Sleep habits

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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Anyone care to share their usual sleep habits?

I’ll start: I’m usually in bed by 10:30PM, even on weekend nights, and up in the morning between 6:30AM-7AM, even on weekends.

I generally don’t sleep very well. I start out in “our” bed, MrsT usually joins me around 11PM. Then, sometime around 1AM, I’ll either be sweating puddles I’m so hot, or I’ll have gotten up to go pee, and in the <90 seconds it takes to do that (I don’t even need to turn on a light), I’ll have woken completely up, and as soon as I climb back into bed, I’ll start thinking things like, “I have to remember to pick up my meds tomorrow I hope Amy is working or at least Mandy but I’d rather it be Amy what’s her dog’s name she told me once I’ll have to ask how her dog is so she knows I actually pay attention to her dogs sure are funny like how Kate figured out how to open cabinet doors and used to sleep with her stuffed toy I wish I had a Spirograph that was the only toy I had as a kid and it was a used one and half the pieces were broken isn’t it funny how you can buy broken spaghetti noodles at the grocery store that’s right Amy’s dog’s name is Noodles because she ate a bunch of noodles the day she brought her home…”

Either way, I’ll get up and go into the guest room and lie down for awhile, until I get up again, probably from restlessness, around 4:30AM or so, and move out to the couch, and then finally back into the main bedroom around 6AM, then I’m up for good around 6:30AM or so.

What’s your usual night like?
 
I am very, very lucky to be a very good sleeper.

I go to bed anytime between 10:30 pm and midnight. Husband is usually in bed before me because he lets the cat wake him up for food at an ungodly hour. I snuggle in with the other cat either on top of me, or beside me. I’m a side sleeper, but can sleep on my back, especially if I have a very comfortable kitty lying on me.

At around 5 am, the cat jumps on my husband and lets him know it’s time for food. I sleep through it. I wake up when my alarm goes off at 6:30 (if I’m headed to the office) or 8 (if I’m working from home). If it’s a work-from-home day, I abuse the snooze button until I need to log on for work.

I know I’m terrible- I stay up too late, I wake at inconsistent time, I use the snooze button, but I consistently sleep through the night. I am curious to see how things change when perimenopause starts (although I should have a few years to go).

For me I find a huge factor is exercise- if I’m getting enough exercise during the day to tire myself out a bit, I fall asleep incredibly fast.
 
I used to be a night owl until I got Crohns at about age 17. I was even on melatonin tablets before that because I only slept 4 to 6 hours a night, just like my mom.

But since I have multiple chronic illnesses I sleep tons because I am exhausted all the time. Often wake up tired too, also because I have restless legs syndrome. I sleep 8 hours a day now because my meds are working, but when they don't I sleep up to 12 hrs a day.
Excercise makes my restless legs worse, I sleep best a day after I excercised the day before. This can also be explained in part by having no colon, excercise drains so much fluid it's hard for me to get enough elektrolytes after sports which can cause cramping in your legs.
 
I used to be quite a late to bed person, but that changed over the years.
Currently I live in a very rural area and rythm is dedicated by sunlight.
Up early, normally 06.00
Early to bed. It's dark by 19.00, but I manage 21.00 most of the time, unless I got visitors or am in town.
Some days I sleep very well, some days not so.
Sometimes I wake up my dags (2 on the bed, 1 on a cushion next to the bed), sometimes the dogs wake me up :wink:
 
My nights are all over the shop.

I'm fairly substance sensitive -
If I drink anything alcoholic it interferes with my sleep, I'll wake up 2am(ish) boiling hot and after that if I can sleep it will be fretful.
If I have caffeine after midday I can't get to sleep.
If I have a large meal late..
If something exciting is happening my mind will fizz and.. I can't sleep.
If I ignore the tiny point when I feel sleep creeping in (I usually fight it) then I go past it and am an awake zombie.
If I take tech to bed I'm doomed, there's always one more thing to look at.

For me there are a lot of variables and it largely depends on the degree of mental discipline I'm prepared to exert as to whether I will sleep soundly. I win about 50% of the time now, but when I was younger, oof!
 
