The missing ingredient-SLEEP

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red0801
red0801 Posts: 283 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
The ingredient you never hear mentioned when talking about health and fitness is sleep, or giving your body the chance to rebuild. So I'd like to hear every ones experience on 2 topics:
1: How much sleep do you need to "feel" recharged and ready to face the day?

2: For you insomniacs out there, what tips & trick have you found to get a good nights rest?
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Replies

  • Emtabo01
    Emtabo01 Posts: 672
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    I prefer 9 hours, but need 7.

    If I have insomnia and sleep like crap for a night or two, I just remember in two nights I'll be so tired I'll sleep great then. Then I can usually get back on track.
  • MavenMassage505
    MavenMassage505 Posts: 53
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    Sleep is crucial for our HGH release so our bodies can heal and it's equally important for our metabolism. I love to get nine but can tolerate seven. If I get less than seven, I can really feel it. My muscle recovery from working out is down and my metabolism isn't happy as well. I also notice I have more water retention if I don't get enough Zzzz.
  • nikongirl29
    nikongirl29 Posts: 59 Member
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    I would love the hear the answer to HOW to get to sleep! It's after midnight and here I sit on MFP :/
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
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    I get about 9, sometimes 9.5 hours a night. Any more or any less than that means things usually aren't going well for me.
  • wtw0n
    wtw0n Posts: 1,083 Member
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    5-6 hours of GOOD sleep is enough for me. I have slept quite well lately (7-9 hours), but that's with a help of meds... I'm insomniac and I've suffered from this for years :/ Without meds my circadian rhythm gets all messed up and I sleep only few hours a day, sometimes I may be up 24+ hours.
  • danmcgarrigle5
    danmcgarrigle5 Posts: 90
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    I've had trouble sleeping for years, I think it is partly due to the medication I am on. The odd thing is it makes me sleepy. If I try to nap after taking it during the dayI'll sleep about 2 hours, if I fight it I can stay awake but then I get into that stage where you are tired, but cannot sleep because the second you lay down your brain goes into overdrive. I'll get up to do something until I feel tired again but as soon as I sit up I feel like I could pass out, but the second my head hit the pillow my mind is going 20000 miles an hour.

    When I do get to sleep naturally I usually will sleep about 10-12 hours. My body seems to be closer to a 36 hour cycle versus a 24 hour cycle. I'll take some melatonin from time to time and get some awesome sleep but find I wake up and still feel drowsy for a couple hours. I cannot have caffeine, so that kinda sucks as I'm sure some coffee would help tremendously.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
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    I work a swing shift, sleep at different times everyday, it is not easy. Plus I have sleep apnea and have to use CPAP. I have found that I need 6 hours a day. I prefer 8 hrs a day. I use the sleep bank theory and it seems to work with my strange schedule. On my off days I sleep extra for the days I will not be able to get more that 5 1/2 to 6 hrs. I have been working like this for over three years and it seems to work. I know that last nightshift before my sleep makeup day is a killer, and I am a bear every wednesday until i refill my sleep bank.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
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    1. 7 hours would be wonderful! I usually end up functioning on 5.
    2. I can fall asleep, but staying asleep is another matter. Melatonin helps.
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
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    It's my current missing ingredient. I usually go to bed around 1 n force myself to lay there till morning(usually fall asleep between 1-2 hrs after laying down) n If I'm woke up it's just bad. get up around 730, I'm usually tired, but I'm able to function. Once every couple of weeks or once a week some times I sleep a good 12hrs to repay my "sleep debt"
  • danmcgarrigle5
    danmcgarrigle5 Posts: 90
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    5-6 hours of GOOD sleep is enough for me. I have slept quite well lately (7-9 hours), but that's with a help of meds... I'm insomniac and I've suffered from this for years :/ Without meds my circadian rhythm gets all messed up and I sleep only few hours a day, sometimes I may be up 24+ hours.

    I remember a study done several years ago where they had volunteers live in apartments for several weeks, or a few months. They had no exposure to the outside world (no windows, no live TV no internet) and no clocks. They had entertainment materials (books, movies, that sort of stuff I assume) I don't remember all the details exactly as this was about 8-10 years ago I heard about it. They were asked to keep track of the date. At the end of the study the majority of people were fairly close to the actual date and stayed on a 24 hour clock, but there was a small portion that didn't stick with the 24 hour cycle, the significant thing they found was these people fell into a 36 hour "day" and their calendar reflected that
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I KNOW this is an area in which i suffer... Chronic night owl but hard for someone with "normal" business day hours. I swear i have Circadian rhythm sleep disorder. In fact, i am certain that i do....
    I know it is hindering my body's recovery, i can feel it. But despite my best efforts to go to bed at a reasonable hour, i just cant get my *kitten* in bed or if i don, just cant fall asleep.
    I will be back to see what others say here. Good topic!
  • quietlywinning
    quietlywinning Posts: 889 Member
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    I've always been lucky to get 5 hours of sleep, function fine on 4, but crave more. I think the older I get, the more sleep I am needing. On the rare nights I get 6-7 hours of sleep, I feel much better. I haven't yet figured out HOW to get more sleep. If I go to bed before midnight, I may fall asleep, but it will be a short nap. Then my body will know I napped and refuse to sleep the rest of the night. If I don't get to sleep by midnight, I have a second wind. Yeah....insomnia is my middle name. I do believe that may be contributing to my seriously long plateau. I'm all ears, here!
  • asaa86
    asaa86 Posts: 2
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    I've been suffering from slight insomnia for years a friend suggested I try melatonin and it worked! .. However, then she told me to use 5HTP instead which not only fixes your sleep but increases seratonin, makes you happier. I've been on them for about a year and can safely say I fixed my sleep and my mood levels are way better. Please use 5HTP, it is not harmful.
  • akj_25
    akj_25 Posts: 244 Member
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    on my days off i can easily sleep for 10+ hours, am fine with less but will take the sleep when i can get it.
    i work 12 hour nights so typically day one of work i am up for 24 hours, get 4-5 hours of sleep for the next couple of day (interupted sleep, as i have to drive to town at 3.5 hours to pick up my dtr) then sleep for 10+ hours on my first night off, and 8 hours on other days off.
  • droneofvelvet
    droneofvelvet Posts: 290 Member
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    I had really bad insomnia for a couple years and my dr prescribed medications to me for it, but instead I changed some things about my life.

