Comments on: Are you getting enough sleep?

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:35:31 +0000

No. The cats routinely wake us around five, and whichever one of us has the energy gets up and puts them out on the porch, whereupon we both try to get back to sleep, with varying success.

On the plus side, SCIENCE now says the ideal amount of sleep is around 7 hours, not 8, so we’re less deficient than we thought!

By: Maxwelton

Maxwelton — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:13:02 +0000

I get about four to six hours a night, with an occasional 12 - 13 hour crash. I function OK, or so it seems.

By: James Bickers

James Bickers — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:34:45 +0000

No, not at all. I work two jobs, we have two children and a third child is on the way. Among all that, I feel the urge to stay in touch with the part of me that wants to enjoy things I used to enjoy, which means carving out time for video games and writing and stuff.

So no, I don’t sleep enough. As Warren Zevon said, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:45:13 +0000

I sleep from 4 AM to 9 AM, and then from 3 PM to 6 PM. Because taking care of a crazy little old lady with insomnia and dementia who tends to want to wander around the house in the middle of the night isn’t conducive to a regular sleep schedule.

By: IndigoRain

IndigoRain — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:30:25 +0000

I probably get a bit too much sleep. I had always needed a bit more than most people, say 9 hours. In 2005 I took a Sudafed for the first time and it messed up my heart (arrhythmia). Long story short, one doc had me on enough beta blockers to, in the words of my newer doc, “knock out a horse.” It was making me sleep for 14 hours a day.

Since having the meds cut down I get about 10-12 hours a night. I can go for 3 or 4 days only getting 8 or 9 hours, but it catches up with me and I sleep for 15 one day.

By: iguana

iguana — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:46:57 +0000

I am getting enough sleep. I like sleep far too much to have it any other way. And I get anxious if I find myself up too late because I know I’ll be groggy the next day if I don’t get some shut-eye soon.

The above applies most days. I’ll sacrifice sleep if there’s some fun event going on, or if I’m in the middle of some huge project that’s on a tight deadline. But for regular ol’ days and nights, I take my sleep in 8-hour doses.

I go with 8 hours because that’s the conventional wisdom. And it works for me.

(And the coffee, it does nothing for me. It’s behavioral only; a mental crutch. A cup of warm comfort. Caffeine doesn’t actually wake me up or get/keep me going.)

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:44:19 +0000

This question is much easier to answer if you aren’t a morning coffee drinker, and I’m not one. I know if I haven’t slept enough by how tired I feel upon waking, and when that feeling fails to subside until speed is administered. I also have developed symptoms of fibromyalgia, an anxiety related syndrome, which makes my muscles tense if my final cycle of sleep is interrupted. My own tense mind will interrupt my sleep if I subconsciously fear that I’m oversleeping, so if I have to get up really early to, say, go fishing, I’ll have my boyfriend set the alarm so I don’t know or anticipate the wakeup time. I always travel with earplugs and a face mask, though I’m a light enough sleeper that often theses tools prove inadequate.

I need right around 8 hours consistently, though I’m very functional on much less if I’ve been consistent leading up to the cramming/traveling/partying day. I’m not sure if I’m suffering from the ill effects of too much sleep today, because I have been catching 9 hours over the past week, which usually makes me a little unmotivated and depressive, but I’ve also been sick with a cold, so daylong fatigue is tough to attribute to sleep. Keeping my sleep regular is very beneficial to me, but a real struggle, what with nightlife, sexlife, and all the other things I would rather be doing than snoozing.

By: dbl

dbl — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:37:19 +0000

No, but we have a two month old at home.

Determined by self-assessment and degreded speling abalities.