Sleep

I am surprised to see so many people still posting.... almost midnight here?? I have heard that a person needs at least 7 hours sleep a night .....wards off weight gain, heart disease, diabetes and a host of other health issues.....how many hours do you tally a night and do you think it makes a difference?

Anymore...4-5hrs tops.

It might be midnight in your part of the world, but this is an international forum - it's midday here and I'm wide awake!

I think the hours of sleep you need is an individual thing - for me, about 7-8 hours minimum is ideal to keep me feeling good and able to do all the things I want in my day.

I get like 7 hours. I try anyway. Some nights like tonight, i am up but know that I shouldn't do that, but I am a wife, mother, and caretaker and sometimes I like the late nights because they are for me.

I do thinks it makes a difference. You burn calories in your sleep still that is why i try to get to sleep on time.

Interesting topic. I would like to know what others think as well.

Seven really is the lucky number - at least when it comes to sleep.

Regularly sleeping less than seven hours a day is linked to an increased risk for heart disease, say researchers at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

But don't assume that more sleep is better: The researchers also found that regularly sleeping more than seven hours a day is associated with increased heart disease risk.

They published their findings in the August 1, 2010 issue of the journal "Sleep."

The researchers followed more than 30,000 adults, all of whom were healthy at the start of the study. They found that short and long sleep duration were associated with increased heart disease risk even when they controlled for age, sex, race, ethnicity, smoking, alcohol intake, and other risk factors.

Adults who slept less than five hours a day (including naps) were more than twice as likely to develop heart disease. Those who slept more than nine hours or longer a day were one and a half times more likely to develop heart disease.

Why does sleep less or more than seven hours increase the risk? The researchers don't know.

But study author Anoop Shankar, MD, PhD, associate professor of community medicine at the university, said it might be helpful for people to discuss their sleep habits - including changes in sleep duration - with their doctors.


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I just recently read that people who sleep 6 - 7 hours have the most success with maintaining healthy weight.

But i agree it is individual. I seem to do best with 6-7 hours per night, and maybe one night per week i can have a good sleep in.

And yes - it is only mid day where i am, so not up missing sleep posting!

I feel more rested after 4-6 hours.....any more and I drag *kitten* all day.

I need 7 hours too but have trouble getting it. Most days I sleep 4-6 hours, even if I have time to spare. My body's just effed up like that :mad:

I have a lot of sleeping issues haha, I'll get insomnia from time to time so I'll get barely any sleep, and also I'll barely get any sleep when I have school since often stay up super late trying to finish the tremendous amount of school work I get. but for quite a while I have been sleeping a lot, when I can.. when I can sleep in I'll sleep for like, 15 hours which is probably not healthy haha. But I feel the best when I sleep that much honestly

I get anywhere from 7-9 hours, (usually closer to 9 I think) and I think it helps. Plus, I just have less time to get into junky snacks!

Oh, just FYI - to those of you who are having trouble sleeping - make sure you are sleeping in a DARK room. Even fairly small amounts of light can cause the pineal gland to think we should be awake... just something to think about
If you're already sleeping in total pitch black and having trouble, maybe look into melatonin supplements.

You mean lack of sleep? All I know is working night shift added some pounds on. Your body wants to naturally shut down and since sleeping isn't an option the only way to refuel is to eat. Granted it could be something healthy but it still screws things up. Also,you are still hungry in the morning when you get off of work just as if you were not working. I am finding it difficult to manage to stay on track the nights I work this shift. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. Thanks!

I work nights, 12hr shifts, 5p-5a. I usually sleep til about 1pm, and I start my day there through 5am. I don't log it on 2 separate days and that has really helped me I think. I try to eat at 3am, something to fuel my workout and hold me over til bedtime and not anything after. I work out when I get off. Basically, I try to schedule my day the same way I would if i worked a normal 8-5 job. My hours are just different.