8 hours sleep and still tired.... why?

Exercise regularly! It's very important for sleep. I used to have pretty bad insomnia but getting regular exercise (not just exercising for one day and still feeling tired the next day, gotta do it regularly) changed it all. I went off sleeping pills and feel so much better. I'm not sure why it works. Maybe physically tiring yourself out makes your sleep more restful. Give it a whirl. It's worth not feeling tired all the time right?

None of us get enough sleep. If there were no artificial light, we would go to bed with the moon and get up with the sun. The lure of electric lights keeps us up well past sundown and our daily commute on the hamster wheel of life has us up with the sun anyway. If you really want to get enough sleep, try sleeping as nature designed - sundown is bedtime; sunrise is time to get up. Now there's a challenge!

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

Hahaha sleep at 5 PM and wake up at 6 AM :happy:

@theBrown and Hollycat: lmao, that would be a challenge. It also wont be possible for the next two weeks while I finish up my uni degree.

@alpine: I am exercising every morning except on sundays. This may also be a factor in me being tired, as my body is out of rhythm having to wake up early to go to the gym/group classes. Hence why I went to bed early the last two days, I am trying to get it into the routine...

Try this site: http://sleepyti.me/

Just put what time you have to wake up and it'll list the best times to go to sleep

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this- but when I don't eat simple carbs (i.e bread, sugar, potatos, ect.) for dinner or in the evening, I wake up feeling well rested and energized the next day. I'm sure there is a scientific reason for this that probably has to do with blood sugars or something...

Worth a shot-

None of us get enough sleep. If there were no artificial light, we would go to bed with the moon and get up with the sun. The lure of electric lights keeps us up well past sundown and our daily commute on the hamster wheel of life has us up with the sun anyway. If you really want to get enough sleep, try sleeping as nature designed - sundown is bedtime; sunrise is time to get up. Now there's a challenge!

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

Hahaha sleep at 5 PM and wake up at 6 AM :happy:

That's what people did before electricity! Insomnia [which is being overtired] wasn't really a common occurrence, like it is in our society nowadays. I've tried to do this in summer. Even then, it's really hard to do. In winter, it's a lot easier. Not that I do it consistently...I DO have a life.

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

Not according to any history books or old journals I've read

people frequently woke in the middle of the night in the dark and did things

I was wondering why getting 8 hours of sleep wasn't cutting it for me until I took a pregnancy test. :laugh: Now, I wonder no more!

When there was vacancy in my uterus, I'd feel awesome after 7 hours of sleep.

Perhaps you are not eating properly. What is your diet like?

Eat more. Calculate your BMR, and NET that many calories (ie eat back your exercise calories at least up until that point, if your BMR is 1300, and exercise burns 400 calories, eat 1700). Try that for a few weeks and see if it helps. Too many people on here ignore the signs of undereating.

None of us get enough sleep. If there were no artificial light, we would go to bed with the moon and get up with the sun. The lure of electric lights keeps us up well past sundown and our daily commute on the hamster wheel of life has us up with the sun anyway. If you really want to get enough sleep, try sleeping as nature designed - sundown is bedtime; sunrise is time to get up. Now there's a challenge!

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

Hahaha sleep at 5 PM and wake up at 6 AM :happy:

Following this advice I would now be going to bed at 2:30pm and getting up at 10 am. In another month, I would just sleep 24 hours a day... I wish my employer would go for that!

Seriously, the advice is accurate, but just not realistic for our society and for people that live nearer the poles of the earth. Inuit actually followed this advice quite closely; winter was a time to stay close with family, in igloos and tell stories and spring/summer was a time to get food and work one's butt off to be prepared for winter.

Artificial lights do affect sleep profoundly and so does EMFs. There's lots of info out there on this subject and it's worth considering imo.

Also, I have discovered that WHAT I EAT or don't eat affects my quality of sleep more than any other single factor.

Also, have you had a sleep study? As a nurse, whenever people tell me they get enough hours of sleep but still feel tired, little alarm bells go off screaming, "SLEEP APNEA! SLEEP APNEA!"

I used to have chronic and severe sleep apnea (totally cured by changing my diet) and I definitely could never feel rested no matter how long I "slept". However, good luck with the sleep study; it's more annoying than useful imo. If one has/had a partner in bed then they should know whether you stop breathing in your sleep or not. If you do have sleep apnea, then you may want to consider some lifestyle changes; it's a VERY serious health problem.

None of us get enough sleep. If there were no artificial light, we would go to bed with the moon and get up with the sun. The lure of electric lights keeps us up well past sundown and our daily commute on the hamster wheel of life has us up with the sun anyway. If you really want to get enough sleep, try sleeping as nature designed - sundown is bedtime; sunrise is time to get up. Now there's a challenge!

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

I agree that we don't get enough sleep. But this doesn't make any sense. At my latitude in June you're looking at 9h 25m of sleep. That's probably about right for my wife, and too much for me. But that's in June and I've already allotcated too much time for sleep. Getting on to Winter Soltice time and now I'm looking at 14 and half hours of sleep. Way too much for almost anyone.

Older societies also took ciestas, as do other societies in the world. I think western culture could benefit from that.

None of us get enough sleep. If there were no artificial light, we would go to bed with the moon and get up with the sun. The lure of electric lights keeps us up well past sundown and our daily commute on the hamster wheel of life has us up with the sun anyway. If you really want to get enough sleep, try sleeping as nature designed - sundown is bedtime; sunrise is time to get up. Now there's a challenge!

Hollycat:flowerforyou:

Crap - I need to be in bed right now then. It's 4:00 and I'm at work for another hour and a half, but I'm sure my boss won't mind me sleeping here from now on, or at least until it stays light long enough for me to get home.

I am ALWAYS tired. I can get 5 hours or 11 hours - there is NEVER a point in time when I am not tired. So I've got no advice there.

Thanks for all your replies guys. I will need to spend a few more days getting into a routine to really work out everything. I also cant wait for the holidays.

@psulemon - I am 5'8", 89kg. I have a bit to lose still. Im size 18 in clothes. I started working out properly again four weeks ago.

Monday: 6:15 - 7am Boxing
Tuesday: lunchtime gym
Wednesday: 7:30am PT session
Thursday 7am Gym
Friday: 6:15am-7am Boxing
Saturday: 8:30am PT session.
Sunday: off.

PS - it does feel great to say I am only 89kg, I have lost 6 kg in the last 4 weeks (roughly).

Based on your stats nd workout routine i would have you eat 1900 calories daily. This includes a deficit over the week so you would not need to eat back exercise calories. Also i generally adjust macros to 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. Try this for a few weeks. If you are still tired go to the doctor for blood work.