[Closed] How much sleep do you get?

I always try and aim for an average of 8 hours a night, for the whole week. usually it's a little bit less Monday to Friday, but gets topped up at the weekend.

I feel pretty groggy if I get less than 7 hours. 6 or less I feel rubbish, almost hungover.

I don't get enough really. I can feel like I can function on about 5 - 6 hours, and seem to routinely get around 6, but I find it backs up and i'll start falling asleep as soon as I sit somewhere comfy...I can't sit through a movie at the cinema these days, so really need to get into the habit of getting an hour or so more. I FEEL fine, don't feel drowsy, feel alert, energetic and can concentrate on tasks, but as soon as I sit and relax i'm out like a light.

When traveling with work a combination of just working longer hours and losing sleep due to time zone differences it's not unusual for me to get only about 3 or 4 hours a day, but that is only for a week to ten days so find I can get through it...also means by the time I get on the plane to fly home i'm out like a light, so makes those long haul flights a doddle.

I have to get around 7.5 on weeknights and 8+ on weekends. Slept 10:30- 4am last night and feel like absolute shit today.
(Apologies in advance to the STW community for the grumpy posts I will no doubt be responsible for today)

7.5 hours during the week, 8.5 at the weekends.

Creature of habit. I go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time each morning.

I used to be the same and try and make up for it at weekends. Not that I’d ever make up the hours I’d lost in the week.
He does mention on the podcast that you can’t really catch up on sleep though and consistency is the key.

I try for about 8 hours. I very, very rarely get that during the week though as I find it difficult to switch off at night, so usually end up dropping off at about 2330 or so. When the alarm goes off at 0615 it is always too early.

6 hrs a night without fail, straight out like a light, if I fall asleep at 10 I'll be up at 4 with no chance of getting back to sleep.

I'm no doctor but I make sure I get my 8 hours,I think a good nights sleep is fundamental to good health.

According to Garmin, 8.5 - 9.0hrs over the last few weeks. Seems very wrong to be measuring stuff like this, then having it go up the pipe to a central server 🙂
Might start just using the watch for running...

5-6 hrs is all I've needed for the past 30 years or so. If I have a lie-in I often end up with a migraine.

Very rarely less than 8 hours, if I can help it. Sleep is as important as exercise and a healthy diet in my view. I generally sleep quite well, only struggling if I have something worth worrying about - then I quite often wake after a few hours and struggle to stop going over things.

It's so important and can have a big effect on weight gain too. I get 7 to 9 hours most of the time. Your previous setup sounded horrendous! If I have an early start for some reason I make sure everything is done the night before (pack lunch, shower whatever else) so as to maximise time in bed in the morning then I can be up and out in 30 mins with time for tea and toast.

Shorter podcast

I listened to him on the Fresh Air podcast, sure it'll be a bit shorter than Joe Rogans podcast. The bit I remember is not being able to catch up at the weekend. I wake at the same time regardless of the day and my main issue is getting to bed early enough.

Monday to Friday, between 5 and 6.
More at weekend.

Between 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night I think - maybe an extra hour on the weekend depending on whether jr has slept in!

Got less last week as there was some good TV I wanted to watch that I tried to squeeze in. That left me feeling pants!

Usually 2-3 nights of 5 hours followed by a night of 10hrs plus.

7 - 8 hours usually. No screen time an hour before I want to go to sleep (I don't count my Kindle 'cos it's not backlit) and I'm generally out like a light as soon as I stop reading.

At the moment it's a bit broken as Mrs Monkey is due to give birth any day now and isn't sleeping brilliantly - and it's only going to get worse from here on in. The spare room is all set up and ready...

Varies:

4 of 7 nights I get 8, 2 nights I get about 5 with waking up at 3am’ish, the other night is probably 6-7hrs.

When away in the week I take sleeping pills and use ear buds to block out sound, some hotels I stay in a very noisy between 7-9pm and that’s when I try to settle down to sleep.

