How much sleep do you get / need?

[trilobite 279]

The IM with a 2 year old thread gave me shudders recalling the sleep patterns of my little guys in their early years (reminiscent of Guantanamo Bay interrogation techniques).

Then I noticed Garmin Connect is telling me that the average amount of sleep for my peers is ~8.5 hours (seems high compared to what my friends say).

Care to share observations on you sleep patterns (actual and intended)?

 

[Bosco 235]

8 hours exactly, any less on a weekly average and I am struggling. 

[goughy 3,744]

Looks like it's 6.5 to 7 for me.  That's been since I started a med that has drowsiness as a side effect.  Up until about two years ago it was 5.5 to 6.  Maybe 4 for an early training session.

My wife's body clock is all whack, so she's up until 2 or 3 in the morning, and I hated just leaving her sitting in the lounge room by herself after 8.30.  I feel less bad about it now days, but still don't like it, so tend to stay up later than I should be.

[Ironnerd 892]

I have to fill out the number of hours I slept on a fatigue checklist every morning. According to my Garmin I get about 7 hours a night. The "quality" and type of sleep varies quite a bit.

[pieman 1,194]

34 minutes ago, Ironnerd said:

I have to fill out the number of hours I slept on a fatigue checklist every morning. According to my Garmin I get about 7 hours a night. The "quality" and type of sleep varies quite a bit.

I find Garmin sleep monitoring less reliable than their wrist HR (which is saying something)..

I've had many nights where I've been awake most of the night but 'staying still' trying to drop off and I've recorded 8 hours of sleep with loads of rem and deep sleep...I think as long as you're still you get false readings

[Callum Dalgleish McGregor 49]

I find I like to get as much sleep as excessive quantities of alcohol and sleeping tablets allow me to have. Wandering the streets at 2am looking for someone to kill isnt a good look. (NB any resemblance to fact is purely coincidental and not intended)

 

[Chuckie M 337]

I am a shift worker on night shift tonight. Lack of sleep is a badge of honor...I have done long days training and headed to work...🙃

[IronmanFoz 1,656]

10 minutes ago, Chuckie M said:

I am a shift worker on night shift tonight. Lack of sleep is a badge of honor...I have done long days training and headed to work...🙃

I hear you. I am in the same boat - shift worker the last 10 years.... (12 hour shifts). Garmin says my average sleep this week is 8hours. What it doesn’t know is I had 3 night shifts this week and my watch lay upstairs beside my bed so it thinks that I slept well. 

I reckon I am the king of minimum sleep and getting the most out of every day. 

[MackaEvo2 109]

Ideally as much as I can get but sometimes it might only be a few hours, whether that be due my mind racing, crawling skin, house to hot, muscle spasms...
I find Cody Beals is very open about so much of what he experiences and goes throughs and one of the things he talks about is how up and down his sleep is. It's not a set sleep routine. His done sessions in the early hours (midnight - 4am) because that's just happens to be when he can get the session down. He sleeps when he can and gets the training done. He doesn't stress about what is considered the norm. 

[Chuckie M 337]

Having a bit of a crap night at work. I will sleep about 5 hours when I get home at 7am and ride 75k in a semi fasted state before work in the afternoon(rain pending). Have been reading "I robot" by Isaac Asimov during my down moments.🤩

[steve 83]

When I was at my peak 15+ years ago, I was getting 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep regularly. Don't know if I would have been better off with 8. These days, I try to get 8 and when I do I tend to have better workouts.

[Callum Dalgleish McGregor 49]

When I joined the cops in the mid 80s we did seven nights in a row of night shift from 11pm to 7am. It changed in the mid 90s to 12 hour shifts. I worked with coach@ very briefly in 1987. 

As a young bloke and a mad keen triathlete I never really thought about it I just worked, had a few exciting and fun times chasing crooks, would just train during the day have a sleep and go back to work. In the late 80s I moved into the city and worked at the Cross on those seven night week out of your life shifts as a street cop on foot patrol in Darlinghurst Rd and surrounds(and trust me that was very busy), I used to ride my bike to work at 9.30pm, finish work have a shower to wake up and ride home, sleep, go for a run, repeat etc. If it was a bit quiet or I was working over at Surry Hills we could duck downstairs for a 3am weight session. 

Its only now looking back on it I can see why so many of the old cops were alcoholics and spent their whole lives (even at work) drunk in the mid 80s. I cannot imagine the toll that would have taken on them with wives, young families or trying to have a normal life. 

12 hour night shifts (with a max generally of 3 in a row) were much more manageable, but like many/most I developed a sleeping pill problem and found I was unable to sleep or function without them. My role toward the end was very different but when the shit hit the fan you certainly had to be on your A game as you had responsibility for a lot of people and moving parts. Night shifts certainly ruin your health. 

