Be gentle it's my first poll.

 

A poll in honor of McCleveland's recent addition to his family and his impending 3 months of sleep deprivation. Plus I had a really crappy week of sleep, so I decided to see how much sleep other UO'ers get a night. 

 

I am usually in bed at 12:30-1:00 and then up at 5:45. Rarely do I get an uninterupted night of sleep.

Im usually in bed around 11PM and up around 5:30/6:00 for a run or the gym.

I'm in bed around 11:30 / 12, and up again at 6, but as with CBC, there hasn't been an uninterrupted night of sleep in 6 years. One of my 3 is up for something. So I usually max out at around 5 hours.

 

Man I'm tired.

Ideally I fall asleep around 12-1AM and my alarm goes off at 6:15AM.

The past few months I'd been waking up after three or four hours, feeling like I'd been plugged into a 110V wall socket. It was wearing me down. Then, I remembered good old Benadryl. A tablespoon with a glass of water at bedtime, and I sleep about seven hours and wake up feeling reasonably rested.

My wife will use Benadryl to fall asleep too.

 

I took 1 Tylenol PM the other night, instead of the normal dosage of 2, becaus it was late and I was pretty wired. It caused me to sleep in an hour and I was out of it the next day. I may have been sleeping but it certainly wasn't restful. 

 

 

Pre-baby...bed around 11/11:30 and up at 7.

 

Post baby...well, who knows.  Yesterday:  Slept from 5:30pm-6:30pm, 10pm-1:15am, and 3am-6am.  If I could fall back asleep immediately after waking up and feeding him, all would be fine I think.  But tough to do sometimes.

I should be thankful...most adults I talk to have trouble sleeping. I rarely have trouble falling asleep. I sleep through the night almost every night. I usually go to bed around 12 and get up around 7.

Go to bed between 10 and 11, up between 5 and 6. About once a week one of the kids will get up in the night, and I'm a lighter sleeper than the wife, so it's usually my job to calm them down and put them back in bed.

Tylenol PM, and most nighttime cold medicines make me jittery and while I'm groggy, I can't get a good restful sleep on them.

 

A friend of mine suggested trying Melatonin. Anyone ever used it?

Tylenol PM, and most nighttime cold medicines make me jittery and while I'm groggy, I can't get a good restful sleep on them.

 

A friend of mine suggested trying Melatonin. Anyone ever used it?

 

Yeah, I won't be using that again. It was horrible. I was still tired the next day and out of it. I haven't tried Melatonin but I have read that it works.

 

Of course I don't know if Melatonin will help me get a restful night's sleep when the 6 year appears at the side of the bed for the 2nd time that night and I give up trying to get him back in his bed. Then I spend the rest of the night being kicked and pushed off the edge of the bed.

Tylenol PM, and most nighttime cold medicines make me jittery and while I'm groggy, I can't get a good restful sleep on them.

 

A friend of mine suggested trying Melatonin. Anyone ever used it?

 

Yeah, I won't be using that again. It was horrible. I was still tired the next day and out of it. I haven't tried Melatonin but I have read that it works.

 

Of course I don't know if Melatonin will help me get a restful night's sleep when the 6 year appears at the side of the bed for the 2nd time that night and I give up trying to get him back in his bed. Then I spend the rest of the night being kicked and pushed off the edge of the bed.

 

HA! I have the same issue with the 4yo. How can you move so much when you're asleep? And how can someone so small take up the entire bed??

It really varies for me.  Depends on when I have to be up.  Normally, I sleep from about 1am to 7am.  When I have to get up earlier, I usually sacrafice the sleep and don't go to bed earlier.  What really screws with me is when I fall asleep early, as my body won't let me sleep much longer than 6 hours, if that.  I hate the early morning.  Hate it.  That smell of dew on the grass gives me anxiety flashing back to the days that I did have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn for a variety of things I hated in life (roofing gig, two-a-days, 9th grade, etc).

^ yeah, I remember having to get up hours before school started for pre-season baseball, which we did in the gym.  God I hated that.  Well, I hated waking up.  I actually liked practice...until the running at the end :(

When I went to US for 9th grade.  I had to get up early enough to walk to the RTA stop on Monticello and Noble, take the bus to the Shaker campus, then take the shuttle to the upper campus in Hunting Valley, then get dressed and walk the one mile trail to their athletic fields where the dew was waiting for me tfo plant my arse in and start stretching.  It was probably worse in college in NC when those insects would be chirping in harmony just to let you know that the upcoming early August day was going to melt the gear right onto your body.  What are those insects, anyways?  They are out in the morning and they all start and stop chirping together

I get about 7 hours of sleep nowadays (11:30pm-6:30am).  I literally used to sleep like 3 hours a night back in high school.  I don't know how I did it.

I get about 7 hours of sleep nowadays (11:30pm-6:30am). I literally used to sleep like 3 hours a night back in high school. I don't know how I did it.

 

Youth

I get about 7 hours of sleep nowadays (11:30pm-6:30am).  I literally used to sleep like 3 hours a night back in high school.  I don't know how I did it.