    1. If I am tired at 7pm I will go to bed. Do not wait for the next indicator that you need rest. TV, games, the internet and etc are not as important as you feeling your best and sleep is important for all aspects of life.

    2. No Naps after 2 pm.

    3. NO COFFEE AFTER 2PM UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE AN INSOMNIAC. I was guzzling down iced coffees to play online games all night.

    4. Which leads me to...take a look at your addictions. Are you stuck on a game, tv show, or even a person so much that it is keeping you awake? Take a step back and take a break.

    5. Exercise...getting rid of all that excess energy. I get better sleep if I do 1-2 hrs and I know that is a lot but that dedication is necessary for me to live a medication free life.

    6. Don't eat heavy dinners. Heartburn kept me awake sometimes from gross oily or spicy dinners.

    So sometimes I go to bed at 7pm, sometimes 12 pm, but I always go to bed when I am tired and I do not wait it out to ride the next wave of energy. I was staying up for days and it made me feel worse and worse.

    Peace..
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I've been suffering from slight insomnia for years a friend suggested I try melatonin and it worked! .. However, then she told me to use 5HTP instead which not only fixes your sleep but increases seratonin, makes you happier. I've been on them for about a year and can safely say I fixed my sleep and my mood levels are way better. Please use 5HTP, it is not harmful.
    I tried 5htp in the past. I had some very weird dreams and bizarre feelings after beginning its use,it was messing with my head and thought pattern and process and serious weird disturbing dreams. I truly had to stop taking it.. Thank goodness after a few days of stopping it i was back to normal!
    Melatonin works, but less is more with that.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    I need 7.5 hours (7 leaves me feeling unrested and 8 leaves me groggy) and I usually get 7.5. I used to have horrid insomnia, all through college, but then I discovered the sleep machine (it's just noises like a fan blowing, water running, etc). Eventually my machine broke and I just switched to a stereo (small speakers plugged into iPhone, nothing fancy) in my bedroom playing different iTunes sleep albums. Right now I am snoozin' out to "Goodnight Classics: Classical Music for Sleeping and Dreaming," and I have honestly not actually heard anything past the first song. It puts me to sleep in about 30 seconds. Complete bliss.

    I also recommend a little notebook by the bed or a note app on your phone. A lot of why I used to have trouble sleeping was because I would think "ahh tomorrow I have to remember to finish editing such and such" or "don't forget to pay X bill by Wednesday" and I would continue to worry that I would forget that thing and stay up remembering it and 100 other things. Now I just make a quick note in my phone and look at them the next day. Zzzzzzz.

    Droneofvelvet also brought up a lot of great points. I very rarely nap (30 minutes max--maybe twice a year lol). I don't drink caffeine past about 6pm.

    Make your bedroom your little sleep palace. No work in there. I recommend not having a tv in there. Invest in soft sheets and comfy pillows. Get some kind of bedtime ritual together (take a vitamin, put on lotion, start sleep music, so on and so forth). We really respond well to rituals.
  • 2essie
    2essie Posts: 2,867 Member
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    I go to youtube and listen to the sleep hypnotherapy video. It usually does the trick
  • Minerva624
    Minerva624 Posts: 577 Member
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    I'm an insomniac and I can function on 6 hours of sleep minimum. I can't force myself to fall asleep so I'm basically a night owl who falls asleep when my energy level is completely down to zero.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    The ingredient you never hear mentioned when talking about health and fitness is sleep, or giving your body the chance to rebuild. So I'd like to hear every ones experience on 2 topics:
    1: How much sleep do you need to "feel" recharged and ready to face the day?

    2: For you insomniacs out there, what tips & trick have you found to get a good nights rest?
    Sundown brand "Super Snooze" Melatonin

    :yawn: I am up WAY too late tonight... hope everyone gets to sleep eventually! It's the Melatonin that helps me relax (our body makes it naturally, sometimes we get depleted and need a boost, that's why I'm currently taking it), tossing the idea out in case someone's in need and never tried it out.

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