Sleep, an old thread that got spam-bumped

[amadeus]

Do you sleep well?
Do you like sleeping?

Despite all of the stress lately, with everything, I can still fall fast enough asleep when my mind is in the right mode for it, which is most nights. Or should I say, more often than not. Those nights when I’m not in it though, they can drag out. If I’m not out by 2:00am, then I have a hard time getting a good night’s rest.

I feel that about 7.5-8 hours is a good guideline to go by, but I can function at full capacity on as low as 6 if they’re good hours. That’s under the best circumstances though, and can’t be planned. So I go for at least 7 for the number of hours.

I used to get up a lot in the middle of the night but now I don’t so much. Or if I do, I just look at the clock and conk out again.

 

[Kyriakos]

r/nosleep

I oversleep, which isn't good. An average of a bit over 9 hours/day.

 

[amadeus]

reddit is hot garbage.

Anything over 8 and I'm down for the count. How you can pull of 9 and be so productive is beyond me.

 

[Kyriakos]

reddit is hot garbage.

Anything over 8 and I'm down for the count. How you can pull of 9 and be so productive is beyond me.

I am not productive.

 

[Gorbles]

I don't sleep well, because I have a toddler. A cliche, but true!

I used to be fine on six hours sleep a night (as a teenager). I've grown to appreciate a lot more in the years (decades, almost) since then, but I'm still functional (with caffeine) on six to six-and-a-half hours. It's the broken sleep that kills me, really knocks me for a loop.

I couldn't even tell you how well I'd sleep normally, because I haven't had normal sleep in about three years, haha. Eight would be nice. I could probably sleep for fourteen, but that'd mess up my entire day-night cycle. On the evenings I do get a bit more rest, it doesn't tend to be longer than eight hours (broken sleep or not). That's both my internal limit for not messing my body about, and also my real-world limit because it's near-impossible to be allowed to sleep for longer than that

My one advantage is I can sleep pretty much anywhere, anxiety notwithstanding. I've always been able to just put my head somewhere and conk out, and I still can. Which is useful!

 

[amadeus]

I am not productive.

Well, you seem productive. No need to challenge perceptions that are positive!

I've always been able to just put my head somewhere and conk out, and I still can. Which is useful!

I can't do that. I have to be on the bed.

I do not have the patience to have children.

Spoiler Why can't I have cookies for dinner? :

Because it's best you learn early on that life is soul-crushing, you will never get what it is that you really want, and I resent that you would even try to usurp me. I created you, and I can destroy you.

Also, it is bad for your teeth.

 

[Hakim]

Do you sleep well?

Yes, pretty much.

• I have no trouble falling asleep.
• If I wake up during night however, it's hard to fall asleep again.
• I sometimes wake up earlier than I want to.

Do you like sleeping?

Sometimes in autumn and winter, it's the only time of the day I'm properly warm. Those days, going to bed is enjoyable.
While sleeping can be nice, it's first and foremost important.

To be able to sleep I try to stick to some rules and habits - sleep management if you will

• avoid coffee and tea too late in the afternoon
• no eating after dinner (or corresponding intake of calories)
• avoid watching disturbing things on TV, web or in games if it's late.
• don't read text messages on the phone (in my case, most msgs only brings anxiety or other negative feelings). I read those in the morning instead, then my mind have the day to process them.
• avoid worrying news on news sites. Which these are is personal. Most news are negative, but some are more unsettling than others.
• once the lights off, think of something positive. I've found that if I think about worrying stuff, it will become subject matter of a nightmare.
• if I sense that falling asleep is in danger, I simply go to bed later. Forcing sleep rarely works.
• if I wake up during the night, I sometimes go up and do some sleep aiding activities, more specifically 1. open a window, 2. drink a glass of water, 3. loose some water, then close window and go to bed.
• sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I lie absolutely still for a while and try to perceive all discomforts that might have cost me some sleep. It may be small pains in various parts of the body, freezing etc. Some are solvable, some not. I've gained the insight that if the apartment is dusty, then dehydration will likely wake me up earlier. Better sleep is actually my primary motivation to clean up now and then.

