that, I went to bed around midnight and got up around 6:30.

 

I am tired, but I can't sleep!  I take benadryl before bed for allergy issues anyway, and if I don't take it, I sleep even less.

 

I am starting back to work in 4 weeks and i really need to figure out how to SLEEP!

 

I had company last weekend, and then the boys have had friends over until late some nights this week.  I had to go pick up a son at midnight last night, we got home around 12:30am, so I can't always be consistent with getting to bed at a certain hour, although once I start work, everyone better be quiet by 10pm or I will be cranky!

 

I am not really looking for suggestions, I have heard them all, tried some, and just simply have trouble sleeping.

 

Am I alone?  

 

How much sleep do you get in a 24 hour period? 

 

Do you nap?

 

If you don't get enough sleep, why don't you?  

 

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by DawnM

[regentrude]

I usually get 8 hours; I go to bed between 10 and 10:30pm and get up at 6:30.

In the summer when I am off work, I find that I need less sleep; I go to be at 11 and am often up at 6 without alarm.

I do not nap.

 

Sometimes I am awake in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep if I stay in bed; it is better to get up, read for an hour or do something quite, and then go back to bed.

 

I found that I need a very consistent rhythm. My work schedule is different on different days, and when I make the mistake of setting different alarm times for different days, I never really get into a rhythm. It worked much better once I decided to just get up every day at the time my early days require.

Edited July 17, 2016 by regentrude

[Insertcreativenamehere]

Not enough. I have a special needs kiddo who is having major sleep issues, so I haven't slept through a night in ... I can't remember how long. I probably get 6 hours of sleep, but it's broken up. 

[J-rap]

I find that I'm good with 7 to 8 hours.  I've never been good at schedules though, so my sleep might vary quite a bit from night to night.  Sometimes I'll go to sleep at 1am and wake up at 8am, and other times I go to sleep at 10pm and wake up at 6am.  I'm also usually awake for anywhere from 10 minutes to 60 minutes during the night.  (And once every other week, I might just be suddenly wide awake during the night so get up to do some work or read for 2 or 3 hours.)  I can go two days with about 5 hours/sleep, and then get a long 10-hour sleep night after that.

 

So as you can see, I'm all over the place but average around 7-8 hours.  :)

[Pawz4me]

Not enough. Usually three or four good hours and a few more tossing and turning. I'm menopausal and hypothyroid. A double whammy when my thyroid is acting up (which it has been doing recently). I have excellent sleep hygiene but I can't tell that it makes much difference right now.

[Prairie~Phlox]

I go to sleep around 10 and get up at five every morning including weekends. I mainly get enough sleep I do sometimes squeeze a nap in every now and then. Sometimes we are up later on the weekends.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I have bouts of insomnia, I used to go 24-36+ hours without sleeping(every couple weeks).  Then other times I'd do the bi-phasic sleeping thing.  More recently the 1-2 day wake cycle has stopped (so thankful) but I can't sleep for more than 4-5 hours at a time(most of the time less).  I take naps to help most days.  The cause is a combination of hormones and BP meds. I've had weird sleep patterns my whole life, I guess I've adjusted.

[marbel]

Never enough, it seems.   I fall asleep easily most of the time but wake up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes my mind starts racing and I can't get back to sleep.  Sometimes I fall back to sleep easily.

 

Most mornings I wake up around 6, regardless of what time I went to bed, how much I was awake in the night, etc.   Even on days I could sleep in, I end up getting out of bed.  I can't nap; if I do I feel groggy and nasty the rest of the day. 

 

ETA: I go to bed between 10 and 10:30 most nights, with the occasional 11:00 night and the very rare 11:30 night.

Edited July 17, 2016 by marbel

[OhanaBee]

Not enough.  I'd like to blame this on my age and stage of life.....but it's been like this since I was a teenager. I'm guess I get between 5-6 hours of sleep a night.  Your sleep pattern sounds a lot like mine, actually, Dawn.

 

DH is full of suggestions of how I can actually sleep.  This is a man who can lie down, close his eyes and be out in less than a minute.  I have no idea how that works.  He says I need to learn out to turn my brain off.  Um.....HOW???  My brain never shuts off!

