The benefits of good sleep

[Khan]

The Science Of Sleep, Lesley Stahl Explores The Latest Findings In Sleep Research - CBS News

..."So, it seems to be that practice does not quite make perfect; it’s practice with a night of sleep that makes perfect," Walker says. "It's this odd notion that we all think in Western civilization that we have to stay awake to get more done. And I think that's simply not true. In fact, I think if you have a good night of sleep, what you'll find is that you can get more done than if you simply stay awake."

...The study's subjects were on the road to diabetes in just six days, and that’s not all - they were also hungry. Van Cauter has made a radical discovery: that lack of sleep may be contributing to the epidemic of obesity in this country through the work of a hormone called leptin that tells your brain when you’re full.
...

I have mentioned before how my general health has been on an upward spiral since retirement. I think improved sleep (quality and quantity) has been a significant part of that process.

[Want2retire]

I am sure it has helped a lot! I slept well this weekend, but during the work week it is harder to get a good night's sleep. I am really looking forward to sleeping in whenever I want to, after ER.

[StJohnsWood]

I read a Donald Trump book where he said he slept 4 hours a night (I called BS). His quote was "I'll sleep when I'm dead". Which made me think that it maybe sooner than later.

If you read the You: books about health from Dr Oz, sleep is very important. Made me realize that this is something not to go on the cheap. Eat right, excerise, and sleep and your good to go.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

as far as i can tell sleep is a physical activity so i'll not wait till death. i love sleeping & dreaming and i've always considered both wonderful aspects of life.

[fisherman]

Third month or ER and I am really starting to see the benefits of more sleep. It took a several weeks to get the years of toxin build up out of my system from Mega Corp but I am now sleeping well for the first time in many years.

[freebird5825]

sleep is very good stuff. i get to bed around 10 PM, up at 6 AM or so. that's a solid 8 hours. aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

i've avoided the "stay up late cuz i can" syndrome since i FIREd. i keep the same hours as DH2B. one of the retirement books i read said this was critical if the partner still works. reduces envy and conflicts

[myself]

Alas, I get about 6 hours sleep every night on average. Some nights it's 8, but other nights it's 4.
I wonder if I'll sleep more when I ER, and I'm betting that I would.

[Goonie]

Before ER I used to hit the pillows about 1am and got up at 5:15am.....4 hours sleep (+/-). Now that I'm ER'd, I usually hit the pillows around 1am or 2am, and crawl out of the sack between 7am and 8am.....so usually about 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I never set an alarm clock unless I need to be up and gone in the early a.m. for something.

With Spring/Summer approaching, I'll still go to bed at the same time, but will start crawling out between 6am and 7am, to enjoy more time in the gardens. Of course I'll also be taking my afternoon siesta (~1 hour) a bit more religiously than I have over the Winter!

I feel more relaxed and refreshed with ~5 hours sleep, than I do with more than that. My Dad and Grandad were the same way....they both slept about 5 hours a night.....and took time for a short afternoon siesta if they needed it. Unless I'm sick (which is extremely rare) there is absolutely no way that I could sleep a full 8 hours.....never been able to.

[Khan]

While working, I would go to between 9 & 10PM; the alarm would go off at 5:15AM.

7 to 8 hours, but not the best sleep. Sometimes I would wake up with solutions to problems at work (I was a programmer); I would grind my teeth, have bad dreams about not being able to find things or get things done, get indigestion and have to sit up until it resolved, sometimes I would get a migraine and lay awake until it went away.

After retiring, for the first month or so, I was sleeping 10PM to 8AM; a few times 8PM to 8AM. I've settled to about 8 hours, but it is very good, full cycle sleep.

About 6 months along, I noticed I was very slowly losing weight (and there was a lot to lose); without any attempt at any kind of diet change or exercise, I was just eating less.

As gardening season approaches, I'm slowly getting up earlier (to prepare to get out ahead of summer heat). I do this by looking up civil twilight sunrise and setting the cell phone alarm to go to bed 8 hours before that. That way, 8 hours sleep coincides with morning light.

( Dayton, Ohio (45401) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground
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[travelover]

Originally Posted by freebird5825

sleep is very good stuff. i get to bed around 10 PM, up at 6 AM or so. that's a solid 8 hours. aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

i've avoided the "stay up late cuz i can" syndrome since i FIREd. i keep the same hours as DH2B. ............

Plus it can pay off benefits if one has been good and helped with the housework......

[george76]

The article in the first post recommended 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep every night.

I wonder if the following would perhaps count as well: one usually sleeps 6 hours, but then take a cat nap during the day for another 1 1/2 hr, thus still getting up to the 7 1/2 hrs.

Any thoughts?

George

[GoodSense]

I am w*rking and unusually sleep 5-6 hours a night on weeknights. It does catch up to you and by Thursday I am exhausted. On weekends I sleep 8-9 hours to make up for it.

