How much sleep do you get?

[MichealKnight]

Thanks

As a man, do you snore loudly? Do you wear a size 17 or larger dress shirt? Do you weigh 200+ lbs.? If so, you may be suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea upsets regular nighttime sleep schedules, and may result in 3-4 hour nights of sleep. A sign is also if you have difficulties sitting still, like in church, for an hour without getting sleepy. Many of those with apnea fall asleep at redlights mid afternoon or have more than their fair share of car accidents due to not being responsive.

Those with sleep apnea have increased chance of requiring heart surgery. The percentages are more "when instead of if" you have heart issues. And many have issues like having too many red blood cells which can cause strokes and embolisms.

I have sleep apnea and have been prescribed a CPAP machine. Many others are supposed to be on CPAP, but they feel claustrophobic and don't use their machines. With CPAP, I get a much better quality of sleep, and I feel so much better. And my afternoon naps are not required--more responsive.

My doctor says he has 49 local physicians on CPAP. And if you meet the above criteria, you may get much better sleep being on CPAP. And you'll also live much longer too.

All points to explore. Snoring - -- occasionally. It's not a common thing for me. I am well over 200 lbs though. Geez if I was only a 17 shirt size, girls would've liked me more and I'd not have to take advantage of myself all the time. Gonna look into the CPAP....

 

[MichealKnight]

Thanks very much to everyone. I'm at 7 hours -only for the last 3 nights which is an improvement. I need to force myself to turn off the darn laptop a bit earlier. I"m positive I can get to 7.5 if I did that.

 

[mystang52]

Lifelong insomniac, either trouble falling asleep or waking up between 2 and 3 AM and not being able to get back to sleep. When not going thru spells of insomnia, I sleep 5 to 6 1/2 hours, and that's enough for me.

 

[Jerry1]

I don't sleep well. Thankfully, I can, and do, take naps many days. I think if I worked on it, I could retrain myself, but since retirement, I tend to stay up late (1 to 2 am) and I end up getting up early(ish) - around 8am. I feel much better if I can get more than 8 hours, but the sleep rhythms don't often cooperate. One of my worst habits is to fall asleep in the early evening while watching the news. That really messes up bedtime and the ability to fall asleep.

However, overall, I'm pretty healthy and feeling pretty good. Much better than when I was in my 40's, overweight, not eating properly and stressing at work. So I don't think sleep is a big concern at this point. There's time in the day, or night, to sleep as it comes.

 

[COcheesehead]

7-8, I am good to go. 5 or less and I am wiggy.

 

[MRG]

I've been an insomniac most of my life starting as a child. I took crap to sleep for years until I retired. A series of (un)fortunate events lead me to major lifestyle changes including losing 65 pounds and keeping it off, quitting alcohol and adding in more exercise.

Now I sleep very well go to bed around 11 as long as I am tired and get up when I feel like it, unless the puppies change the plan. Mostly I sleep 7.5 hours. The biggest change is falling asleep in minutes vs hours. Only thing I do is tell Alexa to play "A Babbling Brook " I'm not quite sure what it sounds like because it puts me to sleep.

 

[Telly]

5 - 6 hours. Years ago when I was working, seemed like 5 was the max. No health problems, not overweight, no sleep apnea. Just the way I am. I don't worry about it ER'd. When I was working, some nights I would wake up at 3 AM or so and not fall asleep till shortly before the alarm went off... now THAT was a real bummer!

 

[CincyDave]

My CPAP report shows I get between 5.5 and 6.5 hrs a night. Average about 6. When I was working, I got even less. However, I do sometimes fall asleep on the couch some evenings for an hour or so.

 

[Music Lover]

About 6 hours for me. I'm very lucky in that I'll usually fall asleep within 5 minutes and have an uninterrupted sleep waking up maybe once.

 

[Dranoel]

Pretty consistent 6-7 hrs for me. I usually read a bit on my tablet w/blue blocker on and fall asleep quickly.

 

[KarenC]

According to my watch, I've averaged 6 hours and 5 minutes over the past six months. I'm retired, and am rarely woken by alarm so I'm not deliberately shorting myself on sleep. That said, I'm a light sleeper, and frequently have to use ear plugs to get a good night's sleep.

 

[Ronstar]

1-2 hours in my recliner after dinner. Then another 6-7 after I go to bed.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

Per fitbit i am sleeping 4-6 hours with a few 3's and one 7 hour in last week. I seem to be on all day but if I stop i fall to sleep almost immediately if i roll on side in sleep position.

I slept a lot more when heavier and snored then. Am told no snoring now.

 

[old medic]

Y'all are killing me.... it is RARE I sleep more than 5 hours in a row. I have worked 12 hour shifts, rotating days to nights every few days on a 28 day rotation. we could kick back and nap if everything was ready to roll. After 32 years of this weekly half a world jetlag, my system seems to have adapted to a 12 hour day, and if I get just 4 hours down, I can easily run for another 24...
Hoping this will change in retirement... but i'm only on day 3

 

[misanman]

If anyone is interested in learning more about the importance of sleep, I highly recommend the book
"Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker PhD

It was an absolutely fascinating book.

+1 - it was a life changer for me.

 

[Venturer]

I have always been a "night owl" usually in bed between 11 or 12 at night and up at 6 or 7, since retirement it varies more because I don't worry as much. If I stay up till 1 or 2 am so be it, I just get up when I wake up which is around 6 to 8 am. My wife on the other hand has to be in bed by 10 pm and then is usually up around 9 am. Any less and she says she just feels "draggy" all day. I'm 6'6" 238 & she is 5'4" 118 and needs more sleep than me. It has always been this way for us.

 

[NameTaken2]

7-8hrs

 

[Ally]

As I’ve gotten older, I have gone from needing 8 to 7 hrs. I rarely nap unless I only get 5 or less.

 

[OverThinkMuch]

Looks like few need it here, but the book "Why We Sleep" really goes a good job of describing all the downsides of sleeping less than 7.5 hours. Relevant to 2021 is that your body makes "natural killer cells" in deep sleep, so cutting that short directly weakens your immune system. It also weakens the response to flu vaccines - and very likely Covid vaccines. The vaccines need the immune system to respond to build up antibodies, and someone with insomnia does less of that. After reading that book, I put more effort into combatting insomnia. Very worthwhile read.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have never had problems sleeping. I fall asleep within minutes. I sleep 8-10 hours. I get up 2-3 times a night for the bathroom.

 

[eytonxav]

My sleep is poor, usually 4 -5 hours and on rare occasions 6. Going to pee in the middle of the night is what does me in and I am unable to get back to sleep on most nights.

 

[FREE866]

I absolutely love sleeping. Get 8 hours a night pretty consistently. Reason # 117 why being retired is a wonderful lifestyle.

 

[gooddog]

8 to 9 hours for me. If I get shorted to 7 for just two nights in a row, dead tired on the 3rd day.

 

[meleana]

I don't sleep well. Toss and turn. In winter now I am trying to stay up until 11 instead of 10 and get up around 7 when the sun is up.


Summer I want to get up when the sun comes up. But depends if I fall back to sleep because of tossing and turning all night.

 

[HGTVFanatic]

We are in our late 60s and both get 10 hours a night. Neither one of us naps thankfully. Yikes! That seems like a lot. When my husband was working, he got about five or six hours a night. Sleeping is one of the great retirement perks! Your disease is probably pretty draining.