How much can you sleep?

[Home'scool]

I have always loved to sleep. When I was little, my mother would pick me up from kindergarten and once I got home I would hop into bed for a nap. She would try to stop me because she thought I would be up too late at night, but as soon as she got distracted I would happily run to my bed. Most toddlers fight their naps haha.

When I was raising and homeschooling my daughters I always got up about 6:00 am to up before them. And now I work a full time job so I am up every day by 7:00am for work.

BUT, when I have a free day, I love to sleep. I live by myself so I am not responsible for anybody, and I love being in my own home with some quiet time. But sometimes I think maybe its a weird extreme how much I can sleep? 

So, if you had a free day with no responsibilities and were so inclined, what time would you get up after a full nights sleep?

[Arcadia]

After lunch hour, so after 1pm. My DS18 is similar. We aren’t morning people.

[Melissa in Australia]

5.30 am..I am an early to bed early to rise kind of person..I function best in the morning.  I do like a quick afternoon nap to help me get through the rest of the day if I can

Edited December 6, 2023 by Melissa in Australia

[Pawz4me]

I'm an early bird. My normal wake-up-and-ready-to-get-up time is anywhere from 4:30 to 6:00. If I sleep later than that it's almost always a clue that something's off (most typically for me, sleeping later than that is an early warning sign of an AI flare coming on). And I never nap unless I'm having a flare or some other illness.

But I do believe there's a very wide range of normal for how much or little sleep an individual needs.

ETA: According to my Apple watch (FWIW), I average between 7.5 and 8.5 hours of sleep a night.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Pawz4me

[wintermom]

I'd probably naturally wake up somewhere between 8 and 9am, but currently my puppy wakes me up at 6pm. I let him out, then go back to sleep for another hour. I am not a morning person. 😉 

[maize]

My insomniac brain doesn't allow me to sleep more than three or four hours max unless I take unisom, then I might get five hours. It's horrible and I'm jealous of everyone whose brains believe in sleep!

[mommyoffive]

I was someone who loved to sleep too.  I think in college and stuff I was getting 10 or 12 hours and would nap too.  

Then I had 5 kids who were not good sleepers. And now my body I think is just getting back to sleeping without kids waking me up for all sorts of reasons.  But now just intime for some hot flashes.  

I like to stay up late most of the time except when I am toasted so I would love to get up at 8 or 9 after going to sleep at midnight. 

[regentrude]

I love to sleep 8.5 hours a night and would like to sleep in until 6:30am.

Normally I am up at 5 because of the cats. 

If I can, I love to take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. 

Edited December 6, 2023 by regentrude

[Kassia]

9 minutes ago, maize said:

My insomniac brain doesn't allow me to sleep more than three or four hours max unless I take unisom, then I might get five hours. It's horrible and I'm jealous of everyone whose brains believe in sleep!

This is me too.  It's AWFUL.  My brain does not want me to sleep.  I basically take two naps at night.  The first one is about four hours with at least one time up to use the bathroom.  Then I'm up for about an hour and try hard to fall back asleep and I usually sleep about two hours then.  But Saturday night I only got 3 1/2 hours total, Sunday night I got about 5  hours and then last night finally around 6 which is about where I average.  I do try to nap every day or at least rest but that's around 45 minutes on average.  I don't understand why I don't pass out and sleep.  

[Kassia]

13 minutes ago, maize said:

My insomniac brain doesn't allow me to sleep more than three or four hours max unless I take unisom, then I might get five hours. It's horrible and I'm jealous of everyone whose brains believe in sleep!

does the unisom make you groggy?  I've tried a sleep aid in the past and I felt so awful the next day from being groggy that I decided I'd rather just be exhausted with a clearer head.  I've even tried just 1/3 of a sleeping pill (OTC) and I'm still too groggy and miserable.  When we travel it's so hard to share a hotel room because I'm up so much and can't turn on any lights.  I usually leave the hotel room around 5am and just have DH text me when he's up.  I always get to know the morning hotel staff very well.  

[MEmama]

For the past long while it's been endlessly. If it weren't for the cats I could easily sleep for 12-13 hours, get have coffee and breakfast and take another 2 hour nap on the couch. I'm ready for another one by early afternoon. I've slept through entire weekends.

Seriously it's ridiculous. I tried talking to my doctor and she was like" oh, sleep is so good! Yay you", which is absurd because obviously I can sleep WAY too much.

That said, I recently increased my dosage of my antidepressant and am needing less sleep. I still sleep from 8:30pm - 7:30am and take a 1-2 hour nap in late morning, but I'm more functional.