Same as scotroutes* 5-6 hrs but no migraines,I always like the idea of a lie in,but they just don't work for me.
*we are not sleeping together

However long I sleep I can always manage more. During the week I aim for 8 hours (up at 6:30), though that may sometimes drop to 7 on the odd day. Retirement will soon mean an extra hour or so in bed in the mornings which should, I hope, help me get up a bit earlier on weekends.

7.5 hours during the week, 8.5 at the weekends.

Creature of habit. I go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time each morning.

Apart from weekends?

Apart from weekends?

....where I get up at the same time on each day at the weekend, but you already knew that.

Still don't add up.

My Wife would sleep 9-10 hours a night if she could, if she's disturbed at all by the kids or whatever it's the end of the world!

I sleep pretty much 7.5 hours every night, it's enough to keep me sharp.

One thing I know isn't good for you is my old sleeping patern.

Wake a 07:00, work for 08:00, work till 18:00, pass out in my work clothes from 18:30 to about 20:30, change, eat, watch shit on TV / Game still about 02:00, sort of half-sleep, half doze till 07:00 repeat.

I'm usually 6-7 hours, if I have a few nights closer to 6 hours I tend to nod off a bit in the evening.

According to Garmin I average about 7hr to 7hr20 over the last few weeks. Seems to be enough although more would always be welcome. Up at around 6.15 normally during the week except Tuesdays when I'm up at 4.30 to drive down to the Midlands for work.
I stay in a hotel 2 nights a week with work and struggle to get to sleep. It's either poor discipline, different environment or being in a bed on my own that just doesn't feel right even though I've been doing it for a few years.

bed for 11, up for 7. so about 7.5 hours.

only time I struggle to sleep is on a Saturday, when I have a drink. terrible broken sleep that night.

5-6 weekdays, maybe 7 on Saturday if i'm riding (i still get up early) and then catch up on Sunday. Its not ideal.

5 hours at best most nights, with a good 8 or 9 hour reset at the weekend…

I never feel that tired come bedtime, but getting up is hard work. I force myself to ‘lights out’ at 11:30 during the week but I know it must be gone midnight by the time I drop off. Alarm is set for 5am. If I just sat watching TV till I fell asleep it would be much later before I nodded off. I know I need more kip, but I feel like going to bed any earlier is a waste of my evenings!

I think the biggest thing I took from it is that when you are sleep deprived you don’t know that you are and sleeping less than 7 hours is very detrimental to your health and you cannot catch up on sleeping less in the week by sleeping longer at the weekend.
I could function on the max 5 hours I was getting. I’d feel tired but I could get through the day without nodding off at my desk. It wasn’t until I listened to the podcast which happened to coincide with being off work for a couple of weeks over Christmas and sleeping over 8 hours a night, that I realised just how tired I really was.

Normally about 5 hours, but I've been trying to change it to get more as like everyone here, I've felt the benefits.

Plus it's sodding freezing at the mo and it's cosier in bed.

3-4 hours average I guess. Slept good last night though.
I try too hard to sleep, am in bed 9hours mainly, just dont sleep
Probably get 2-3nights a week with 6hrs max, but I've been like this for many years and just have to live with it. Id love to get 7hrs each night

only time I struggle to sleep is on a Saturday, when I have a drink. terrible broken sleep that night.

One of the reasons I don't bother any more.

Nobeer by name..... 🙂

I sleep much better after booze. Try to avoid it as a solution, but it works for me when I drink.
Even had a night out last year and had to sleep in the same bed as a (male) friend and slept the whole night! Naked too ( <- not really 😀 )

Interesting programme about sleep on Radio 4, “Don’t tell me the score” episode 12.

I haven’t tried the discussed method specifically, it uses 90 minute blocks of sleep/rest, but can say I’ve noticed some some similarities when I’ve had very early starts for example. So there might be something in it!