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I go to bed anywhere between 11 and 1ish. I am awakened multiple times during the night because my kitty needs her pets and to pet me. Sometimes, I get really annoyed because she's coming around too many times so she gets squeezed and some nonconsensual cuddling goes on until I nod off and she is able to escape. I usually get several hours of uninterrupted sleep after that. Unfortunately though, I seem to be going through a period of really out there dreams, not nightmares per se, just extremely weird dreams.
 
In my working years, I had a hell of a time sleeping... I was constantly looking at the clock, waiting for the alarm to go off at FOUR AM!!!
Also, we had a huge GSD with medical issues, so I was like a nervous Mother, always listening for him.
As a retiree, I sleep like a log! (dog-o passed in 2005 :cry: )
DH says he wishes that he could sleep like I do ... I say good night, crawl into bed and I'm OUT!
I do wake up periodically to pee, but that's what getting older is like.
I sleep 10-12 hours a night and do not nap during the day. I feel fully rested through out the day, but come that magic hour, about 4ish in the afternoon, I'm done! Gimme a glass (or three) of wine, make supper, wash up, stream a program on the TV for a bit and that's it for me.
 
I'm early to bed, early to rise. Always have been. I used to get to very early. One job it was 3:30am, but my last job (7 years) it was 5:30am.

Nowadays, I get up 30 minutes after hubby. He has to take meds ½hr before food (thyroid issue) so gets up first. He also come to bed later than I do, but I have meds to take before bed, inhalers to do and so on, so it gives me chance to get that done. If I don't settle and sleep within an hour of going to bed, I'm in for a bad night.

Typically I go to bed around 9pm. Hubby joins me at 10pm. I'll wake around midnight, 3am and 5am, often more. Usually too hot and sweating buckets. It's not uncommon for me to drink ½ - 1L at night because of sweating. If my throat is dry, I can't breath properly with my asthma, so I keep water on the bedside table. We're usually up by 6am. But I'm also very affected my daylight, so sleep better in winter than summer.
 
I have had insomnia for years but it's gotten worse as I have gotten older. I have horrible allergies so I have to wake up and blow my nose occasionally, and then I also keep water by my bedside for dry throat like SatNavSaysStraightOn and that makes me have get up and go to the restroom, of course. There are rare occasions where I sleep well but there are lots of interruptions, such as DH's snoring, the neighbor's dogs, or a loud car/truck passing by (sounds like someone needs a new exhaust system).

I hate our neighbor's dogs. One of the houses behind us has 3 German Shepherds with deep barks and the neighbor in between our house and their house has a large mixed breed dog who (is an idiot--both the dog and it's owner) loves to start the barking contests. This can go on for up to 30 minutes or more as they run back and forth past the fence barrier, snarling and barking loudly and aggressively at each other before one of the neighbors brings their dog(s) in and it stops. For a few hours. And then they let them out and it starts up all over again.
 
I had a doctor back in Hawaii who helped me out tremendously!
She suggested these
macks ear plugs.jpg

(photo credit to Mack's)
This is super for blocking out ALL noise

bucky 40 blinks.jpg

(photo credit to Bucky 40blinks)
Bucky 40 Blinks are fantastic for light control - I see no light, at all! And they come in some very stylish fabrics as well.
I even have my DH wearing these sleep masks.

[edit - when I was in the hospital, twice, I had these sleep aids with me and all of the nurses and doctors were impressed; said that they would be recommending these to their patients.]
 
I had a doctor back in Hawaii who helped me out tremendously!
She suggested these
View attachment 112056
(photo credit to Mack's)
This is super for blocking out ALL noise

View attachment 112057
(photo credit to Bucky 40blinks)
Bucky 40 Blinks are fantastic for light control - I see no light, at all! And they come in some very stylish fabrics as well.
I even have my DH wearing these sleep masks.

[edit - when I was in the hospital, twice, I had these sleep aids with me and all of the nurses and doctors were impressed; said that they would be recommending these to their patients.]
That's great for most. I do have earplugs but because of my tinnitus they don't help, they actually make my tinnitus more noticeable, unfortunately.
 
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