The missing ingredient-SLEEP
red0801
Posts: 283 Member
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?
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
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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.0 -
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.0
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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
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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.0
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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. 0
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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.0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
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"0
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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 that0 -
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!0 -
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!0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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..0 -
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!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.
Melatonin works, but less is more with that.0 -
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.0 -
I go to youtube and listen to the sleep hypnotherapy video. It usually does the trick0
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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.0
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Sundown brand "Super Snooze" MelatoninThe 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?
: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.0 -
Sadly, after being in school for the past few years I have trained myself to 4-5 hours a night. Once a week I don't have commitments in the morning which allows me to sleep for 7-8. I can lay down for longer, but I rarely sleep. This sleep pattern runs in the family, my mother had the same sleep schedule until she retired. Occasionally I nap, but it probably is only once a month for a couple of hours.0
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Very good topic.
I have suffered from sleep problems all my life, the doctors way of coping with this was always take these pills, that's ok for a while then the pills stop working and your prescribed stronger pills, and so on, until your a moody zombie who nobody wants to be around. I gave up on that route when I was in my teens.
The good stuff has already been mentioned here but a few tricks that help me nod off are.
No TV in the bedroom.
Cut your caffeine intake. No coffee tea after 6pm (I can get away with 7)
No drugs, they will always fail in the end when your body gets used to them.
A good book, read until you feel sleepy.
When you have difficulty dropping off, in your head retrace a route or a journey, to a friend or relatives house road by road.
or
Count backwards by 3 or 4 and pick a random figure, eg 750. 750 -3 747, 744, 741 and so on... better than counting sheep which has never worked for me.0 -
1. Sleep needed. I need to have 7 hours of sleep. I know people that need 3, and people that need 10 hours. I gauge my "need" on feeling completely rested after 7 hours, and that is the amount of time that my body naturally wakes itself up (with no alarms)
2. Insomnia: Was a chronic sufferer. These help:
1)Do not ingest caffeine within 12 hours of going to sleep. So, if you know you need to be in bed at 10 p.m., you should have drunk your last cup of coffee/ tea/ cola, had chocolate by 10 a.m., or before, for example.
2) Visualized meditations take practice but are phenomenally effective at helping cure insomnia naturally, without medications, etc. (easy to teach)
3) Do not exercise within three hours of going to sleep (seems to work for me)
4) Er, um.. sex, when appropriate, of course--. (Which is the one time that Rule #3 can be broken.) Of course, this doesn't cure insomnia "during" EEeeK! (I hope!) but - afterwards, more sound rest.
5) No TV in the bedroom.
6) Use the bed for two things, and two things only: Sleeping, and sex. Find other places to do other things. The brain will register where you are, and signal that one of two things will happen. Sleep is one of those two..
7) Play a short audio book that bores you to tears, while you are already in bed, and maybe it will bore you to sleep? (has worked)
Good luck!0 -
i have a weird thing ive always done. ill sleep 5-6 hours most nights and always wake up really early. i will do this for several days then all of the sudden on a rainy day or 7-10 days later ill have a day where ill just go to bed early and sleep like 8-10 hours. my sleep really depends on if im sick or the weather. if its a nice day, im up and go go go. i do tend to rely on a lot of coffee or caffeine in general. but i never take sleep meds. i dont like the feeling i get from them.0
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i try for 6 to 7,, i am just not a sleeper, my mind always races and i want to get up and go, i can never relax fully.. it drives me nuts,, if there are any other p[eople like this, add me,,,,,,,i guess i sleep when i die....0
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Mmm! Delicious sleep!!
I really love 7.5 hours too!!
Last night I pushed it and stayed up too late and woke up early for a trans-Atlantic Skype date.
Though it was worth only getting 5 3/4 hours, I really feel it today...Not so much sleepy as nervy and
difficulty with concentration.
Also, if I don't sleep enough I feel VORACIOUSLY hungry...
Anyone else like that?
Tonight, it's a hot bath and early bed time for me!!0 -
Great topic! Also a lot of good suggestions on how to get sleep. Mine is Yoga - which ever kind you do it really calms me down and helps reduce stress which is usually why I can't sleep.
Also noticed that while I can live on 6 hrs of sleep each night I don't lose weight on it. To lose weight and heal I need 7 - 8 hrs.
And recently since I've been keeping to daily yoga at 6:30am schedule coffee after 4pm really messes me up.0 -
I'm lucky- have never suffered from insomnia. I need 5 hours of sleep - otherwise I'm a complete grouch, do well with 6 hours, and am happy when I get 7 but can't really sleep more than that - my internal clock wakes me after 7 hours, every single time! I'd say I average 6 hours a day most weeks...0
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I have a built in alarm clock in my body that wakes me up after 5 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. That is usually enough time but since I have started working out, my body feels it needs 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep so I give it what it needs.
I am lucky. I do not battle insomnia and I fall asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. I wear a CPAP for sleep apnea but I am hoping that I will be ridding myself of that device once I hit my final goal weight. Your body is an amazing machine that knows what it needs. Listen to it and give it what it says.
No advice for insomnia as the only two times I have had it was after surgeries. I feel sorry for those who deal with that on a constant basis. It really messed with my mind when I did have it. Lucky for me it was only for 3-4 weeks at a time.0 -
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.
I like the brown noise from http://simplynoise.com/. I started using fans to create white noise, but would eventually burn them out. Now I have the brown noise track looped on my ipod that I play on my surround sound system in my bedroom.
I need about 7 hours to feel good, but tend to only get about 6.0
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