 

Edited January 10 by Callum Dalgleish McGregor

[Ronnie 132]

6hrs at best since Brett died. Usually around 4.5...hoping that one day I get back to some kind of normal 

[BNothling 317]

The twins still aren't sleeping through so all up I get anywhere from 4-6 hours, with the majority of that occurring on their bedroom floor if at all. I'm rarely asleep past 230-3am.

[Chuckie M 337]

19 hours ago, Chuckie M said:

Having a bit of a crap night at work. I will sleep about 5 hours when I get home at 7am and ride 75k in a semi fasted state before work in the afternoon(rain pending). Have been reading "I robot" by Isaac Asimov during my down moments.🤩

I am back on nights again. slept 4 hours. Rode 75k in the heat. I am working 4x12 hour shifts in a row with the possibility of Overtime on Tuesday night?. I tend to average around a 60 hour work week since March due to Covid. I started today as Correctional Officer some 21 years ago. I am a bit like Tony I have seen "some stuff". trying to make the 30 year club.....🙃

[IronmanFoz 1,656]

11 hours ago, Callum Dalgleish McGregor said:

When I joined the cops in the mid 80s we did seven nights in a row of night shift from 11pm to 7am. It changed in the mid 90s to 12 hour shifts. I worked with coach@ very briefly in 1987. 

As a young bloke and a mad keen triathlete I never really thought about it I just worked, had a few exciting and fun times chasing crooks, would just train during the day have a sleep and go back to work. In the late 80s I moved into the city and worked at the Cross on those seven night week out of your life shifts as a street cop on foot patrol in Darlinghurst Rd and surrounds(and trust me that was very busy), I used to ride my bike to work at 9.30pm, finish work have a shower to wake up and ride home, sleep, go for a run, repeat etc. If it was a bit quiet or I was working over at Surry Hills we could duck downstairs for a 3am weight session. 

Its only now looking back on it I can see why so many of the old cops were alcoholics and spent their whole lives (even at work) drunk in the mid 80s. I cannot imagine the toll that would have taken on them with wives, young families or trying to have a normal life. 

12 hour night shifts (with a max generally of 3 in a row) were much more manageable, but like many/most I developed a sleeping pill problem and found I was unable to sleep or function without them. My role toward the end was very different but when the shit hit the fan you certainly had to be on your A game as you had responsibility for a lot of people and moving parts. Night shifts certainly ruin your health. 

 

Respect!

[IronmanFoz 1,656]

29 minutes ago, Chuckie M said:

I am back on nights again. slept 4 hours. Rode 75k in the heat. I am working 4x12 hour shifts in a row with the possibility of Overtime on Tuesday night?. I tend to average around a 60 hour work week since March due to Covid. I started today as Correctional Officer some 21 years ago. I am a bit like Tony I have seen "some stuff". trying to make the 30 year club.....🙃

I was also lucky . 1st child (girl) slept through......though we only had her home after 6 weeks in hospital.

2nd child...after about 6 weeks he mostly slept.

:)

[KieranR 1,959]

Work 12hr shifts, 4 day shift followed by 4 days off then into 4 nights,

when on night shift I’m typically in bed by 0630 and up and awake by 11am, that’s it until the next morning.

day shifts I go to bed anywhere between 2030 and midnight and up by about 0445, it all depends how big of a day I had at work.

days off I go on minimal sleep, always doing projects at home.  If I’m going spear fishing I get basically none due to froth levels being through the roof.

so I guess I don’t get much sleep but tend to get by ok.  I will admit eventually it catches up and I just crash for about 12hrs ans then I’m good for another few weeks.

[dazmuzza 198]

I'm about 7-7.5 hours. Really wish I could get more but my partner tends to go to bed late and sleep in whereas I get up early. Having a partner with different sleep patterns can be a bit challenging for training sometimes

Interesting I've seen my sleep volume go up slightly since I stopped drinking a month ago. 

Edited January 11 by dazmuzza

[Ayto 657]

I feel like I have had poor sleep levels most of my adult life between work, family, hobbies, restless legs and more work. At best I would average between 4.5 and 5.5 hours a night.

Even when I am off work I still tend to go to bed late and wake early.  I currently work full time Mon-Fri (50hrs per week) and have just started driving hook lift trucks on the weekends. At the moment only doing 4/5 hours Saturdays and Sundays but once the fruit processing season kicks into full swing the shifts will be 4am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday, so will be interesting to see how I go with the 7 day workload.  I am hoping it will make me tired enough to sleep a decent nights sleep 😄

[FatPom 5,424]

I don't sleep that well or sleep very deeply.  The slightest noise wakes me up, to the point where I have to have a loud (ish) fan on all night to mask any sounds.

When I was 49 and Little One was born, everyone said I was mad and wouldn't get any sleep. I said I don't sleep now, so what's the difference? 🤣

I do go to bed pretty early but don't sleep much but with ultra training and the riding, getting off of my feet really helps.

[Flanman 2,475]

I averaged 5 hours when working plus an occasional Sunday 1 hour nanny nap. Now it’s 6 or 7 hours. It is still interrupted but a lot better than workdays. 