 

Anyway, this is why I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite.  Because mindless reading at 4am is much better than lying in bed going over schedules for the day, or things I need to do but don't want to, or [my personal favourite] all the mistakes I've made in my life [seriously - thanks for that 4am-Brain!]

[AnnE-girl]

I have a co-sleeping nursing baby, so my sleep is inconsistent and interrupted. He's currently working on starting to crawl, which leads to restless sleep and wanting to nurse more than usual throughout the night lately. I finally started getting better sleep when DD was three, so I have another two and a half years to go. At least I'm telling myself that and I can be pleasantly surprised if Baby Boy is a better sleeper.

[Heatherwith4]

I get 7-8 hours. I can go with less for a couple nights, but any longer than that and I'm a mess. I take Melatonin each night, and I will take Tylenol PM if I am desperate for sleep (so maybe once a month.)

[Laura Corin]

I recommend meditation.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I go to the loo, set up my meditation app, come back to bed, meditate for half an hour, then roll over and go to sleep.  It works every time for me.  I use the free 30 minute body scan on the Calm app.  The paid version of the app is very expensive, but I only ever use the free one.

 

When I wake up in the morning, it's as though I had never had broken sleep.

 

Fitbit says I've had 7 to 8 hours for the last week.

Edited July 17, 2016 by Laura Corin

[Closeacademy]

I get about 8-81/2 hours but I may or may not get up at least once for the bathroom.  I used to need a good 9 or 10.  

[Annie G]

I get plenty- I go to bed at 10 and get up at 6. But that's because dh has sleep problems and I'm doing what I can to help him. He can't fall asleep right away so he's asleep around 10:30 but wakes around 3, and struggles to go back to sleep before giving up and getting up at 4.   I don't go to sleep until I know he has because often he needs help relaxing- and I'm talking back rubs or some light banter.  

 

Things that have helped us both: going to bed at the same time every night, limiting drinks and especially caffeine in the evening.  Having a routine for bedtime. 

 

I used to be able to drink as much caffeine as I wanted and it never bothered me.  But menopause changed that - I started having hot flashes again and once I eliminated caffeine they completely went away. 

[JFSinIL]

6.5 - 7 hours and then I am awake and ready to go (morning person here).  Usually up at 5:30 am.  I usually do make a bathroom visit around 2 - 3am but I go right back to sleep so no biggie.  Before oxybutinin to control "old mom bladder" I was getting up 3 - 4 times a night and that was taking its toll.   More than 7 hours sleep and I feel groggy and off for most of the day. 

Edited July 17, 2016 by JFSinIL

[mamiof5]

Not enough, at all. It varies...I just have very bad sleeping habits. I go to bed very late (anywhere between 11pm to 2am), usually wake up at 6:30-7, but the last week I get up at 5:40-6am. Sometimes I get 6-7hrs of sleep, sometimes 3-4? I do nap once in a while, when it catches up with me.

[MamaBearTeacher]

The past few months I have had the worst sleep in my life because of my kids' sleep issues.

 

Between 2-5 hours/night. Maybe there were 2-3 nights that I got 7 hours.

The weird thing is I have more energy than usual though I crash at 10 pm and then I often have to get up to attend to them.

 

I find myself getting up at 4:30 worried that they are awake and then I don't fall back asleep. I can't go on this way. Yesterday I brought my other son to a birthday party on the wrong day. I never do things like that. Nobody knows the weird and scary life I lead and how much I dread the nights.

[SeaConquest]

I average 9 hours/night. I seem to get sleepier with age.

[DawnM]

The past few months I have had the worst sleep in my life because of my kids' sleep issues.

 

Between 2-5 hours/night. Maybe there were 2-3 nights that I got 7 hours.

The weird thing is I have more energy than usual though I crash at 10 pm and then I often have to get up to attend to them.

 

I find myself getting up at 4:30 worried that they are awake and then I don't fall back asleep. I can't go on this way. Yesterday I brought my other son to a birthday party on the wrong day. I never do things like that. Nobody knows the weird and scary life I lead and how much I dread the nights.

 

 

Ok, you need some help.  Really.  I am worried FOR you!  

