How may hours do you sleep on average?

[survivor999]

Poll question: How may hours do you sleep on average?

Are you sleep deprived? Would you like to sleep more but cannot? Please, explain.



http://www.sleep-deprivation.com/
Sleep deprivation is a common condition that afflicts 47 million American adults, or almost a quarter of the adult population. Symptoms can interfere with memory, energy levels, mental abilities, and emotional mood. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Center in 1999 indicates that the condition drastically affects the body's ability to metabolize glucose, leading to symptoms that mimic early-stage diabetes.

Symptoms

Exhaustion, fatigue and lack of physical energy are common sleep deprivation symptoms. Exhaustion and fatigue affect our emotional moods, causing pessimism, sadness, stress and anger. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has suggested that social problems such as road rage may be caused, in part, by a national epidemic of sleepiness.

The brain's frontal cortex relies on sleep to function effectively. Insufficient rest adversely affects the frontal cortex's ability to control speech, access memory, and solve problems. The effect on physical energy is also startling: otherwise healthy people quickly show symptoms of age and early diabetes as glucose metabolism falls by up to forty percent. These physical reactions disappear when the test subject is allowed to rest properly. Driving and other activities can become dangerous without sufficient rest.

[hang a left]

1. Do you have to count naps??

[uppityperson]

2. used to get 9.5-10, now *#&*$# hot flashes drop to ~5

no wonder I am uppity

[Bjornsdotter]

10. Same here

That waking up at 4 every morning, for no apparent reason, is driving me crazy.

Cheers

[survivor999]

11. Man, I do that too.

What do you do? Stay in bed or get up for a while?..

[Bjornsdotter]

19. A bit of both

Sometimes I lay in bed and watch TV, other times I get up and check in here at DU or I play video games.

It's brutal...my husband snores and I find myself getting angry because he can sleep and I can't. There is nothing worse than being tired and not being able to sleep.

How about you? What works for you?

Cheers

[uppityperson]

14. Simple reason, you wake up to sweat and have a headache

Then you stay up and worry about all the stuff you forgot to do the day before because you were too tired to think straight. cheers

[CoffeeCat]

3. My problem is...

I'm a stay-at-home mom to two young girls. I've very "hands on" and there are always lots of other kids here. After they get into bed--around 9:30--I feel like I need "me" time. It's the only time I get time alone. So, I stay up late and read, watch tv or get on the computer. I really need the time to decompress and feel like I'm just doing something for myself.

I get to sleep around 1, but I'm up at 7 am daily--so I know I'm sleep deprived.

It's just how things are right now.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I sleep about 6 hours a night, sometimes less, and have for

years. Even when I have a chance to sleep longer, I wake up after 5-6 hours and can't go back to sleep.

[havocmom]

5. chronic pain makes sleeping for decent amounts of time difficult

for many

Then we get all those benefits that go with sleep deprivation, which makes the pain worse.

:banghead:

[survivor999]

8. Sorry to hear that.

Do you get any pain medication? Last week was terrible, due to some dental surgery with some odd complications. Very hard to sleep.

[havocmom]

16. Can't take much in the way of meds

Sad thing is, I represent thousands in America. Over pained, no real medical care. Too many people in same boat.

[Warpy]

6. Depends on how sick I am

During the summer and when I'm doing OK, 6 hours.

In midwinter if I'm having a flareup, I can sleep 20 hours out of 24.

When I was doing 12 hour night shifts, I'd be lucky to get 5 hours' sleep between them.

[marmar]

7. My typical sleep is about 6.5-7 hours....

and I have no problem falling asleep. Once I'm in the bed, I'll be out within five minutes.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. 5-6 a night...

and a short nap on my days off.

[Swamp Rat]

12. Never! I have to stay on guard!

There are lizards EVERYWHERE! THEY may give YOU a pod if you fall asleep, like poor Hillary... :hide:

[survivor999]

15. LOL! You need some sleep!

:)

[Swamp Rat]

17. Oh God! I can't keep my eyes open much longer...

[Drum]

18. Swamp Rat,

In my year of coming here to DU and seeing so many of your fine green art pieces, I think this is my fave of all. And not necessarily because it's HRC.

Thanks!

edit to add, on-topic: I work very irregular hours, touring and such, so some weeks get as few as 4-5 hr/night. Sometimes, with weeks laid off, I'll indulge in a dozen per night for several days in a row. I definitely really know sleep deprivation though my work schedule, and really make sure I get those bonus periods of long sleep when I can, for the sake of my metabolism, concentration, and immune defenses against getting sick. Napping not really an option for my metab, alas...seems if I'm awake, I stay so, and when I climb into bed I'm usually out quickly and until a couple of alarms roust me. I almost never awaken during the night.

[LSK]

13. 6 to 7 hours on weekdays, 7-8 on weekends