LuckyDog
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I go to bed at about midnight and am awake by 5 or 6. Get up at 6 or 6:30 feeling pretty good. Some days rest my eyes for 20 or 30 minutes after lunch. Never did sleep that well...
Sleep
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marko
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We're both on the same schedule!
Except I look forward to that 15 minutes around 2PM; wake up more refreshed than in the morning sometimes.
38Chevy454
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I love not being woke up by alarm clock since retirement. I still can't really sleep in much past 8:00, but that sure beats when I used to wake earlier even on non-work days due to work schedule conditioning of 5:30 am alarm.
I can usually fall asleep quickly once going to bed, but sometimes I wake in middle of the night and can't get back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Depends what is going on in my head, too much and it is hard to sleep.
I can usually fall asleep quickly once going to bed, but sometimes I wake in middle of the night and can't get back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Depends what is going on in my head, too much and it is hard to sleep.
GalaxyBoy
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One of the best things about ER is not waking up in the middle of the night with my brain racing with thoughts of impossible deadlines. I sleep all night until a cat scratches at the door wanting breakfast.
I’ve been on COAP for over 15 years and can’t sleep without it.
I’ve been on COAP for over 15 years and can’t sleep without it.
frayne
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Usually get between six and eight hours of sleep a night as well as a half hour nap in during the day. A steady routine and daily exercise makes falling asleep pretty easy every night. Late meals and alcohol are no friends of Mr. Sleep.
Insomniac. Take drugs every night. Even with those could be 1-2 hours to fall asleep. Get 6-7 hours a night. If I have a few bad nights I do have a good night of sleeping. Did sleep studies ten years ago. Do all the right things prior to bed. It is what it is.
pacergal
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Usually in bed between 10-11 and up between 5-6, same schedule when working! I seem to wake more frequently during the night now as DH uses a CPAP and we have had a hard time finding a mask that doesn't make a lot of noise. He sleeps well though! Could sleep in separate bedrooms, but can't make that move yet.
I do occasionally take sleep med if needed. I rarely take a nap during the day.
I do occasionally take sleep med if needed. I rarely take a nap during the day.
younginvestor2013
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Interesting to read all of the replies, and how many folks have difficulty sleeping and occasionally rely on sleeping meds.
For me, as an introvert, getting a good night's sleep is paramount to my well-being and happiness to start each day off.
I occasionally have difficulty sleeping, though not always. I typically am worst when I get thrown off my schedule. Sunday night, Monday night, and some times Tuesday night, are often the worst nights of sleep for me. The weekends always throw me off. Usually by midweek, I am back on my solid sleep schedule and have no issues.
Also, my workload can greatly affect how well I sleep, and if I am traveling for work and staying in a hotel, I definitely don't sleep as well.
My doc prescribes me Xanax for sleep. I know it is not generally recommended for sleep, but I don't take it every night. I tried Ambien and had awful side effects. The most I'll take of xanax is 1mg but usually it is 0.5mg max. 1mg will knock me out and I will be very drowsy the next day, but it beats laying there awake for the entire night.
For me, as an introvert, getting a good night's sleep is paramount to my well-being and happiness to start each day off.
I occasionally have difficulty sleeping, though not always. I typically am worst when I get thrown off my schedule. Sunday night, Monday night, and some times Tuesday night, are often the worst nights of sleep for me. The weekends always throw me off. Usually by midweek, I am back on my solid sleep schedule and have no issues.
Also, my workload can greatly affect how well I sleep, and if I am traveling for work and staying in a hotel, I definitely don't sleep as well.
My doc prescribes me Xanax for sleep. I know it is not generally recommended for sleep, but I don't take it every night. I tried Ambien and had awful side effects. The most I'll take of xanax is 1mg but usually it is 0.5mg max. 1mg will knock me out and I will be very drowsy the next day, but it beats laying there awake for the entire night.
