Sleep

We've always known that the recommended number of hours of sleep is 8 hours, but realistically, that's just not going to happen. Between school, work, children, exercising, social activities, etc - the "ideal" number of hours of sleep seemed to be impossible to achieve to get well-rested.

On an average, how many hours do you sleep in a day?

I'll start: 5 hrs. (I have a toddler, parttime mom of 3, a dog, 50 hr/wk job, head of household)

I am unemployed and have been out of school for almost a year now. I usually get around ten to twelve hours of sleep a night. Hopefully I will hear back from somewhere that I have applied soon so I can stop sleeping so much and start working again.

Original Post by brackish_kitty:

I'll start: 5 hrs. (I have a toddler, parttime mom of 3, a dog, 50 hr/wk job, head of household)

Wow, I'm impressed with how much you do!! I don't work (ha! just 14 hours a day of childcare, cleaning, shopping, laundry, cooking, more cleaning, and being teacher, agony aunt, entertainer, taxi driver and nurse to 3 kids) - I'm lucky if I get 5-6 hours a night. 8 sounds rather nice though...

I sleep about 8 to 8.5 hours naturally. there is aton of research about sleep and health. They have found that you should get between 6-8 hours a night. Anything less than that is considered sleep deprivation and can cause serious health problems. They have also found that sleeping more than 9 hours a day can lead to health problems.

Sounds like you have a very busy life! Are you able to sleep more on your weekends to make up for your lack of sleep during the week?

im 21 im on that #team no sleep ! i like to stay up sometimes 38 - 40 hours at a time.. but the normal sleep for me is about 5-6 hours a day ... if i do decide i want sleep ! im so use to staying up long periods of time due to hospital trips ( they wake you up constantly even when u do fall asleep ) so between gaming friends and even texting in my sleep ! LOLZ sleeps one of those things i do on the in between ! 

I'm a university student, and while I used to be one of those people who pulled all-nighters several nights in a row (running on caffeine pills since I dislike coffee), I really prioritise sleep now. 7 hours seems to give me maximum alertness the following day, so that's how much I aim for every night.

Original Post by ksmart1444:

Sounds like you have a very busy life! Are you able to sleep more on your weekends to make up for your lack of sleep during the week?

Yes! My husband (who works two jobs during the weekdays) would care for the 2 year old for half a day and I take advantage of that. Every weekend I take long naps of 2.5 to 3 hours.

Original Post by mrswilsonscat:

Original Post by brackish_kitty:

Wow, I'm impressed with how much you do!! I don't work (ha! just 14 hours a day of childcare, cleaning, shopping, laundry, cooking, more cleaning, and being teacher, agony aunt, entertainer, taxi driver and nurse to 3 kids) - I'm lucky if I get 5-6 hours a night. 8 sounds rather nice though...

That sounds like more work than I do! Though I found that taking care of a 2, 6, 8 and 14 year old is far more tiring than working 10 hour shifts.

Now that it's spring break, i've been able to get a solid 8-9 hours a night :D I ALWAYS wake up between 7-8:30 though, no matter how late I go to bed. Then, during the day, i'm always tired and end up taking naps in the car -.-ll (i don't drive btw, so you guys don't have to worry about me crashing into you on the road lol). I don't know why I can't just go back to sleep like a normal person, but I just can't. But, when it's not break, I usually get about 5-7 hours (on occasion, 8) on school days.

I get 6.5-7...wish I could get 8+!  About once a week I will fall asleep with the kids and therefore get more...

Sleep is a constant battle for me. 

For some reason, I fight going to bed.  I have always been this way, like I am afraid I am going to miss something.  I used to be a night owl, but I married a farmer boy who gets up at 4 am and goes to bed at 9pm. 

But I'm also pretty busy, 8 year old kid with activities 4-5 days/nights a week, full-time job, working out 5-6 days/week,  cooking, cleaning up, laundry, working with son on his piano practice nightly, practicing my guitar and going to lessons, shopping, posting on Calorie Count!  I don't really feel like I have any spare time to get more sleep.

I need more sleep, but I am good on about 6 to 6.5 - from 11pm to 5:30 am.  On weekends I try to get more.  I think my ideal is between 7 and 8 hours.  If I get under 6 hours, I get really, really cranky and no one is happy. 

For some reason when I start exercising I can’t get a good night sleep. I might wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake for an hour or two. I thought it should be opposite. Does anyone experience that? Maybe I am just getting old

I usually sleep 6 hours if I don’t wake up in the middle of the night. Even weekend  I don’t sleep more then 7.