Have a listen, I’m not going to explain very well. Or it might just send you to sleep anyway...

7 - 7.5 hours in the week. But broken sleep. Very light sleeper yet have the gift of falling to sleep easily means mornings are hard. I can be eating breakfast, shut my eyes and I'm out for an hour on the table.

My Garmin tells me that I typically get 7.5 hours of sleep, although this tends to be slightly higher in winter and lower in summer.

I occasionally struggle with waking too early and, because I'm an early bird anyway, I just tend to get up even if I've tried getting back to sleep.

In general, I'm ok on a single night disturbed sleep - but only if I've otherwise been sleeping well that week. I also know from having kids that I can survive on 5 hours in extremis!

What Drumon said.

I've noticed my pattern is in 90 minute blocks. If I have 4.5 or 6 or 7.5 hours then I'm generally fine. If I break my sleep part way though, 5 or 7 hours I generally feel like shit.

My work pattern doesn't help at all though. Continental shifts. 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off. I need to be up at 5am on the two days, then lie in before my first night, which I struggle to do because I tend to be so busy on the day shifts I'm over tired and don't sleep well, then I get a 7.5 hour sleep before my last night, followed by 4.5 hours. I find the night shifts easier TBH.

I've not long got up, I had 9 hours and feel properly rested.

5 - 7 hours of broken sleep. Last night went to bed at 23:00. Woke at 2:30, drifted back off about 3ish alarm woke me up at 6:00. Honestly can't remember the last time I had 7 or 8 hours of quality unbroken sleep. We are talking years. Sometimes feel a little tired mid afternoon but seem to cope OK.

Always had a shite sleep pattern, normal night would be 4-5 hrs of restless sleep.😴

I really feel it if I don’t get enough sleep.
With a todddler and 6week old I get 8 1/2 hours of fairly broken sleep. Fell tired most of the time. Wonder if say 6hrs of solid sleep is better than 8or9 broken...

I am vastly improved from a very bad place, ruined by 2 children. I have found it is the quality of the sleep is far more important than the length. I've been using my garmin to track and it shows deep / light sleep. If I get less than an indicated 1.5hrs deep sleep in a night I feel terrible next day (often massive headache, need to take pain killers first thing). If I get around 3 - 3.5 hrs deep sleep, even with only 5-6 hours total sleep I feel great the next day

The combination of lack of deep sleep and constantly broken sleep for the last 2 years has caused me a good deal of mental and physical health issues I believe I'm only just getting over. That combined with the fact the kids now mostly sleep through the night so disturbances are now a couple of times a week as opposed to entire nights with zero sleep and then trying to work the next day....

I've cut caffeine to 2 cups in the morning, I exercise most days but for an hour or less and only at a moderate intensity, lots of stretching and yoga, generally in bed by 10am and up somewhere between 6 and 7. Doing my best to stop focusing on the future and worry more about the here and now and just living. Garmin says this week 7:23 average, 3hr 8min deep 6min awake which I'm happy with. I do find though, as I've a low heart rate it often picks out that I'm 'asleep' when chilling on the sofa watching telly.

Funnily enough I was thinking about this recently. I had a couple of weeks off the booze and found I was feeling much more refreshed on less sleep. I was getting about 7-8 hours of not great quality sleep, but woke up feeling pretty good.
But even having one beer seems to mess that up

Usually 6 hours.

The other day I read an article saying that one long sleep was a fairly recent thing since the industrial revolution. Prior to that 2 shorter sleeps was the norm.

Can't remember where I saw it, but no doubt someone here has also seen it.

Funnily enough I was thinking about this recently. I had a couple of weeks off the booze and found I was feeling much more refreshed on less sleep. I was getting about 7-8 hours of not great quality sleep, but woke up feeling pretty good.
But even having one beer seems to mess that up

Depressingly enough that's also my experience of going mostly alcohol free this month - I'm a lot less tired generally.

bigblackshed

What Drumon said.