Two diphenhydramine (benedryl) shortly after dinner, 9 pm bedtime and I can usually fall asleep within 30 minutes (Been doing this for 15 years- now psychologically addicted). Being a middle-aged male, I am up a few times during the night to use the bathroom. The big difference in ER vs wo@#king, is that I can get back to sleep pretty easily now. When I was wo&$king, my mind immediately went to upcoming tasks, worries, deadlines and I sometimes never got back to sleep. All-in-all, I get 6-7 hours of sleep and do fine with that.
Getting enough sleep will be the best part of RE
I never get enough sleep. Up at 4:30 to feed and walk the dogs, fix DW's breakfast, make two pots of coffee, SSS, moderate commute and arrive at the sweatshop about 7 for morning rackup. I never make it into the sack before 9:30, so under the best of circumstances it's only 7 hours. I really need about 9 to feel good.
I try to catch up on non-w*rk days, but it seldom works out that way.
Back in the day when my kids were of nap-age, it was a treat for me to lead by example on the weekends. After lunch, we'd head up to the big bed and read a story. Within about 10 pages, I'd feel that thump on my shoulder as the child dropped into slumber. I'd lay the book down and close my eyes for a moment. An hour later, I'd wake up and that angelic child's head would still be laying on my shoulder. Those were the most satisfying moments of my whole life, like one of those Baroque paintings of saints in divine ecstasy.
Sleep is a key consideration in planning my FIRE exit date. I could clock out now, but DW wants to w*rk another couple of years which means that furshlugginer alarm will continue sounding at 4:30 and it will wake me up, too. So I'm holding out a little longer, until we can both retire simultaneously. Then, bring on the sweet bliss of somnolence!
I never get enough sleep. Up at 4:30 to feed and walk the dogs, fix DW's breakfast, make two pots of coffee, SSS, moderate commute and arrive at the sweatshop about 7 for morning rackup. I never make it into the sack before 9:30, so under the best of circumstances it's only 7 hours. I really need about 9 to feel good.
I try to catch up on non-w*rk days, but it seldom works out that way.
Back in the day when my kids were of nap-age, it was a treat for me to lead by example on the weekends. After lunch, we'd head up to the big bed and read a story. Within about 10 pages, I'd feel that thump on my shoulder as the child dropped into slumber. I'd lay the book down and close my eyes for a moment. An hour later, I'd wake up and that angelic child's head would still be laying on my shoulder. Those were the most satisfying moments of my whole life, like one of those Baroque paintings of saints in divine ecstasy.
Sleep is a key consideration in planning my FIRE exit date. I could clock out now, but DW wants to w*rk another couple of years which means that furshlugginer alarm will continue sounding at 4:30 and it will wake me up, too. So I'm holding out a little longer, until we can both retire simultaneously. Then, bring on the sweet bliss of somnolence!
Chuckanut
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My conscious is clear and my heart is pure. I sleep like a baby. And now that I am FIREd I rarely set an alarm. 
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MRG
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Lifelong issues with sleep. An insomniac at a very young age. I seldom slept before 2AM as a 10 year old..
I used to take meds, couldn't sleep without them. Then they stopped working and I couldn't sleep with or without them.
I was still having issues with sleep, when my c-spine blew up again, and I was put on very high doses of opioids for pain. I can't take the benzo based sleep meds with the opioids, if I'd like to wake up! Took a while to get into pain management and there were several weeks with no real sleep.
I seldom take any sleep meds today. I will take a few puffs of an indica strain from a herbal vape. For me it's better then addictive benzos that help put people to sleep, sometimes permanently. Another option is the cookies in the photo. Fresh from the oven they should be about 40 mg apiece.
They're made from the leftovers from vaping, the remaining THC/CBD is very sleepy in nature. There's 80 grams of ~1% cannaoil in there or ~800 mg THC/CBD. It was mainly indica that was vaporized to 400°F and then extracted into coconut oil. It's great for sleeping. Oh yeah they taste awesome too!
I used to take meds, couldn't sleep without them. Then they stopped working and I couldn't sleep with or without them.
