Sleep pattern - should I be worried?

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueskies123 I highly recommend you get this book. https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-...gateway&sr=8-3 There is so much in here about why we lose the ability to sleep as we get older, and by the way, it is very bad for us. I do not want to summarize the book because you really need to read the whole book. Having said that I will give you a few tidbits. 1) our brain gets loses the ability to make melatonin as we get older leading to poor sleep which leads to more loss of ability. A debilitating cycle. 2) Caffeine stays in the system for 24 hours and has shown to interfere with complex brain patterns in test animals more so than LSD, speed, and pot. 3) There are many parts of sleep and each has its own function in keeping the brain working properly. I could go on but it is much better to get the book.

Thank you for the recommendation. The book is helping me understand sleep much better. I refuse to take pills(ambien) like in my past. It works until it doesn't. I spent weeks not sleeping coming off that garbage. Life gets interesting when you sleep poorly for 2 hours nightly.

Instead we've been using guided imagery, meditation, and suggestions from the book. A little melatonin helps along with some very simple techniques. I'm a lifelong insomniac and wish I'd known this years ago.

I've gone from 4-5 hours of restless sleep to 6-7 hours of delightful slumber. One of the things I love is nature calls at 3:00 AM and I'll be back in deep sleep shortly. My eyes barely open.

[Jkstrudwick]

Not to be judgemental but I have found that alcohol consumption, has an adverse impact on the quality of my sleep. While the quantity of alcohol does certainly correlate to a lack of sleep and rest, it really doesn’t taken more that two cocktails to trigger it.

Your experience may be similar.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkstrudwick Not to be judgemental but I have found that alcohol consumption, has an adverse impact on the quality of my sleep. While the quantity of alcohol does certainly correlate to a lack of sleep and rest, it really doesn’t taken more that two cocktails to trigger it. Your experience may be similar.

+1000

[Canoeboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueskies123 I highly recommend you get this book. https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-...gateway&sr=8-3 .

Agree this is a great book, written by a neuroscientist that has spent their career on the subject. I’m 2/3rds through it now. Have picked up multiple pointers that have helped already. Bottom line, everyone needs at least 7-8 hours of sleep for health, longevity, etc.

[sengsational]

There's a 3 part interview with Matthew Walker starting here.

[WestUniversity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitesurfer2 I retired in 2015 after 30 years of setting an alarm and getting up at 0430. I threw the clock away and still wake up at 0430, sometimes 0330! I occasionally see midnight but still up at 0430 mostly. my goal is 0600. I've learned to embrace it! I love getting up early.

Ditto. My alarm was set at 4:50 for ages, even though in the later years I was usually awake before the alarm.

I have my days even still. Some mornings I’m awake at 4:30 AM, others I wake up at 6:00 AM. I figure at some point my sleep will become more regular? Whatever that is...

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkstrudwick Not to be judgemental but I have found that alcohol consumption, has an adverse impact on the quality of my sleep. While the quantity of alcohol does certainly correlate to a lack of sleep and rest, it really doesn’t taken more that two cocktails to trigger it.

My wife rarely drinks anything at all for this reason. She says a single drink in the evening is sufficient to spoil her sleep, though she can get away with 2-3 in the daytime.

[CaptTom]

There's a lot of information out there about sleep, of varying quality.

My understanding is that the normal time to "cycle" through all the necessary stages of sleep is about 90 minutes. Simply put, if you're not getting through a whole cycle (e.g.; 30 minute naps) then you're not getting the real restorative benefits of sleep.

On the other hand, if you're getting 5 or 6 of these cycles per night (and/or day) then you should be fine. Doesn't matter if you wake up in between or not.

Probably the worst thing you can do is interrupt a cycle (like, with an alarm clock ). Likewise, hitting the "snooze" button doesn't really give you any meaningful extra sleep.

The early-rise habit of a lifetime has been hard for me to break, even after three years. But then again, why bother? I like getting up early.

My sleep has definitely improved since retirement, even if I keep roughly the same hours. Now I don't stress out about not getting back to sleep right away, knowing I'm not going to have to get up. Maybe I will get up, but I don't have to.

And that makes all the difference!

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Out of Steam My wife rarely drinks anything at all for this reason. She says a single drink in the evening is sufficient to spoil her sleep, though she can get away with 2-3 in the daytime.

Our golfing group has a 92 year old who occasionally still plays. Last year when we shared a cart he told me he had a sleeping problem in his 40s and went to the doctor. He said Doc told him to drink a shot of Bourbon Whiskey on the rocks before bedtime.
He kind of left it at that, so I asked if it worked. He said he hadnt missed a night of the whiskey shot before bedtime in 50 years and he sleeps great. I then asked if that was the only alcohol he drinks.
He said, Yes (with a pause) well not counting the beer I drink everyday.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan Our golfing group has a 92 year old who occasionally still plays. Last year when we shared a cart he told me he had a sleeping problem in his 40s and went to the doctor. He said Doc told him to drink a shot of Bourbon Whiskey on the rocks before bedtime. He kind of left it at that, so I asked if it worked. He said he hadnt missed a night of the whiskey shot before bedtime in 50 years and he sleeps great. I then asked if that was the only alcohol he drinks. He said, Yes (with a pause) well not counting the beer I drink everyday.

I imagine the beer is just to keep him properly hydrated during the day.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I imagine the beer is just to keep him properly hydrated during the day.

Yes, it was kind of funny how he struggled justifying beer as part of the alcohol family, lol...