 

Your kids are old enough to tend to themselves if they wake up in the middle of the night aren't they?  Or old enough to come get you if they need you?

 

I really hope you can get some help to get the sleep you need!

[Baseball mom]

Not enough.  I'd like to blame this on my age and stage of life.....but it's been like this since I was a teenager. I'm guess I get between 5-6 hours of sleep a night.  Your sleep pattern sounds a lot like mine, actually, Dawn.

 

DH is full of suggestions of how I can actually sleep.  This is a man who can lie down, close his eyes and be out in less than a minute.  I have no idea how that works.  He says I need to learn out to turn my brain off.  Um.....HOW???  My brain never shuts off!

 

Anyway, this is why I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite.  Because mindless reading at 4am is much better than lying in bed going over schedules for the day, or things I need to do but don't want to, or [my personal favourite] all the mistakes I've made in my life [seriously - thanks for that 4am-Brain!]

 

This sounds like me.  Especially the dh part.  My dh is the same way.  Lay down, close eyes, asleep!  It just amazes me.

[MamaBearTeacher]

Ok, you need some help. Really. I am worried FOR you!

 

Your kids are old enough to tend to themselves if they wake up in the middle of the night aren't they? Or old enough to come get you if they need you?

 

I really hope you can get some help to get the sleep you need!

Thanks. The 2 oldest have severe special needs and sleep has become a nightmare lately. They need more help and attention than an infant at night. The nights when they are doing better they try hard. My oldest has nights when he just does not fall asleep. Then he will have more trouble sleeping the next night. it's like forgets how to sleep or the lack of sleep lowers his immune system which causes other problems which get in the way of sleep. Last night he slept around 9 hours though which is good. I pray that this problem regulates.

[The Girls' Mom]

I haven't had a solid night's sleep in over 16 years. What started as twins that managed to wake me up in the middle of the night, every night, for ten years, morphed into a husband that has sleep issues that keep me awake.  Then throw in hormonal changes that make me wake up at 2-3AM every night feeling like I'm going to spontaneously combust...nah I don't get much sleep.  I don't think I know how to sleep through the night any more.

 

I generally go to bed around 10:30 or 11PM and get up at 6ish.  I usually wake up every couple of hours in between.  By 6 my shoulder or back aches so much that I can't sleep anyway, so I get up.  

 

If my dh is out of town, then I usually only wake up once at the 2AM mark.  We have already discussed the fact that I'll likely be moving my bedroom upstairs after the girls move out.

 

Naps?  If I get still and warm, I'm out like a light.  I have no trouble whatsoever FALLING asleep.  It is staying asleep that is the issue.

Edited July 17, 2016 by The Girls' Mom

[creekland]

I try to go to bed around 9pm and am always up between 4:30 and 5:30am (by nature).  It's not a full night sleep.  I wake up often, but that's due to health issues.  Until 4:30 or so I can fall back asleep pretty easily.  Afterward I can't, so must get up (or lie there in pain).

 

Starting this summer I've allowed myself to nap once or twice (sometimes three times) per day for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.  I used to feel guilty about this, but did it anyway due to being tired and/or wanting to alleviate a certain health issue.

 

After reading The Blue Zones (a book about those who have lived to be 100+ in certain areas of the world), I no longer feel guilty at all.  Napping is healthy and something that is usually a major part of Blue Zone lives.  Even studies in the US have shown those who nap have fewer health issues as they age.

 

With naps I can more easily stay up past 9pm too which makes it nice with/for the rest of the family.

 

If I'd known all of that before, I'd have started napping earlier in my adult life.  Win-win.

[SparklyUnicorn]

9-10 hours at night

 

I don't nap.

 

 

[SKL]

So far I rarely have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

 

My problem is that I'm a night person with a day schedule.  I don't get enough done in the daytime so I have to work at night (usually well past midnight), and then I have to get up like normal people at 6-7am usually.

 

Ideally, I need 7-8 hours.  Realistically, I average less than 6 hours and range from 0-9 hours.  :/  It's not good.  Looking forward to the day [night] when I can go back to my natural schedule vs. having to work around my kids' schedules.