How Much Sleep do YOU need?

[Piratenerforsej]

My boyfriend can sleep like 12 hours in a row.

I could too, if T, having a job, et cetera, would let me.  I love to sleep.  I think about sleeping like some people think about rich desserts. 

Most nights I get about 8.5 hours of sleep.  LOL  I didn't even realize it was that much until I sat down and counted it up.  On the weekends I also like to take an afternoon nap whenever possible.  Yum. 

Haha!
.. Actually I wish that I could sleep more than 8 hours. Ist boring when I'm the only one awake D:

[Hector Valdez]

Here's an interesting tidbit about me:

My brain produces very little melatonin, the chemical that triggers sleep activity. I need to take melatonin pills in order for me to fall asleep, and If I don't, then my mental state starts to degrade rather quickly. Without the medicine, I could go about three or four days before being able to sleep a little, but I'd wake up after an hour or two.

It is...not a pretty picture. Without the medicine, I would have died in my youth from sleep deprivation.

[Tank]

Here's an interesting tidbit about me:

My brain produces very little melatonin, the chemical that triggers sleep activity. I need to take melatonin pills in order for me to fall asleep, and If I don't, then my mental state starts to degrade rather quickly. Without the medicine, I could go about three or four days before being able to sleep a little, but I'd wake up after an hour or two.

It is...not a pretty picture. Without the medicine, I would have died in my youth from sleep deprivation.

Interesting. Do you ever make use of you ability to stay awake or do you simply get tired like we all do but can't sleep?

[xSilverPhinx]

On weekdays I get around 3, 4 or 5 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I don't take day naps, so the main problem with this is that it accumulates, and by Friday I feel like a zombie.

I try to make up for it during the weekends though, so in the long term it hasn't really affected me that much yet.

[Hector Valdez]

Here's an interesting tidbit about me:

My brain produces very little melatonin, the chemical that triggers sleep activity. I need to take melatonin pills in order for me to fall asleep, and If I don't, then my mental state starts to degrade rather quickly. Without the medicine, I could go about three or four days before being able to sleep a little, but I'd wake up after an hour or two.

It is...not a pretty picture. Without the medicine, I would have died in my youth from sleep deprivation.

Interesting. Do you ever make use of you ability to stay awake or do you simply get tired like we all do but can't sleep?

I can, if I wish, but generally my mental state starts to look pretty ugly after about three days.

[Crow]

I can go 24hrs without sleep and not be a problem but that could be due to the fact I have had a lot of practice at doing so. Once I fall asleep though getting up again is the problem, I love that feeling of just lying in bed drifting between consciousness and deep sleep and can easily sleep for 12 hours if I get the chance to. According to the sleep cycle app I get about 5h 25m on average and very rarely feel like I'm missing out on sleep but I have never had a routine so just sleep when I feel the need to and it works for me.

[xSilverPhinx]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

[Crow]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Oh indeed.

[Firebird]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Oh, I am. I have to force myself to get in bed around 11, otherwise I'll probably be up most of the night. On weekends I'm usually not asleep till 2 am. I've used melatonin for sleep too , as well as Unisom, Ambien, Ativan, Valerian Root, and lots of other pills that I rotate between when one combination stops working. Not fun

[Jimmy]

On weekdays I get around 3, 4 or 5 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I don't take day naps, so the main problem with this is that it accumulates, and by Friday I feel like a zombie.

I try to make up for it during the weekends though, so in the long term it hasn't really affected me that much yet.

Bravo to you if you are able sleep 3-5 hours on most days! But that sounds insane! My eyes would be bloodshot by day three for sure    I used to get 5-6 hours a night during the time my oldest daughter was 0-2 yrs old because my evening shifts  were late, and opposite of my wife's, and I had to get up early after having worked the evening the night before, so she could go to work in the morning. The weekends weren't much better. My wife and I would even compete with each other for sleep. "No it's MY turn!! But, You just had a nap!!" ....LOL......I don't know how I did it...oh yeah, 4 cups of coffee per day  Good thing I had enough working brain cells to remember to take LOTS of photos, because unfortunately, I can barely remember those first couple of years.  Although I could still  use a little more sleep, it is much better now! I don't even drink coffee anymore, just decaf, sometimes. Now I squeeze a nap in every now and again and that helps a little. Naps ROCK!!

[Jimmy]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Oh indeed.

Partially nocturnal....LOL

[philosoraptor]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Yup.  I'm a night owl.  Working graveyard shift a few years ago I got used to it, and I guess In ever really adjusted back to normal.

[Jimmy]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Yup.  I'm a night owl.  Working graveyard shift a few years ago I got used to it, and I guess In ever really adjusted back to normal.

Now I work that shift from time-to-time, but I can never get used to it. The daylight keeps me from sleeping a full night, would be lucky to get 4 following a night shift. I hear black curtains help, though I've never tried them.

[xSilverPhinx]

On weekdays I get around 3, 4 or 5 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I don't take day naps, so the main problem with this is that it accumulates, and by Friday I feel like a zombie.

I try to make up for it during the weekends though, so in the long term it hasn't really affected me that much yet.

Bravo to you if you are able sleep 3-5 hours on most days! But that sounds insane! My eyes would be bloodshot by day three for sure    I used to get 5-6 hours a night during the time my oldest daughter was 0-2 yrs old because my evening shifts  were late, and opposite of my wife's, and I had to get up early after having worked the evening the night before, so she could go to work in the morning. The weekends weren't much better. My wife and I would even compete with each other for sleep. "No it's MY turn!! But, You just had a nap!!" ....LOL......I don't know how I did it...oh yeah, 4 cups of coffee per day  Good thing I had enough working brain cells to remember to take LOTS of photos, because unfortunately, I can barely remember those first couple of years.  Although I could still  use a little more sleep, it is much better now! I don't even drink coffee anymore, just decaf, sometimes. Now I squeeze a nap in every now and again and that helps a little. Naps ROCK!!

Yeah, but I'm starting to feel the toll of it. Thing is I've been switching days for nights for so long now that my biological clock must've altered and it's difficult to get back to normal. ???

Out of curiousity's sake, have you ever tried going to sleep by listening to meditation music? It might work, since that sort of music alters people's brain waves.

I also drink quite a bit of caffeine but in the form of soda and not coffee. Certainly doesn't help.

[Amicale]

Is anyone else also mostly nocturnal here? ???

Yup.  I'm a night owl.  Working graveyard shift a few years ago I got used to it, and I guess In ever really adjusted back to normal.

I'm in the same boat, I worked nights. 11 pm to 9 am, with an hour off about halfway through the night, when I'd eat dinner, or breakfast, depending on my mood. I definitely got used to it, and I don't think I ever adjusted back, either. I'm kind of back on a more normalish schedule now, just because the people I work with are in time zones that more or less work with mine... but I still typically don't fall asleep until insane hours. So whenever I have my daughter at my place, I tend to nap when she does, or catch random 30 minute catnaps here and there. When I don't have her, I tend to stay up way later than I should to catch up on work, which I'm doing now.