I’ve noticed my pattern is in 90 minute blocks

Everyone does, roughly speaking. This is just one, interesting fact.

I read Matthew Walker's book "Why We Sleep" last year and it is astonishing. Aside from the soundbites which, in and of themselves are pretty interesting, the volume of scientific research on sleep is staggering and conclusive; for just about every ailment or illness not only are you more likely to contract it if your don't sleep enough and your outcomes are likely to be worse too.

Add to this the very sever psychological issues that even moderate sleep disruption can cause, and the combined physical and mental necessity for sleep is huge.

Cannot recommend the book enough.

I've always been a 5-6hrs a night person. It's something I wish I could change because I don't think it's healthy. I gave up caffeine a couple of years ago (on account of being wired enough naturally) and went three months without alcohol last year, which definitely helped quality of sleep hugely. So, I'll stop alcohol for longer this year (except for special occasions), be more disciplined with screentime and see how that goes. I can't change work stress much sadly.

I saw the same report that we used to have two sleeps a day, which is apparently a more natural schedule. We also used to sleep in separate bedrooms from our partners, it was only poor people who shared a bed.

7hrs a night, clockwork, bed at 11, out like light, up at 6 or soon after. If exercising particularly strenuously, more like 8hrs.

Unless offspring decide their own bedroom is too scary / need a wee / have woken up early and want to play lego.

Mrsm would sleep for 10hrs every night, if possible.

Broken sleep really breaks me; walking wounded, without 7hrs.

We also used to sleep in separate bedrooms from our partners, it was only poor people who shared a bed.

Think you'll find it was only the rich who didn't share a bed.

Digga, I’ve ordered the book today. Decided that as the small bits that I’ve picked up from the podcast has helped so much that the book is a must.
It was the links to health conditions that made me make a change. As even though I knew being tired was affecting certain aspects of my life, I decided that the my time in the evening after the kids were in bed was more important than a few hours extra sleep. Turns out I couldn’t be more wrong.

muggomagic

Digga, I’ve ordered the book today.
Decided that as the small bits that I’ve picked up from the podcast has helped so much that the book is a must.

It was the links to health conditions that made me make a change. As even though I knew being tired was affecting certain aspects of my life, I decided that the my time in the evening after the kids were in bed was more important than a few hours extra sleep. Turns out I couldn’t be more wrong.

Agreed. I think this is kind of why the book is so good; it's the sum total of all of the small bits of knowledge and research and, the corresponding advantages people can get from proper sleep that makes it so worthwhile.

Normally 6-7 hours, but rarely sleep right through, so more like 5-6.

Reckon I need 7, so I lose about an hour a night, or one night per week. If it builds up like that for too long, or I have a run of really bad nights, that's when I come down with every passing bug in the vicinity.

Binary sleeper, on or off. Consistent 7-7.5 hours a night. Seldom have trouble falling asleep and I’m also instantly awake when I do wake up too. Prefer an earlier bed time, but normally hear today in parliament in bed before lights off and sleeping.

11.30 - 8 on weekdays. 11.30 - between 7.30 (if I'm biking, which is most Sundays) and 10.30 on weekends.

Still don't feel like getting up at those times, though. When I was an undergraduate I would regularly sleep until 4 in the afternoon.

JP

According to Garmin, 8.5 – 9.0hrs over the last few weeks

In my experience Garmin is unreliable. Admittedly I have a bad habit of reading in bed though but have had occasions when working from home have spun up the computer and it hasnt noticed for a while.

Digga, I’ve ordered the book today

I am reading it at the moment and it is definitely interesting. I was already trying to improve number of hours sleeping and it has made me think I really need to try harder. It isnt the best in terms of active ways to improve it though.

I read Matthew Walker’s book “Why We Sleep” last year and it is astonishing

I'm reading it and bought it for family at xmas too, it's very good indeed, though terrifying as someone who has had a lifetime of serious insomnia.