[Eos]

I go to bed at 9 pm and get up between 4 and 5.  I love the dawn - see username. I struggled for about 4 years with profound insomnia but it went away after an expensive homeopathic MD consult and the right remedy.  If I stay up past 9 I then have a harder time sleeping no matter how tired I am.  If I stay in bed past 5 I usually end up with a headache from being late to my first cup of coffee.

[maize]

56 minutes ago, Kassia said:

does the unisom make you groggy?  I've tried a sleep aid in the past and I felt so awful the next day from being groggy that I decided I'd rather just be exhausted with a clearer head.  I've even tried just 1/3 of a sleeping pill (OTC) and I'm still too groggy and miserable.  When we travel it's so hard to share a hotel room because I'm up so much and can't turn on any lights.  I usually leave the hotel room around 5am and just have DH text me when he's up.  I always get to know the morning hotel staff very well.  

I feel a bit groggy when I wake up in the morning, but it doesn't linger and for me is better than living in a fog of constant exhaustion.

[SKL]

I love sleeping!  I used to joke that if sleeping were an Olympic sport, I'd be a gold medalist!

Just the other day I think I slept a good 12 hours if not more.

I can nap multiple times during the day as well as sleep all night, generally.  (When my responsibilities allow!)

That said, menopause / old age has messed with me.  I know my dad has a lot of trouble sleeping, and I might have inherited some of that from him.  It's hard to tell, since my "normal" schedule is so inconsistent.  But I have an increasing number of nights where falling asleep is difficult.  😞  Still not the majority, though.

[lovinmyboys]

I love to sleep too! But I feel like it isn’t something I should admit? When people say “if you had a whole day to yourself what would you do” I always would include a nap. Napping is my favorite thing. I don’t care as much about nighttime sleep, but I try really hard to get to nap 4-5 times a week. I love all kinds of naps- from 15 minute couch naps to 2 hour naps in a dark room. 

[Ginevra]

I cannot remain asleep/in bed for the mythical 8 hours, much less anything beyond that. I wake up quite early for work and on weekend, I can only sleep until between 5 and 6. If I stay in bed any longer than that, I will not be sleeping anyway, so I’d rather get up while the day is young. 
 

My normal amount of time actually asleep (measured on my Fitbit) is 6-6.5 hours. 

[kathyl]

I used to fall asleep at 9pm every night and wake up by 5-6am every morning.  I think that began to change when I was in my 50's maybe?  Now I go to bed when I'm sleepy and get up when I wake up - and I never know what times either of those will happen.  

If I get too tired during the day, I sometimes take a nap.

I've given up trying to keep to a schedule.  I just go with it and pay attention to how I'm feeling.  

I don't think you sleep too much, OP.  That sounds wonderful.  🙂 

[MEmama]

8 minutes ago, lovinmyboys said:

I love to sleep too! But I feel like it isn’t something I should admit? When people say “if you had a whole day to yourself what would you do” I always would include a nap. Napping is my favorite thing. I don’t care as much about nighttime sleep, but I try really hard to get to nap 4-5 times a week. I love all kinds of naps- from 15 minute couch naps to 2 hour naps in a dark room. 

I love naps too, and prioritise them. My cats know the schedule and will start to shark around looking for their napping partner (me) when it gets time. I usually have 1-2 napping on top of me. It's the best!  😻

[Clarita]

For the better part of my life I felt like I needed 9hrs of sleep before I actually felt rested. I could sleep longer than that if it was allowed. Nowadays that has reduced to 8 hrs to feel fully rested. Of course depending on what I did during the day I could take a 1-2 hr nap too. 

DS is just like me loves his sleep. Before 5 he would routinely nap for 2-3hrs in the day and it would not disrupt his 12 hrs of sleep at night. DD is more like DH if I let her nap for more than 1.5hrs she will have trouble sleeping at night. She gave up naps before she turned 4.

[KungFuPanda]

I thought I was a night owl because while we were raising kids we stayed up late and slept in a bit. It was nothing crazy, but we’d wake around 8 and start school around 9.  
 

Now that I’ve had jobs that start early I’m up at 6:30-7 most days. As it turns out, I’m not a night owl or a morning person. I’m fine as long as I get 8-9 hours of sleep at night. I’ve always been serious about my sleep so I do get that most nights. If I have a night with 6-7 hours it’s a tough day for me. I adore naps, but I get enough sleeps most nights a don’t really need them. If I’ve had a night with less sleep, and I take a nap the next day, it doesn’t usually interfere with my bedtime as long as o don’t get my catch-up sleep too late in the day. 
 

Sleeping is my super power. I’m really good at it. I can even slow my heart rate and fall asleep quickly if I need to. 

[fraidycat]

I love sleep! I am a night owl, so if society would let me, I'd sleep from about 1:30 or 2 a.m to around 9 or 10 a.m. These are my weekend hours.