As for nanny naps - maybe once a week after swimming and golf.

FM
 

[Fresh 38]

Does anyone take / recommend a supplement that helps them have better quality sleep?

[goughy 3,744]

My wife has used valerian, and my son does have melatonin drops sometimes.  And wifey, daughter, and son sometimes take a Blackmores sleep sound formula or their executive stress.

 

[Dalai 451]

On 10/01/2021 at 5:50 PM, Ronnie said:

6hrs at best since Brett died. Usually around 4.5...hoping that one day I get back to some kind of normal 

Know that well unfortunately Ronnie! I wouldn't go to sleep till extremely late as going to bed meant the TV or stereo went off and lights out exacerbating the feelings of emptiness and loneliness! Even now I still usually have either on in the background. 

Then started letting myself fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV because I was actually at least sleeping. But meant waking up a few hours later to face switching everything off and trying often unsuccessfully to fall back asleep resulting in very broken sleep... Even years on it is a combination of actually switching off and going to bed when tired, falling asleep on the couch or just staying up way too late! 

I try and aim for 8 hours sleep but with the above is rarely so long or continuous.

[Ronnie 132]

5 hours ago, Dalai said:

Know that well unfortunately Ronnie! I wouldn't go to sleep till extremely late as going to bed meant the TV or stereo went off and lights out exacerbating the feelings of emptiness and loneliness! Even now I still usually have either on in the background. 

Then started letting myself fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV because I was actually at least sleeping. But meant waking up a few hours later to face switching everything off and trying often unsuccessfully to fall back asleep resulting in very broken sleep... Even years on it is a combination of actually switching off and going to bed when tired, falling asleep on the couch or just staying up way too late! 

I try and aim for 8 hours sleep but with the above is rarely so long or continuous.

It’s sh!t....I generally don’t go to sleep until after the time I woke to find Him gone or if I do happen to go to sleep prior I generally wake at the time I woke to find Him gone..then I start to over think everything....the latest torture is ‘was He really dead?’.....’Could I have done more?’...

sending strength to you. Xx

[Ironnerd 892]

On 13/01/2021 at 7:46 AM, Fresh said:

Does anyone take / recommend a supplement that helps them have better quality sleep?

When I was working night shift I found that Valerian would help me get to sleep sooner.

[Katz 1,652]

More than I got last night.

That is all.

[zed 1,469]

around 7 - 7.5 hours. I'm normally in bed by 8.30 haha. When tired from training, a 20min nanna nap takes me from feeling completely knackered to OK. Which is strange, because 20minutes isn't much.

[xblane 263]

~8.5hrs up from 7.5hrs about a year ago. Working from home more often has afforded a little more flexibility in getting workouts in allowing for some extra sleep. 

[Chuckie M 337]

This is a good one to sum up lack of sleep- the movie The Machinist with Christian Bale. also great for weight loss as well. I lived a year like this in 2005 when my Dad died and The Panda left me

[-H- 1,240]

I'm just about to finish a month-long sleep-fixer protocol involving Temazepam and melatonin (prescribed by a doctor) - and I still have very broken sleep.  I go to bed at the same time, no screen time, herbal tea etc etc but I wake up at midnight, 3am and 5am most nights and sometimes get very little sleep in between.  I usually end up with between 4 and 6 hours of actual sleep.

I don't really know what to do next but I'm tired of it.  Literally.

 

Edit to add:  I've been a poor sleeper for 20+ years but now it's getting worse

Edited Friday at 08:20 PM by -H-

[IronmanFoz 1,656]

Have 3 nights shifts this weekend.

Friday - got up early and rode. Afternoon 16;00-18:00 (2 hours sleep). Work starts at 18:30 til 07:00am

Saturday. Finished work rode, house stuff. Bed 13:30 -17:30 (4 hours restless sleep in the heat). Starting work tonight at 18:30 til 07:00

planned. 
Sunday: finish work at 07:00 and long run planned. Hopefully in bed for a nap by 12/13:00

Monday: Finish work out for Breyer: No sleep planned till Monday night in order to get into the daytime routine.

stay tuned.

[IronmanFoz 1,656]

Friday - got up early and rode. Afternoon 16;00-18:00 (2 hours sleep). Work starts at 18:30 til 07:00am

Saturday. Finished work rode, house stuff. Bed 13:30 -17:30 (4 hours restless sleep in the heat). Starting work tonight at 18:30 til 07:00

Sunday: finish work at 07:00 and long run planned. bed for a nap by 10:00 - 14:00 (4hours)

Monday: Finish work then out for Family breakfast : Had to drive to Mt White (Saddles) which did me in. Home 10:30 and a nap for 2.5 hours.

Now back in to normal routine. Bed tonight approx 10pm. Riding in the morning from pros 5:00am.

Note: you can only do this for so many days before it catches up with you.