# Sleep- How Much?



## Damian85 (27 Feb 2009)

How much is enough sleep? The standard 8 hours? More? Less?


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## truthseeker (27 Feb 2009)

Personally speaking, I like a lot of sleep. I just love sleep.

The weekend before last I managed to get a full 11 hours sleep on both the Friday and the Saturday night - twas a good weekend in my opinion 

Usually I get between 7 and 8 hours sleep a night with more or less on the weekend depending on activities.


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## Damian85 (27 Feb 2009)

Personally I usually get 6-7 hours every night. Seems to do me.

I remember hearing Bill Cullen maintaining that he gets 4 hours sleep a night. Hard to see this being sustainable???


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## gillarosa (27 Feb 2009)

Margaret Thatcher was another of the 4 hours sleep per night people. I think the amount of sleep needed depends on the person and the real key is to whether it is good quality sleep and the person awakes feeling fully rested. There was an interesting documentary on BBC 2 during the week where they discussed the human bodyclock in a number of areas of general health, including the influence of sleep, for example shift workers who regularly work overnight have much higher diagnosis of cancer. One tip they gave which was quite helpful for people who's own bodyclock was slightly out of synch with the times they needed to sleep and awake for work was for those who tossed and turned into the night to wear sunglasses from noon onward and for those who hate to get up in the morning to get as much exposure to daylight in the first half of the day as exposure to daylight affected that particular aspect of our clock.


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## truthseeker (27 Feb 2009)

Interestingly - although I do love my sleep - I find I operate better on less sleep. When I do manage to get the 11 hours stretches in i tend to feel groggy and a bit 'sryupy' the next day, whereas I seem to have more energy when I get 7/8.


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## Damian85 (27 Feb 2009)

I've heard stories that many of the US Presidents survived on 4 hours sleep a night. 

I remember hearing before that out of an 8 hour sleep, 4 of those hours are for physical recovery and the remaining 4 are for mental recovery.

I wonder if the 4 hour sleep is sustainable over long periods of time


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## Ceist Beag (27 Feb 2009)

Damian85 said:


> I've heard stories that many of the US Presidents survived on 4 hours sleep a night.
> 
> I remember hearing before that out of an 8 hour sleep, 4 of those hours are for physical recovery and the remaining 4 are for mental recovery.
> 
> I wonder if the 4 hour sleep is sustainable over long periods of time



George Bush obviously used up the 4 for physical recovery only!


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## Purple (27 Feb 2009)

6 hours.


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## Cahir (27 Feb 2009)

I work best with 7.5.  Anything over 8.5 and I'm groggy the next day anything less than 7 and I'm exhausted.


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## Ancutza (27 Feb 2009)

Never get more than 6 - 7 hours bur it seez t o b fin fr mee.  

If you want more than 6 hours then get the snip! Kids are a killer!


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## Vanilla (27 Feb 2009)

Before children used to need 8 hours.

Shortly after first baby born, needed 8 hours, but only managed variations of 2 to 4 hours.

Sleep deprivation became the norm.

Baby number two arrived, coped much better with the limited sleep.

Sleep pattern ruined. Now delighted with 6 hours, can easily cope with 4. On the upside, this has given me more hours in the day. On the downside I NEED all those hours just to keep up.

Still feel pathological hatred for people whose children sleep 'through the night', whatever that means. 

Am nursing a vague unfulfilled hope that someday soon the children will start to sleep later than 5.30 or 6 am ( at least on the weekends) AND sleep through the night.


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## cole (27 Feb 2009)

7 hours during the week, maybe 8/9 either Sat or Sun.

I had sleep deprivation for about 3 months one summer when I lived beside a crowd of ectasy junkies. _Every_ night they played garage music (complete with sirens) etc until about 6am. Guards couldn't do anything except ask them to stop. I had to leave every weekend just to catch up on sleep.


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## MandaC (27 Feb 2009)

I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me.   I only need 4-6 hours a night sleep


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## Guest128 (27 Feb 2009)

8 hours during the week, 11 - 12 hours at the weekends. AM doesnt exist for me on Saturday or Sunday


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## S.L.F (28 Feb 2009)

Vanilla said:


> Still feel pathological hatred for people whose children sleep 'through the night', whatever that means.


 
My boy did that for a while then went back to climbing into bed with us and then doing gymnastics while totally asleep.



