Impact of lack of sleep

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arizonahiker
arizonahiker Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question which has been really bugging me lately. Everyone says (and I agree) that sleep is critical to being healthy. Unfortunately I work about an hour and a half away from my house, so a typical dad means I am away from home from 6:30am till about 6pm. Then its make dinner (single dad) clean up do laundry etc... The only way I have been able to get to the gym is by waking up at 4am and getting it in before work. My daughter is in High School so she is OK with getting herself up and ready before I get home. As hard as I try I tend to stay awake until about 10pm each night which emans I am sleeping about 6 hours a night. In my mind thats plenty, I get a little tired late in the day but I also have more energy. I may not be getting 8 hours a night but I feel the health benefits outweigh the lack of sleep. Any comments would be helpful.

Replies

  • nataschalouise
    nataschalouise Posts: 62
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    I just posted a topic about 50minutes ago with no reply, asking sort of the same thing. I have been sleeping terribly and really want to know if it is wise to continue to exercise on 3-4hours sleep a day. I get these periods of non-sleep a few days a month, so if I know I can get back into a sleeping routine again, I feel as if I should man-up and just go to the gym. I will let you know if anyone comments on the post.
  • SkinnyFatAlbert
    SkinnyFatAlbert Posts: 482 Member
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    I get a little tired late in the day but I also have more energy

    Huh?
  • SeeingLessofKristin
    SeeingLessofKristin Posts: 6
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    Have you considered doing an in home program instead of the gym? Might give you a little extra sleep time!
  • floareaciprian
    floareaciprian Posts: 46 Member
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    Whenever i get less than 8-9 hours a sleep i can feel it in the gym, i'm weaker...i'm doing less reps...all around my energy levels are bad. I suppose it depends on the person.
  • flsunshine
    flsunshine Posts: 188 Member
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    not everyone need exactly 8 hours of sleep. on good nights i get 4-6 hours. esp during my work week since i live 45 minutes from my job and work like 7 am to 8 pm and get home around 9 and by the time i eat etc its almost 11 am. i also suffer from insomnia which some days 2 hours of sleep may be all i get. but on my days off i hit the gym.
    so if it works for you keep it up. your body will tell you when it needs the extra rest.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    I envy your 6 hours.. I find it virtually impossible to sleep and normally wind up with about 4.5 hours a night even when I try to get to bed earlier. I have learned to deal with my lack of sleep but I can say for a fact that if I slept better my weight loss wouldn't be taking me nearly as long as it has. Your experience might be different.

    I guess it depends how you feel. For me, I'm up at 4:50 every morning to get to work and by 9 pm I can barely keep my eyes open anymore - too bad I can't actually sleep the whole night or I'd be golden! I don't go to the gym but I do walk a lot (to work and back from my bus stop) I am in the same boat in terms of not being able to see where I would have time to go formally to a gym since they all open at 6 and I am well on the way to work by then.

    If you feel good then keep doing it, if not then don't - everyone is different ;)
  • amyjpage
    amyjpage Posts: 97 Member
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    just a suggestion ... you mentioned your daughter is high school age ... can she help out a bit more with preparing dinners / house keeping / laundry etc... ? I know the extra hands around my home to help out with that sort of stuff makes it much easier for me to get my workouts in and I find I don't have as much going in my head cause I don't have to worry about it, it's being taken care of and I don't feel so overwhelmed with having so much to do.
  • mag2906
    mag2906 Posts: 57 Member
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    I get about 5-6 hours on week days and 8 on weekends.
    I work out at home but I only do DVD's with 5-8 lbs weights so it's easy to do it at home.
    I have to be out the door at 6:45am and I'm back usually around 6-7 pm.
    I do my work out around 8-9 pm. I'm usually ok with that but recently I'm feeling really tired and it's hard to work out so I've been pushing myself for more sleep.

    Probably not much help here but I feel your pain.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Everyone needs differing amounts of sleep, but if you are feeling it in the afternoons, you probably aren't getting enough. That is a pretty chronic problem for everyone these days.

    http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain
  • cleback
    cleback Posts: 261 Member
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    I second the home workout suggestion. When I work my stretch of 12.5-hr night shifts, they are a life saver.

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