32 replies to this topic

[SatampraZeiros]

Mbyte, on 26 February 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

This article has opened worlds for me. I have always pondered about with my sleep cycle. One pattern that I was definatly noticing was the 4 hour cycle. I noticed clearly that I would wake up like a new penny if I woke on the fourth hour or on the eighth hour. If I would wake up in between those two 4 hours blocks I would feel like a dead weight. It was often confusing. You think "But I slept for 7 or 10 hours! how could I feel like ****" I started to realise that if I set the alarm clock for eight hours and it all worked out right I would wake up quicker and more refreshed then I would an hour earlier or an hour later. If I was up all night and had work in the morning I would wake up like a new penny if I set the clock to go off roughly four hours after I sleep. I'd feel like crap by 12 but at least getting up was cheatingly easy.

I'm definatly taking this on board and living by this from now on. I won't feel guilty for feeling tired at 8 o'clock anymore.

Also for those 4 hour sleepers, there are people out there coined "Super Sleepers" These are people that sleep like a charm for fourish hours and they wake up like a a new penny and that's all the sleep they need for the day. One famous Irish business man is a self proclaimed Super Sleeper and can't see how people could waist their time actually sleeping 8 hours.

thats because you can "train" your body to get R.E.M. sleep for only a couple of hours a night, I used to sleep for Two or Three hours some nights because I had Three jobs (Welding 11 hrs-unloading trucks 4 hrs- Wendy's manager *night shift* 4 hrs)and I usually slept at lunch time and when I got home in between jobs, quick 1 hr naps and I felt "refreshed" more than when I actually slept in on weekends.

[Drev]

How do you train this? I never managed to actually pinpoint the time i want to fall asleep, I can go to bed and sometimes easily just lay awake for 2-3 hours. Also, when I have to get up early and I get home from work in the afternoon I often just fall asleep on the couch.

Edited by Drev, 26 February 2012 - 07:09 PM.

[Mbyte]

SatampraZeiros, on 26 February 2012 - 06:53 PM, said:

I read somewhere that us humans were used to sleeping in "segments" of Three to Four hours, with a waking period of an hour or so (that was usually used for sex) and then going back to sleep for another Three or Four hours, but with the advent of artificial lighting we cut the nighttime from 12-14 hrs (in some places) back to our "recommended" 7-8 hrs of "night" usually people who "think" they have insomnia or other sleeping problems are only doing what comes natural to us, if you dont think "OH GOD I WOKE UP AND I WONT GO BACK TO SLEEP!!!" its easier to go back to sleep.

Did you read the article? The article said basicaly the same thing.

[encouraged]

I have fallen into a bi-modal sleep pattern and actually enjoy it as a retired life style. During the period between sleeps I mostly catch up on the news of the Internet news outlets and use the time toward leaps in what would otherwise be slow progress through the books I desire to read--mostly technical self-learning computer aids. Sometimes devotion to poetry might be the way that time gets used.

[DieChecker]

I will a lot of times sleep for an hour or so, and then wake up and wander around a bit, then sleep real good for 4 or 5 hours.

I saw this a couple days ago on facebook and wrote it off as idiot fringe stuff, as the person posting it was a crystals/dreamcatchers/magnets new ager.

[Truth Seeker 2012]

I'd have to be totally drunk and tired,for partying all night, to sleep for 8 hrs straight.

Edited by Truth Seeker 2012, 27 February 2012 - 06:56 AM.

[Truth Seeker 2012]

I couldn't sleep for 8 hrs straight. I tend to wake up after sleeping a few hrs, then go back to sleep; because i'm a light sleeper.

[Scepticus]

I sleep around 8-12 hours a day and i love it.

Also it makes me smarter. You do know the longer you sleep the smarter you get, right?

[omerta]

On weekdays I sleep 5-6 hours a night and I feel more rested throughout the day than on the weekends where I sleep 7-8.

[Paracelse]

Scepticus, on 27 February 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

I sleep around 8-12 hours a day and i love it.

Also it makes me smarter. You do know the longer you sleep the smarter you get, right?

No way dude, I know people who sleep a whole lot (they're French, don't work and get money for free) and they're dumber than the dirt on my boots.  When I got divorced I was still a full time student and I had to work full time at the same time. I had to sleep in two periods of 2 and half hours, one in the afternoon and one at 3:30 am.  I did my best work during that period.

[BiffSplitkins]

I usually get about 7 hours of sleep per night.

I have sleep apnea and understand the importance of 'real' sleep. I've read many articles on sleep. I've even found some articles that state that the body can actually 'bank' sleep. I like to take naps on the weekends because I never know how much true sleep I will get at night. Without my CPAP machine I stop breathing for more than 30 seconds at a time, an average of 29 times per hour.

When a person that has sleep apnea has that happen they can actually be on the edge of slipping into a therapeutic sleep state and all of sudden stop breathing. The brain then wakes the body up to say "Hey, you're not breathing." The apnea sufferer doesn't even know that their body has woken up. They just drift off again and just hit that edge and stop breathing again. This cycle can continue on all night and the sleep apnea sufferer can wake up even after 10 hours of sleep feeling completely exhausted.

My CPAP machine (Darth Vader mask as I refer to it so I don't think I look so dorky while wearing it in my sleep) has really helped. It provides a positive air flow to keep my airway open an night and I get a more relaxing sleep. Sometimes it feels uncomfortable to wear but the overall benefits are worth it. The best feature is that my CPAP machine has a built in humidifier so I never wake up with that 'dry' throat or sinuses anymore.

My wife now gets better sleep as well because she doesn't have to listen to me snore all night.

[encouraged]

BiffSplitkins, on 28 February 2012 - 01:00 PM, said:

I usually get about 7 hours of sleep per night.

My CPAP machine (Darth Vader mask as I refer to it so I don't think I look so dorky while wearing it in my sleep) has really helped.

Dear Darth,

Well said! I am a 17 cm³ settings sleep apnea kind of guy! I would wake as if hit by a Mac truck during the night, being so tired from sleeping. My attempts to catch a breath led to knots in my hair every morning. I guess I would spin on my head or some other kind of break dancing! lol

Anyway, thanks for spotting the good moment for a little educational treatise!

[BiffSplitkins]

encouraged, on 28 February 2012 - 09:40 PM, said:

Dear Darth,

Well said! I am a 17 cm³ settings sleep apnea kind of guy! I would wake as if hit by a Mac truck during the night, being so tired from sleeping. My attempts to catch a breath led to knots in my hair every morning. I guess I would spin on my head or some other kind of break dancing! lol

Anyway, thanks for spotting the good moment for a little educational treatise!

17 cm³ is pretty high isn't it? I think I'm only set at 8 cm³.
I try to educate all of my friends about sleep apnea. It's more common than people think. I even had my sister go get a sleep study done.
The CPAP helped me immensely but I was still lacking energy. Turns out I have an extremely low Vitamin D level as well. So now I take 5000 ui per day of Vitamin D and I'm noticing a difference.

[Lilly]

I need about 6 hours to feel ok and about 7 to feel good. I actually can't sleep beyond 7 hours even if I want to. However, I do sleep 6 to 7 hours without fully waking up. It's kind of interesting how people vary in sleep patterns.

[thewild]

6-7 hours here and I'm good. But lord help you if you wake me up...