Vanilla said:


> Am nursing a vague unfulfilled hope that someday soon the children will start to sleep later than 5.30 or 6 am ( at least on the weekends) AND sleep through the night.


 
What we do at the weekend is keep the little £"&*% up at least one hour later than usual on weekend nights.


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## Murt10 (2 Mar 2009)

FLANDERS` said:


> 8 hours during the week, 11 - 12 hours at the weekends. AM doesnt exist for me on Saturday or Sunday



No children obviously. 

God those were the days! Now, even if I'm allowed to lie on on a Saturday or Sunday, I have become so conditioned that I just wake up anyway. I wonder as the children become teenagers, don't get up until the afternoon, and don't have to be taken to various activities, whether I will be able to return to my old ways.

The only good thing I can say about it is when you are away on holidays. The early part of the day, before anyone else is up, is the most enjoyable. Great for exploring places where you would be afraid to go at night, in case you got lost or attacked. 



Murt


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## Teatime (2 Mar 2009)

truthseeker said:


> Personally speaking, I like a lot of sleep. I just love sleep.


 
Me too. I cant cope with less than 8 hours.


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## Caveat (2 Mar 2009)

Murt10 said:


> The only good thing I can say about it is when you are away on holidays. The early part of the day, before anyone else is up, is the most enjoyable. Great for exploring places where you would be afraid to go at night, in case you got lost or attacked.


 
Jaysus that sounds a bit paranoid Murt!

I get about 7 hours a night during the week, about 9 at weekends.  Ideally, I would like more on both occasions.


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## burger1979 (2 Mar 2009)

Have to get about 7-8 hours sleep during the weekdays, feel really knackered the day after if i dont, especially if after football training, the next day is just spent longing for the bed. on the weekends about 8-10 hours. What i hate most about weekends though is that if i go to bed at say 11pm or midnight on a friday i can be wide awake at 8am the following morning. its the getting up so early during the weekday mornings for work that it hampers my best efforts to have a lie in on saturday and sunday mornings. If I stay in bed till midday on a saturday or sunday (not that that happens often) then i feel guilty about not getting up and thinking half the day is gone and that its a waste!!!!!


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## TarfHead (2 Mar 2009)

Murt10 said:


> No children obviously.
> 
> God those were the days! Now, even if I'm allowed to lie on on a Saturday or Sunday, I have become so conditioned that I just wake up anyway.


 
+1

After almost nine years of parenthood, I think I have lost the ability to sleep past 8AM. And I am 'incapable' of getting to bed within 4 hours of the kids have been tied down for the night, i.e. it's rare that I get to bed, or at least turn off the reading light, before midnight.


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## Murt10 (2 Mar 2009)

Caveat said:


> Jaysus that sounds a bit paranoid Murt!
> 
> .



Just because your paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you

There are loads of areas in Dublin that I would not knowingly enter in the late afternoon, evening or especially after dark. 

Just because your abroad on holiday in a foreign country doesn't make a place any safer.  By your dress and actions you will stand out as a tourist and are therefore more vulnerable. Every big city has these areas. 

For some weird reason which I cannot fathom at all, I always seem to find myself in the local fish market when I'm abroad. It's like an inbuilt homing sensor, or maybe these places all have many fish markets. I don't know




Murt


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## Vanilla (2 Mar 2009)

Murt10 said:


> For some weird reason which I cannot fathom at all, I always seem to find myself in the local fish market when I'm abroad. It's like an inbuilt homing sensor, or maybe these places all have many fish markets. I don't know
> 
> Murt


 
Me too! Although for me it is deliberate. Mmmm, seafood.


Tarfhead- so this is what I have to look forward to?


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## LDFerguson (2 Mar 2009)

Generally 6 or 7 hours. Less and I feel tired the next day. More is a bonus. 

Agree with TarfHead - stayed in a hotel on Saturday night - got to bed around 3 after a quiet subdued evening of watching the rugby / discussing the rugby / the economy / the meaning of life / who your best mate is over a modest quantity of alcohol. *Ahem* Was looking forward to waking up at 10 or 11 as there would be no kiddies bopping about at 7 or 8. Woke up just before 7 as usual and was damned if I could get back to sleep after that. Gutted. Body clocks can be annoying.


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## Sue Ellen (2 Mar 2009)

LDFerguson said:


> modest quantity of alcohol.
> 
> Body clocks can be annoying.



Its the alcohol that wakes you up.