Society, however, is evil. Therefore, I sleep from 12:30 or 1:00ish a.m. until between (depending what I need to get up for) 7 and 8 a.m when the alarm goes off.

I sometimes take an afternoon nap on weekends, too.

[Clemsondana]

My spouse loves sleeping and I've never understood it.  I sleep because I have to, but I'd rather be doing anything else.  I'm usually up between 6 and 7, although if I have several late nights or do physically tiring work I might sleep until 8:30 once to catch up.  I rarely sleep more than 8 hours,, and usually wake up after 7.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

I feel best with 8 hours sleep, which rarely happens. If I didn't have to get up to pee (maybe 2 am, maybe 5 am), I would naturally do better getting up around 7 am going to be around 10:30 pm.  

I developed sleep anxiety when K got sick about 10 years ago.  Months of suicide watch where I was afraid to sleep seemed to change something in my brain. In the subsequent years before I went back to school when it didn't matter as much what time I got up, I would read in bed to distract myself from all the terrifying thoughts that would only surface once I got in bed  Once I had to be up early for school/work, the anxiety changed to worry about not being able to fall asleep and be rested enough for the next day, which ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Reading at night didn't work anymore.  If the book was interesting enough to distract me from my thoughts, it was too stimulating. Now I wear sleep headphones (a headband with little speakers) and listen to meditation or sleep hypnosis podcasts.  I need something to crowd out those thoughts.  

Now my alarm goes off at 5:45 am, which I snooze at least once as an act of rebellion.  I need to be out the door before 6:30 am to be on time for work.  So I typically get between 5 and 7 hours.

[Carrie12345]

My body clock shifts annoyingly frequently. Currently, I get up around 7am no matter what time I get to bed (usually around 10.) This is MUCH better than when I’m in my 4am phase. 😳 

I can sometimes take an afternoon nap and not impact my night sleep, but I can’t remember the last time my body slept past 8am. 

[ScoutTN]

I am a sleeper. I need and usually get 8-9 hrs a night. Typical right now is asleep by 9 or 10 and up at 6. Adjusted an hour or so later on both ends on the weekends. I would sleep later in the winter if I could. I enjoy being up early when it is warm and light outside, but am happy to hibernate this time of year. Love naps, but rarely get one. 

[Laura Corin]

I sometimes manage to sleep to 8, rarely to 9. Mostly I get up around 7, which is my normal time to get up for work.

I go to sleep between 10 and 10.30..

Edited December 7, 2023 by Laura Corin

[Wheres Toto]

I used to sleep in until noon on weekends.  I can't seem to do that anymore.

I generally go to bed between 10 and 11pm and wake up about 10 minutes before my alarm goes off at 7am.   On days I don't need to get up for work, I'll stay in bed and doze back off for an hour or two but generally I'm out of bed by 9am.   If I'm not feeling well, I may be able to push that to 10am.

[MercyA]

I can sleep 10 1/2 to 11 hours and then take a two hour nap in the afternoon. I love sleep, no doubt. However, getting that much makes me groggy and not as productive.

Most nights I get 7 to 8 hours and then sometimes take a nap, too.

I get up to take the dog out at around 6:15 every morning, then stay up to take my DD to school or on Sundays go to church. On Saturdays I go back to bed with the puppy and sleep until 8:30 or 9. It's glorious.

I am so sorry for those of you with insomnia. I've been there and it sucks. Mine was resolved when I switched from Luvox to Prozac for my OCD, but it took me a long time to pinpoint that as the problem. I thought it was hormones. The med that worked best for sleep without grogginess was Ambien. 

[alisoncooks]

Sleeping from 10:30p-7:30a is my ideal. But often I’m up later, and I often wake earlier. But the above is my sweet spot. 

I used to be able to sleep much later. These days, I’m shocked if I sleep until 8:00. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by alisoncooks

[scholastica]

I saw this article about penguins and thought of this thread. 

[dsmith]

I'm a night owl, so I'm usually in bed around 2:30 am. I get up anywhere from 7 am to 9 am. I don't sleep well, so I usually get about 3 - 5 solid hours a night and a 30 minute rest during the afternoon. I will have a day where I sleep a lot to catch up, maybe every 2 - 3 weeks. Yesterday I needed 2 Xanax in the morning/early afternoon for some MS issues, and I fell asleep around 7 pm, woke up at 1:30 am, did some chores for a while, and then slept from 3:30 am to 9;30 am. It was awesome, and I feel great today!! I very rarely take one Xanax, let alone 2, but it's tempting after sleeping like that, lol. 

[Loesje22000]

Until next medication intake time = 6 h max I am happy if I can sleep that as a whole.