When I was on vacation for 3 weeks this winter, I thought I would sleep in everyday. Amazingly every morning I woke up at 6:30 or 7 with great energy. I was so excited about what I was going to do that day (hanging out, sight seeing, etc). Every night I went to bed at 11 or midnight. It helped that I didn't have a computer. Didn't need an alarm clock that whole time. Usually I'm the kind of person who hits the snooze button 4 times before actually getting out of bed.

This experience made me realize that if I was having a good time, 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep is enough. I think I need more sleep when depressed by work, and ironically don't have time for it.

[myself]

We once went on a vacation (3 days) to an island in the middle of a lake in Maine (Attean Lake Lodge if anyone is wondering Maine Lodging - Attean Lake Lodge: Jackman, Maine). They only had power for hair dryers every morning from 8am-11am (due to power generator).
They had gas lights for night-time lighting, and fireplaces for heat.
We went during the beginning of the season (March or so).

That was some of the very best sleep I've ever had. Absolutely no background noise whatsoever.

How do I know there was no background noise whatsoever?
There were 3 mosquitos in the place because we didn't treat the screen door with repellant. I could hear them from 15 feet across the room.

And you do want to watch out for the horse flies (or whatever they're called there). They literally can cause blood to seep from your skin if they bite you (happened to dear wife, but she still talks about how enjoyable it was). Oh, and yes we had 3 kids at the time (2 were 4 years old, and the other was about six months old).

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Originally Posted by george76

I wonder if the following would perhaps count as well: one usually sleeps 6 hours, but then take a cat nap during the day for another 1 1/2 hr, thus still getting up to the 7 1/2 hrs.

as i understand it, an interrupted 8 hours is better than not getting 8 but sleeping straight through is the healthiest.

sleep deprivation can both build up and be made up during the week. if you only get 5 hours one day it is a good idea to get an extra hour or two on another day.

Originally Posted by myself

And you do want to watch out for the horse flies (or whatever they're called there). They literally can cause blood to seep from your skin if they bite you

yup, horseflies. i have no problem working in the garden within inches of bees or wasps or spiders or pretty much anything but when a horsefly comes around i go inside. those things are nasty.

from the all-knowing wiki:

...Females require a blood meal for reproduction. Males lack the necessary mouth parts (mandibles) for blood feeding. Most female horse flies feed on mammal blood...

The bite from a larger specimen is extremely painful, especially considering the light, agile, and airborne nature of the fly. Unlike insects which surreptitiously puncture the skin with needle-like organs, horse flies have mandibles like tiny serrated scimitars, which they use to rip and/or slice flesh apart. This causes the blood to seep out as the horsefly licks it up. They may even carve a chunk completely out of the victim, to be digested at its leisure.

The horsefly's modus operandi is less secretive than that of its mosquito counterparts, although it still aims to escape before pain signals reach their mark's sphere of awareness. Moreover, the pain of a horsefly bite may mean that the victim is more concerned with assessing and repairing the wound, than finding and swatting the interloper.

like i said: nasty.

[Rambler]

I find that when I get a good 7-8 hour of solid sleep, I feel better the next day, and my tinnitus is much better (less noticeable, etc). If I don't sleep well it becomes a vicious cycle: feel lousy, stress beats me up, tinnitus gets worse, tinnitus keeps me awake...and so it goes. I always sleep better during vacation, but only after several days of de-stressing, or getting used to the detachment.

R

[piano88]

Sleep really does seem to be a key to good health, energy levels, etc. I sometimes sleep better when I turn on the radio, put in earphones (DW doesn't want to hear it), set to talk radio for 45 minutes, and then the blather and noise just knocks me out.

Piano

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by piano88

Sleep really does seem to be a key to good health, energy levels, etc. I sometimes sleep better when I turn on the radio, put in earphones (DW doesn't want to hear it), set to talk radio for 45 minutes, and then the blather and noise just knocks me out.

Piano

One of the benefits of ER that I will appreciate the most, is being able to finally catch up on my sleep.

Right now, I often doze for a half hour in front of the 6PM news on TV, and that is great. Later when I go to bed, I only get about 6 hours and that isn't enough for me.

[newguy88]

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum

as far as i can tell sleep is a physical activity so i'll not wait till death. i love sleeping & dreaming and i've always considered both wonderful aspects of life.

Same here, my dreams are a fantastic journey to places unknown.

My only trouble is when I overtrain, ie run too many miles in a week. It can and does cause sleep issues, not feeling rested even after 8 hours. Ran 160 miles in the past 16 days and still sleeping great soooo maybe I have gotten this ER stuff working!!

[oma]

I'm so desperate for a good night's sleep that I recently purchased "Good Night" - a DVD from PBS that discusses improving sleep. I have 15 months of work left, and I'm convinced that work in itself is the cause of my poor sleep - ruminating problems at work seems to the cause of my sleeplessness. I take 25-50 mg benadryl on nights where I want to guarantee that I sleep well through the night. Exercise in the evening (or anytime of the day) seems to help, too.

I look forward to my first ER day when sleep hygiene isn't a concern.

[oma]

Originally Posted by piano88