I was still having issues with sleep, when my c-spine blew up again, and I was put on very high doses of opioids for pain. I can't take the benzo based sleep meds with the opioids, if I'd like to wake up! Took a while to get into pain management and there were several weeks with no real sleep.
I seldom take any sleep meds today. I will take a few puffs of an indica strain from a herbal vape. For me it's better then addictive benzos that help put people to sleep, sometimes permanently. Another option is the cookies in the photo. Fresh from the oven they should be about 40 mg apiece.
They're made from the leftovers from vaping, the remaining THC/CBD is very sleepy in nature. There's 80 grams of ~1% cannaoil in there or ~800 mg THC/CBD. It was mainly indica that was vaporized to 400°F and then extracted into coconut oil. It's great for sleeping. Oh yeah they taste awesome too!
mistershankly
Recycles dryer sheets
I have no problem falling asleep at night (usually within minutes of head hitting the pillow) but work and life stress wake me up around 4am occasionally and I have trouble getting back to sleep. I have no problems staying asleep while on vacation.
I've found that a spray or two of sublingual CBD oil (ratio of 1:1 CBD/THC) every other or two nights has helped me considerably in getting a full night of sleep.
MRG
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It's pretty cool to use a little plant for sleep and wake up fresh and feeling great, unlike benzos. I ate one of the cookies I made before bed. Slept a solid 8 hours.
Chuckanut
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One of the things I learned from my brief shot at Yoga was belly-breathing. On the rare occasions when I wake up and can't fall asleep, I concentrate on breathing starting with my belly and working to the top of the lungs and then breath out reversing the process. That seems to take my little brain off whatever issues has it running at high speed. The next think I know, I am waking up ready for the day.
NYEXPAT
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Love sleep! As my 99 y/o Father used to tell me: "The time you spend sleeping in life, does not count".
GalaxyBoy
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Always took me 30 minutes to get to sleep, but only after retiring did I run into waking at night and not being able to get back to sleep for "hours".
I also read "Why We Sleep" (snagged a snip from Amazon, below). There's lots of research indicating the positive health benefits of really high quality sleep, and I'm trying my best to get good sleep. Another point of the book is that drug induced sleep is usually not healthy sleep, so I don't go that route.
Training myself to go back to sleep in the morning has been moderately successful. Historically I just "couldn't do it", but lately, I've slowly been getting more and more successful at it.
My routine includes adding 8.5 hours to the time when I turn out the light and vowing not to get out of bed until at least then. If I have a wakeful hour in the middle of the night, I add that time. Sometimes when I wake up too early in the morning, I don't go back to sleep, but I lay there anyway. But more often than not, even though I'm "wide awake", I manage to drift off.
I also read "Why We Sleep" (snagged a snip from Amazon, below). There's lots of research indicating the positive health benefits of really high quality sleep, and I'm trying my best to get good sleep. Another point of the book is that drug induced sleep is usually not healthy sleep, so I don't go that route.
Training myself to go back to sleep in the morning has been moderately successful. Historically I just "couldn't do it", but lately, I've slowly been getting more and more successful at it.
My routine includes adding 8.5 hours to the time when I turn out the light and vowing not to get out of bed until at least then. If I have a wakeful hour in the middle of the night, I add that time. Sometimes when I wake up too early in the morning, I don't go back to sleep, but I lay there anyway. But more often than not, even though I'm "wide awake", I manage to drift off.
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NoMoreJob
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The subject of sleep is a real snoozer as far as I'm concerned.
I always slept 8 hours each nite for most of my life. Then Mr Prostrate decided that was too much. Now I get up at least once a nite and sometimes have trouble getting back to sleep. To bed at 10 p.m. and up at 6 a.m.
OP here...
Thanks for the replies. The subject has special interest for me, as since 2014, haven't managed more the 2 hours at a time, or more than 3 hours at most... any night since then.
Doesn't mean no rest. Quiet time and passive music or TV must help in the physical recovery, and there's quite a bit of that.
Have read and experimented with suggestions from every book or article ever written, hoping for some help, but unsuccessful. Sleep clinic didn't help, and except for taboo drugs, the normal medications mentioned in the thread have been tried, with no success.