 

[Commodore]

Do you sleep well?

Not since Iraq. That made me a very light sleeper who wakes up at the slightest irregular noise. I say irregular noise because "normal" noises like the AC/furnace, my wife moving or snoring, or my kids crawling into bed with us don't wake me up. One out of the ordinary creak or crack, either inside or outside and I pop awake, ready to go.

Do you like sleeping

I have a love/hate relationship with sleep. I like to sleep, but at the same time I also feel like it's a waste of time. I mean, if you stick to the recommended 8 hours a day, that's a third of your life spent unconscious and missing out on the world. That seems like a huge waste to me, especially since our time spent alive is finite and could end at any moment.

 

[The_J]

At the moment I sleep pretty well. Like Kyr, I prefer to have 9h of sleep, this works well for me. Less than 7 and I'm not at my best, and less than 6 I can't do for long.
I'm also a late owl, prefer to go to sleep late and wake up late. On the weekend, being out of bed before noon is usual.

I put it in the random thoughts thread before: I can sleep everywhere. In the car, train, bus, plane, during meetings or conferences, it often doesn't matter. What I can't do is sleep in my bed while lying on my back. It needs to be on the side, and the lower arm pokes straight away, whereas the upper arm is below the pillow. It's really weird .

 

[amadeus]

To be able to sleep I try to stick to some rules and habits - sleep management if you will

• avoid coffee and tea too late in the afternoon
• no eating after dinner (or corresponding intake of calories)
• avoid watching disturbing things on TV, web or in games if it's late.
• don't read text messages on the phone (in my case, most msgs only brings anxiety or other negative feelings). I read those in the morning instead, then my mind have the day to process them.
• avoid worrying news on news sites. Which these are is personal. Most news are negative, but some are more unsettling than others.
• once the lights off, think of something positive. I've found that if I think about worrying stuff, it will become subject matter of a nightmare.
• if I sense that falling asleep is in danger, I simply go to bed later. Forcing sleep rarely works.
• if I wake up during the night, I sometimes go up and do some sleep aiding activities, more specifically 1. open a window, 2. drink a glass of water, 3. loose some water, then close window and go to bed.
• sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I lie absolutely still for a while and try to perceive all discomforts that might have cost me some sleep. It may be small pains in various parts of the body, freezing etc. Some are solvable, some not. I've gained the insight that if the apartment is dusty, then dehydration will likely wake me up earlier. Better sleep is actually my primary motivation to clean up now and then.

Good use of bullet points. I'm kind of the same mind; I'll avoid coffee from the afternoon, and drink only non-caffeinated drinks. Anything disturbing or worrying, I can't look at. I also disabled notifications on my phone after a certain time.

I have a love/hate relationship with sleep. I like to sleep, but at the same time I also feel like it's a waste of time. I mean, if you stick to the recommended 8 hours a day, that's a third of your life spent unconscious and missing out on the world. That seems like a huge waste to me, especially since our time spent alive is finite and could end at any moment.

I kind of like having the day end and having a new one begin. It just breaks things up.

I ended up at about 7 hours last night. Woke up once, then got up a few hours after that.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Not since Iraq. That made me a very light sleeper who wakes up at the slightest irregular noise. I say irregular noise because "normal" noises like the AC/furnace, my wife moving or snoring, or my kids crawling into bed with us don't wake me up. One out of the ordinary creak or crack, either inside or outside and I pop awake, ready to go.

Do you use a white nose machine to block out all the annoying noises that can wake you up?

 

[Narz]

I love sleep, I have my room blackout-curtained out w/ all lights blocked & an air filter for white noise. I have four pillows, one under my head, one between my knees, one by my chest I'm spooning & one a little ways out from my chest so I have something to put my arm on & it's not in locked out position.