 

Youth

 

LOL

 

You dont have to be young, when I drink Coffee I could function on 2/3 hours of sleep a day.

In bed at 1:00 - 2:00 a.m.  Up at 7:30. 

 

Getting to bed early for me is midnight.  I live close to work and bike there and arrive at 8:30 and eat breakfast at my office.  Leave at 5:15 to get home at 5:30 which means according to my sleep schedule I get nearly 8 hours of active time once I'm home from work.

 

My personal record for longest time without ANY sleep at all was 70 continuous hours back in college.  The longest I've been able to do recently is no more than 40 hours.

 

When do I know I haven't gotten enough sleep?  Though I'm very fortunate to have 20/20 vision I also have nystagmus, so as my eyes and mind fatique, my brain can no longer successfully damper a fluctuating image.  Neurological interpretations from firing cones start failing.  Rooms, openings, objects etc begin to outline with red and green lines, very similar to what you see when you take 3d glasses off at a movie.  It's absolutely bizarre.  Usually a quick nap gets rid of it.  It happens VERY rarely, but only when I've come close to pulling a double all nighter.

I can make it on very little sleep..... but I have never pulled an all-nighter and then made it through the entire next day without going to sleep.  That siad, I can't say that I ever HAD to....... if that was the case, I could probably make it, but man do I hit a wall around noon the few times I tried to pull that shite

I did occasional near-48 hour stretches without sleep when I was in my 20s. The effect it had on me, especially when working outdoors was a sense of remarkable clarity to the sights and sounds around me, accompanied by exhilaration, followed after an hour or so by getting giddy-silly and slap-happy just before I crashed.

When I was in the Army I regularly pulled 24 hour shifts and then didn't need to make up for it the next day. During the invasion of Iraq I was up over 72 hours straight.

 

Now just a few years later I feel like crap the next day if I stay up past 11. Weird.

When I was in the Army I regularly pulled 24 hour shifts and then didn't need to make up for it the next day. During the invasion of Iraq I was up over 72 hours straight.

 

Now just a few years later I feel like crap the next day if I stay up past 11. Weird.

 

Ahhh.....the joys of CQ and Staff Duty. I remember those days; makes me enjoy being a civilian that much more.

 

During the weekdays, I usually go to bed between 12-1am and get up around 7.

 

I think my record for consecutive hours awake is a measely 29 hours (at least compared to others with 48+ hours).

 

Idk how some of you guys do it (50, 60, 70 hours and stuff). I'm still in my mid 20s, and it is nearly impossible for me to stay awake for more than 24 hours.

 

I 'had' to pull an all-nighter recently (26 hours), and even after 7 hours of sleep, I was still groogy for the entire following day.

Didn't I make a thread about this?

 

I have really bad sleep problems. I go to bed and my brain starts racing. Next thing I know, it's 6am. When my brain should be racing during the day, it's too calm. It's really strange. Some days I'll get 3 hrs of sleep, other days, especially weekends, I get 12 hrs to make up for lack of sleep. I tried taking Ambien but all it did was make my sleep pattern worse. This is supposed to be a miracle drug for insomnia. It's the worst drug on the planet. It's a controlled substance and I tried it as a last resort. Tylenol PM, Nyquil, etc. give me really bad hangovers - just as bad as an alcohol binge. I hate it; I wish there were an easy solution. Hypnosis cds help more than anything else I've tried. On those occasional (half of the time over the long term, I guess) I function well on 8 hrs of sleep each night. I need 7 hours minimum for restorative sleep that gives me enough energy and clarity for the day.

 

Btw, just some advice because I've tried a lot of drugs to help me sleep: Over the long term, those sleep aids don't help you. Melatonin isn't regulated by the FDA (dosages vary by a large margin within each pill) and it's the only hormone you can get over the counter, without a prescription so keep that in mind - I think it says a lot. Sominex/Unisom, NyQuil, Ambien, Dramamine and all that other stuff... they're drugs. They're not going to help you with long term sleep problems. In all honesty, I think my problem is caffeine but I just can't give it up. I love the morning clarity you get with caffeine. The problem is that caffeine has a long half-life. It takes forever for caffeine to really get out of your system. Then there's the issue of it dehydrating you and that creates havoc for your whole body. You get a fast, weak pulse which isn't good when you're crashing and feeling the anxiety coming on. Sometimes your biggest problems have the most obvious solutions but hey, I'm human and I need my caffeine :P Lately I've been cutting myself off much earlier in the day though.

I have really bad sleep problems. I go to bed and my brain starts racing. Next thing I know, it's 6am. When my brain should be racing during the day, it's too calm. It's really strange. Some days I'll get 3 hrs of sleep, other days, especially weekends, I get 12 hrs to make up for lack of sleep.

 

Consequently, we cannot "make up" sleep, as many people have the misconception that we can. All attempting to capture the sleep you missed during the week does is throw off your circadian rhythm.

 

I had sleep problems for a while and used to do exactly what you are doing: sleeping 2 and 3 hours some nights and sleeping 10-13 hours on the weekend. That wreaks havoc on your body and makes it difficult for your body to get into a general set sleep pattern to rely on to fall sleep.