One would expect that total exhaustion or a severe physical problem would result in sleep, even if agitated sleep. Not so... in a recent five day hospitalization for a near death experience, not a single hour of real sleep... despite multiple medications.
I expect that a serious drug like Ambien may be the answer, but that means balancing the threat of worsening existing memory problems.
My all time record (yeah, wow) was three years ago... 84+ hours w/o sleep. When being awake is the norm, you become very aware of the time when you actually sleep.
Thanks for the replies. The subject has special interest for me, as since 2014, haven't managed more the 2 hours at a time, or more than 3 hours at most... any night since then.
Doesn't mean no rest. Quiet time and passive music or TV must help in the physical recovery, and there's quite a bit of that.
Have read and experimented with suggestions from every book or article ever written, hoping for some help, but unsuccessful. Sleep clinic didn't help, and except for taboo drugs, the normal medications mentioned in the thread have been tried, with no success.
One would expect that total exhaustion or a severe physical problem would result in sleep, even if agitated sleep. Not so... in a recent five day hospitalization for a near death experience, not a single hour of real sleep... despite multiple medications.
I expect that a serious drug like Ambien may be the answer, but that means balancing the threat of worsening existing memory problems.
My all time record (yeah, wow) was three years ago... 84+ hours w/o sleep. When being awake is the norm, you become very aware of the time when you actually sleep.
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Ronnieboy
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kcowan
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In our experience, sleeping is something wa do when we are not thinking. We awake multiple times during the night and always report on hearing the other sleeping. That makes us feel much better...
Texas Proud
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Just don't go the way that Michael Jackson went to get sleep... the results can be really bad...
UtahSkier
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Poor sleeper checking in!
My hormones started shutting down as I turned 50. Good sleep appears to be related. For the past 6 years, I struggle to get more than 3.5 hrs of sleep.
I fall asleep just fine. I just wake up for no good reason. Being retired, I have no stress at all. I exercise quite a bit and am otherwise very healthy.
Here's a few notes from my experience.
1. I solved the waking up to pee problem by exercising my bladder during the day. I just hold it until I am uncomfortable. This helps condition the muscles involved.
2. I believe I have early rising cortisol. My cortisol just starts its cycle at the wrong time. The causes of this vary, but I have settled on the idea that my brain blood sugar drops during sleep and this triggers a cortisol response to wake me up. I have had recent success by eating an apple and some granola within an hour of going to sleep.
3. I have also been eating more beans in my diet; black beans and baked beans. The idea is beans contain a resistant fiber that breaks down in the large intestine. This fiber feeds bacteria in the large intestine and this (somehow) restores a natural balance.
With these lifestyle changes, I can generally sleep atleast 5 hours and sometimes can get 6... Woo Hoo!
Also, when I must get good sleep (like motor-home driving days), I take 5mg extended release melatonin.
My hormones started shutting down as I turned 50. Good sleep appears to be related. For the past 6 years, I struggle to get more than 3.5 hrs of sleep.
I fall asleep just fine. I just wake up for no good reason. Being retired, I have no stress at all. I exercise quite a bit and am otherwise very healthy.
Here's a few notes from my experience.
1. I solved the waking up to pee problem by exercising my bladder during the day. I just hold it until I am uncomfortable. This helps condition the muscles involved.
2. I believe I have early rising cortisol. My cortisol just starts its cycle at the wrong time. The causes of this vary, but I have settled on the idea that my brain blood sugar drops during sleep and this triggers a cortisol response to wake me up. I have had recent success by eating an apple and some granola within an hour of going to sleep.
3. I have also been eating more beans in my diet; black beans and baked beans. The idea is beans contain a resistant fiber that breaks down in the large intestine. This fiber feeds bacteria in the large intestine and this (somehow) restores a natural balance.
With these lifestyle changes, I can generally sleep atleast 5 hours and sometimes can get 6... Woo Hoo!
Also, when I must get good sleep (like motor-home driving days), I take 5mg extended release melatonin.