I prefer sleep cuddling a gf when I'm falling asleep but that's not something within my control.

 

[local_hero]

I mean, if you stick to the recommended 8 hours a day, that's a third of your life spent unconscious and missing out on the world.

The need to sleep varies, 7-9 hours is within the normal variation IIRC. Some even need less sleep (or more) than that. There are many reasons why people develop sleep issues, but beliefs about needing 8 are one that may contribute.

 

[Zelig]

I take sleep seriously. I tend to fall asleep pretty quickly (<5m) and wake up after 7-8 hours without the need of an alarm clock.

• Quit caffeine a couple of years ago. I still indulge every now and then, but only before noon.
• Daily intense physical exercise.
• Good sheets. Sateen in the summer, flannel in the winter. Would probably do sateen for spring/fall and linen for summer if it got hotter here.
• Heated mattress pad. Don't use it when I'm sleeping, but nice to preheat the bed in the winter.
  
• Good pillows (shredded memory foam) with silk pillowcases for head, some cheap Costco pillows with sheet set pillowcases for other bed stuff.
• Smart lights and PC/TV/phone/ereader screens with colour temperature synced to time of day. (Non-smart lights have 2200K-2700K colour temperature depending on brightness via dimmer switches) My bedroom has about 5700 lumens worth of 6500K bulbs programmed to come on in the morning in lieu of an audio alarm. (Shift to 2700K at 12:00 and a much dimmer 2000K at 20:00) Especially nice in the winter when there are only ~8 hours of daylight. Lights are voice controlled. If I need to get up during the night I can toggle on pure red lights via voice command.
• Voice-controlled speakers. Usually set them to play spa-like soundtrack at low volume when I'm reading in bed, and then set them on a sleep timer for 20 minutes when I turn off the lights. If I do have something I can't risk not having an alarm for, can set alarm via voice ("wake me up at 6am" or "wake me up in seven hours".) Can also ask for time if I don't want to open my eyes.
  
• Analog battery-powered clock on nightstand. Silent operation, no lights unless I push a button on the top. Can set extra alarm if I've got something very important I can't miss.
  
• No phone/tablets/laptops within reach of bed.
  
• No random LEDs in house. Covered with either electrical tape or gaffer tape. (Also covered up the logos of all the appliances/electronics/etc. in my house while I was at it.) A couple have pin-holes poked in the tape for LEDs that are actually useful.
• Natural side sleeper, but forced myself learn to sleep on my back for thermal efficiency when backpacking and the times when I have sports injuries that make back sleeping better.

Not sure there's practically much more I can do to make my sleep better.

I've noticed a weird effect over the past few years where I often start dreaming nearly immediately after falling asleep. Not sure what, if anything, to make of that.

 

[cardgame]

I am not productive.

But you have so much postcount!

I've noticed a weird effect over the past few years where I often start dreaming nearly immediately after falling asleep. Not sure what, if anything, to make of that.

How can you even tell?

 

[GenMarshall]

15 Pages in on a Civilization Fan Forum and no one has brought up this little nugget?

 

[Commodore]

Do you use a white nose machine to block out all the annoying noises that can wake you up?

Not a white noise machine, but we have a window AC unit in our bedroom since it's it's upstairs and gets hot and that window AC is pretty loud. Somehow though, I still manage to wake up over weird noises.

 

[Kyriakos]

15 Pages in on a Civilization Fan Forum and no one has brought up this little nugget?

You seem to need some sleep

 

[Cutlass]

I've been sleeping fairly well, by my standards, recently. I'm typically asleep within about 1/2hr of going to bed. I always wake up for a bathroom visit a couple times a night. And that's true whether I have any beer in the evening or not. Noises outside my room do not wake me up. Noises inside do.

 

[Zelig]

How can you even tell?

When I'm woken up shortly after falling asleep.