 

I basically had to force myself to get into a set sleep pattern. After about a week, when my body got adjusted to going to sleep at a certain time, it was noticably easier for me to go to sleep AND wake up. I also felt energized upon waking and noticed that I had a lot more sustained energy and alertness during the day.

Sleep? What's that.

I sleep like the dead - 6ish or 7ish hours of solid sleep between midnight and 6ish and I'm good to go. Interrupt that solid sleep and you might lose a limb :-)

I sleep like the dead - 6ish or 7ish hours of solid sleep between midnight and 6ish and I'm good to go. Interrupt that solid sleep and you might lose a limb :)

 

Just a limb?  Nothing else?  he he he he he

I have really bad sleep problems. I go to bed and my brain starts racing. Next thing I know, it's 6am. When my brain should be racing during the day, it's too calm. It's really strange. Some days I'll get 3 hrs of sleep, other days, especially weekends, I get 12 hrs to make up for lack of sleep.

 

Consequently, we cannot "make up" sleep, as many people have the misconception that we can. All attempting to capture the sleep you missed during the week does is throw off your circadian rhythm.

 

I had sleep problems for a while and used to do exactly what you are doing: sleeping 2 and 3 hours some nights and sleeping 10-13 hours on the weekend. That wreaks havoc on your body and makes it difficult for your body to get into a general set sleep pattern to rely on to fall sleep.

 

I basically had to force myself to get into a set sleep pattern. After about a week, when my body got adjusted to going to sleep at a certain time, it was noticably easier for me to go to sleep AND wake up. I also felt energized upon waking and noticed that I had a lot more sustained energy and alertness during the day.

 

Yeah, I definitely notice that when I'm on a normal sleep pattern, I feel much more energized. Honestly, I think I'm just guilty of drinking too much caffeine. Not good when you're already dealing with the anxieties of life.

I have really bad sleep problems. I go to bed and my brain starts racing. Next thing I know, it's 6am. When my brain should be racing during the day, it's too calm. It's really strange. Some days I'll get 3 hrs of sleep, other days, especially weekends, I get 12 hrs to make up for lack of sleep.

 

Consequently, we cannot "make up" sleep, as many people have the misconception that we can. All attempting to capture the sleep you missed during the week does is throw off your circadian rhythm.

 

I had sleep problems for a while and used to do exactly what you are doing: sleeping 2 and 3 hours some nights and sleeping 10-13 hours on the weekend. That wreaks havoc on your body and makes it difficult for your body to get into a general set sleep pattern to rely on to fall sleep.

 

I basically had to force myself to get into a set sleep pattern. After about a week, when my body got adjusted to going to sleep at a certain time, it was noticably easier for me to go to sleep AND wake up. I also felt energized upon waking and noticed that I had a lot more sustained energy and alertness during the day.

 

Yeah, I definitely notice that when I'm on a normal sleep pattern, I feel much more energized. Honestly, I think I'm just guilty of drinking too much caffeine. Not good when you're already dealing with the anxieties of life.

 

Dont blame on the caffeine mister!

Dont blame on the caffeine mister!

 

This from the guy that ended up at the doctor's because he was drinking too much coffee! Oy!

Didn't I make a thread about this?

 

I have really bad sleep problems. I go to bed and my brain starts racing. Next thing I know, it's 6am. When my brain should be racing during the day, it's too calm.

 

[ ... ]

 

Maybe you're a nocturnal creature, or living/working on the wrong side of the globe?

 

I've worked various jobs on all three shifts. On day jobs, I was nearly overwhelmed mid-afternoons with drowsiness, and had to pump myself up with coffee and leave the office sometimes to go out and walk around in the factory for a while to stay awake. On weekends if I stayed up until around midnight, I didn't feel like going to bed until daylight, and then I was messed up the following week.

 

On second-shift jobs (~3pm-midnight) I had to get up to go to work just when I was fighting hardest to be alert and awake, and then when I got off work there weren't many places to get anything to eat and I wasn't sleepy. Often I'd stay up too long after work and run into sleep deficit problems.

 

I hit my stride on third shift (~11pm/12am to 8/9am). I could go to bed when the mid-afternoon slump hit, get up and go to work when I felt best, and feel energized throughout my whole shift. When I got off work in the morning, businesses were open and I could run errands and take care of personal business and then go to bed when I got sleepy. Most of the industrial jobs that ran three shifts are gone, now, and even in 24/6 data centers like the one where I worked for a year, there aren't that many jobs any more.

 

I'm glad I'm retired. All I need to know about time now is when I'm tired it's time to sleep, when I'm not it's time to get up, and when I'm hungry it's time to eat.

My second wind comes around 11pm.... so if I am still up at that point (most days) then I am no likely to go to bed until 1 or 2am

I love staying up late.  It's something my dad always did when i was growing up.  He'd be up until 3 am and then at work around 8.  I stay up later than i should (midnight) and get up between 5:30 and 6.  He'd take a fifteen minute nap and be totally refreshed, but i can't do that.

 

My ideal job would start around 11am and go until 7 pm.  Then i could still get a decent dinner and stay up all night.  It's so much easier to get things done at night.