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## PaddyW (3 Mar 2009)

Vanilla said:


> Still feel pathological hatred for people whose children sleep 'through the night', whatever that means.



I was one of those children. Slept like a log all the time apparently. I still do. As I say to people, I don't go to sleep, I temporarily die!


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## LDFerguson (3 Mar 2009)

Sue Ellen said:


> Its the alcohol that wakes you up.


 
No, it's the alcohol that makes life more fun while you're awake.  Well, that and a bit of the other.


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## gillarosa (3 Mar 2009)

Vanilla said:


> Still feel pathological hatred for people whose children sleep 'through the night', whatever that means.


 
TBH Vanilla, other than PaddyW's (back in the day) most parents are possibly lying when they spin that sleeping through the night yarn, you can tell by their semi-comatose state, many are sleep deprived for at least the first few years.


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## Purple (4 Mar 2009)

LDFerguson said:


> No, it's the alcohol that makes life more fun while you're awake.  Well, that and a bit of the other.


Have you noticed that other people become more interesting when you are drunk? (You are interesting all the time, I hasten to add).


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## burger1979 (5 Mar 2009)

Purple said:


> Have you noticed that other people become more interesting when you are drunk? (You are interesting all the time, I hasten to add).


 

i think your lovely purple


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## Mpsox (5 Mar 2009)

Damian85 said:


> I've heard stories that many of the US Presidents survived on 4 hours sleep a night.
> 
> I remember hearing before that out of an 8 hour sleep, 4 of those hours are for physical recovery and the remaining 4 are for mental recovery.
> 
> I wonder if the 4 hour sleep is sustainable over long periods of time


 
I also read that 4 of the last 6 US presidents were left handed, 

Usually I get 6-7 hours during the week, 7-8 at weekends, all depending on whether or not my 2 year old is going to wake in the next room going "dada". She has an awful tendancy to do that on a Friday night, bless er
I never sleep properly on a Sunday night for some reason


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## Purple (5 Mar 2009)

burger1979 said:


> i think your lovely purple



Have you been drinking?


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## Caveat (5 Mar 2009)

Purple said:


> Have you noticed that other people become more interesting when you are drunk?


 
Yeah - only problem is though that you become more annoying to the person who is becoming interesting.


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## Purple (5 Mar 2009)

Caveat said:


> Yeah - only problem is though that you become more annoying to the person who is becoming interesting.



Yes, but that's the beauty of drink; you don't care!


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## becky (5 Mar 2009)

Murt10 said:


> No children obviously.
> 
> I wonder as the children become teenagers, don't get up until the afternoon, and don't have to be taken to various activities, whether I will be able to return to my old ways.
> 
> ...


 
My friend starts shouting at her teenager to get out bed at about 10.30 on sat and sun morning. She calls it pay back.


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## woodbine (5 Mar 2009)

i need a minimum of 7 hours. and totally agree with a prevoius poster who never sleeps properly on a Sunday night.

some nights i find it really hard to get to sleep but every single night, i just HAVE TO know what tine it is when i finally start to settle down to sleep. (i tend to toss and turn a lot before finding a comfy position, just like a dog. ) if i don't look at the clock before i go to sleep there's no way i could sleep.


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## Chocks away (5 Mar 2009)

Purple said:


> Have you been drinking?


I know you are not talking to me but I was and still am. Bed at midnight then ten hours tonight as I don't need to go in until noon. Normally during the week 6.5 - 7hrs. On weekends up to 12 hours.


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## burger1979 (6 Mar 2009)

Purple said:


> Have you been drinking?


 

yes i usually socialise between the hours of 9-5 mon to fri and then i take a break to relax at the weekends and recharge myself ready for the working week again on monday


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## Purple (6 Mar 2009)

burger1979 said:


> yes i usually socialise between the hours of 9-5 mon to fri and then i take a break to relax at the weekends and recharge myself ready for the working week again on monday


 Well if it's good enough for Larry Hagman it should be good enough for the rest of us.


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## bazermc (6 Mar 2009)

truthseeker said:


> Interestingly - although I do love my sleep - I find I operate better on less sleep. When I do manage to get the 11 hours stretches in i tend to feel groggy and a bit 'sryupy' the next day, whereas I seem to have more energy when I get 7/8.


 
I am the exact same, if i sleep in on the w/e i feel very groggy perhaps from oversleep, but it pays off on Monday when back in work etc.


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