Sleep

[Drew Dowdell]

Do any of you have trouble with sleep? Sleep has been a nightmare for me lately. I have a mattress that is only about 18 months old, but I still wake up with a sore back and stiff neck. Stress from work and life leave my mind racing.

The bed issue has gotten to the point to where we have moved into sleeping in the guest bedroom a few nights a week.

What do you do to deal with sleep issues?

[balthazar]

My problem is I dislike sleeping. I get right about 5.5 - 6 hrs/night, and that's too much. I got $h! to do.
Back issues are another issue- my mattress is only a few months old, my back situation is not due to the mattress. Doesn't keep me awake- I sleep like stone.
I hear many folk sleep less as they get older- I am looking forward to that.

[A Horse With No Name]

I like sleeping to an extent, I get eight hours a night. I do zen style meditation to clear the mind, do not watch much if any television, exercise, eat mostly vegetables and lean meat and avoid most sodas and packaged foods.

Driving a convertible also does wonders for the mind.

[balthazar]

I moved a LeBaron convert (top down) today, but only about a tenth of a mile.
Didn't do much for me, I must say.

[Drew Dowdell]

I sleep very lightly.... tossing and turning most of the night... often in pain and stiffness. Work has really stressed me out with unusually high demands this year. By the end of this coming week, I will have completed my 60th flight and my 75th night in a hotel in just 2014. I do sleep a bit better, less pain, in hotel beds, but the work stress keeps me alert... and then there's the missing Albert part.

[A Horse With No Name]

Massage works well also.

[ocnblu]

I have serious issues with sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and then I start thinking about work. All hope is lost at that juncture.

[Intrepidation]

I find I don't function nearly as well without 7-8 hours of sleep. I can do less, but if I get 3or 4 hours of sleep the previous night I will sleep for like 9 hours the next night. Anything less than 6 I can feel slows my reaction time while driving.

I love sleeping, but its hard to get in 7-8 hours sometime due to trying to squeeze as much out of the day as possible between work, side work, and other things. I'm a night owl.

As far as back pains go, you could try a mattress topper. There are memory foam ones for more support and soft ones for more comfort. We use one on our matress since its on the firm side.

[SAmadei]

I used to like sleeping, but no more. I'd rather stop the habit.

I usually can't fall to sleep unless I'm exhausted... I have used Melatonin to help the process, but only certain brands make a workable Melatonin and its hard to stick to some semblance of a schedule.. as the daily usage wants you to stick to a certain 24 hour schedule.

Then after about sleeping 3 hours, I still start hurting... either back or knees... sometimes whatever muscles I was overworking. I have 5 places to sleep in 3 houses, so I can usually switch from bed to sofa or vice versa... but sometimes there just is no comfort coming.

Since I'm not sleeping well... and I've usually drank lots of liquids, now my body feels the need to purge liquid every 75 minutes.

Sun comes up and shines right in my face and the cat won't leave me alone unless I feed him.

Then I wake up completely unrested after snoring all night dehydrated with a pounding headache, because using the CPAP can be annoying.

Yeah, I hate sleep. My grandfather used to say that one can sleep when their dead.

[Intrepidation]

I'm lucky, I can usually fall asleep very quickly and sleep deeply.

Speaking of which...

[intrigued]

90 percent chance that the sleep is a work and lifestyle issue.  Not saying that you choose to be this stressed but anytime you have 60 flights and 75th nights out of your own bed in just 6 months that's going to really screw with your body's natural rhythm.  I used to go through periods of restlessness even though I was exhausted because I'd be working on a trial for 2 months on end, living in a hotel for half of it.  Your body looses track of the day it is and never enters deep rem sleep because it's not sure when it needs to answer the bell to to travel, work etc.   

 

Beyond trying to eat healthy I'd recommend a solid 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. You may already be mentally exhausted from work but if you can get your body tired out as well you'll sleep much better, and hopefully prevent any slow, on the road eating crap, weight gains.  

 

Good luck! I had 2 years like that in a row so I can relate.  

[Drew Dowdell]

Thanks... and welcome back.

 

Right now I'm just trying to catch up on some sleep.  I'm home for 2 weeks before a vacation trip to Germany and I'm making sure I get 8 or 9 hours a night.

[G. David Felt]

I like balthazar sleep like a stone. With Sleep Apnea and Narcoleptic I get at most 3-4hrs of sleep a night. usually 1-2 5 min power naps during the day. Since I do not dream I never miss anything. Like many have stated, once I start thinking about work or projects I am pretty much lost to being up.

 

I will say that working out daily keeps me going strong and able to recover fast in my 3-4hrs of sleep a night.

[ocnblu]

How does one simply "make sure" they get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep in one fell swoop? 

[G. David Felt]

How does one simply "make sure" they get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep in one fell swoop? 

No Night Time Playing!

 

[Drew Dowdell]

How does one simply "make sure" they get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep in one fell swoop?

By making sure I go to bed early enough ahead of when I need to get up for work to get the full amount of sleep..... and making sure I get play time ahead of that to wear me out good.

[Robert Hall]

I love sleep. I crave sleep.  I need 7-8 hours a night to be functional...if I get less, no amount of caffeine will make me productive.  I love weekend naps, and on vacations or days off I take naps..sometimes a morning nap, sometimes an afternoon one.   But I'm a light sleeper, and pretty much any noise will wake me (usually it's the dogs barking at the neighbors' cats).   I try to go bed around the same time (10pm) and get up the same time (5:30-6) everyday, even on weekends.  I've long battled insomnia and have taken prescription sleeping pills for nearly 20 years--currently 500mg of a psp.  Over the counter PM stuff won't cut it.    I find that nights that I swim I sleep better, I often take a swim around 9 in the evening.

 

I'm sensitive to an overly warm room also..I keep the ceiling fans on and the A/C down at night, I like it a bit cool and I like at as dark as possible--keep the window slats closed tightly.  I have to cover any lights on power strips, etc in the room also.  My ideal bedroom would be painted flat black w/ no windows..

 

 

 

Driving a convertible also does wonders for the mind.

Yeah, I know that feeling..I love driving in the mornings in the old Merc hardtop w/ all the windows down and huge sunroof open...

Edited June 19, 2014 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[frogger]

Other than special exceptions like a baby in the house, overall work stress is my biggest detriment to sleep as well and has been bad this year.  It sucks thinking you have so much to do that you're not doing a good job. My back is ok but I get stiff neck from stress and need the special contoured pillow to control it.

Other than that, I'm good with 7 hours a night on average and suck at taking naps.

[daves87rs]

My body get pissed if it goes too many nights without 6-8 hours a night.....

 

 

Stress about finding a new job is my issue now...

 

 

fans at night do help quite a bit....

[Drew Dowdell]

About a week to go before vacation.... I'm just coasting at work until then.  No travel and leaving early every day.

[A Horse With No Name]

Enjoy your time with Albert!