Woke up this morning, caffeine headache gone, feeling generally amazing. And I had this major epiphany: I need more sleep.
I delude myself into thinking that I am somehow above sleep, that I can cram and cram stuff into my evenings, get six to seven hours of shuteye and be fine. I tend to have good energy, so pretty much nothing stops me (assuming I get my morning cup of iced coffee, as you all now know). But the thing is, getting seven to eight hours absolutely makes me feel more relaxed in general and gives me a better outlook on life.
Last night, I feel asleep at 10:30. I was woken up at 2:00 in the morning by Sabrina. Obsessed with Dave's iPhone, she had gone downstairs to get it and was sitting on our bed, playing some dippy princess game she loves that has the world's most annoyingly dramatic music. It basically sounds like music for a princess funeral. When I groggily asked, "WHAT are you doing?" she responded, ever so logically, "Playing the princess game!"
Yet not even sleep interrupted by morbid princess music got to me, because I scored close to nine hours total. And I felt absolutely fantastic all day. Still feel fantastic now.
How much sleep do you guys get—and how much sleep do you actually need? Very curious to know.
Photo by Rachel Shingleton
I needs lots of (uninterrupted)sleep and no one in this house lets me have it. Elizabeth still is awake frequently at night and it really wears me down. My bad habit is staying up late if I went to bed early maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get up.
ReplyDeleteI need a lot more sleep than I get!!
ReplyDeleteEllen, I know ALL about sleep! I know I don't get enough!
ReplyDeleteThey say it "knits up the ravelled sleeve of care" and that sure is the truth! You rebuild your human growth hormones when you sleep. I must not get enough, because I am so damn short!!!
I usually get seven hours of sleep a day if I am lucky (I am often not lucky)--but I don't get it all at once. My momma comes over and sees to the boys sometimes several times a week, and she does it so I can have a nap on the weekend if I've been working the overnight shift (I have a part time/on call job as a 'server' at a diner).
I couldn't do the job (I am just a substitute but I get called in often enough) if she wasn't willing to come and spell for me-- and usually at the drop of a hat. I also work a couple of days a week cashiering, and sometimes they want me in the evenings, so I call on momma again.
So you can guess, sometimes my sleep cycle is screwed up, only the boys are on a nice regular schedule so I have to "make it work" around them.
The boys go to their schools during the day, and most days I can bring them, but sometimes I need my momma or daddy to fetch them home, depending on my schedule. When I'm working an overnight, it's a total mess, but my folks do for me and we all make it work. When I am not at work and the boys are at school, I do NOT feel guilty about melting into the couch and sawing logs for a couple of hours. It's just impossible to try to stick to a schedule when one day you are working afternoons and the next day you are working midnight to six. So sometimes, I have a hard time gettin enough sleep. But I sure do try.
My dream is to get a job that matches when the boys go to their schools and programs. I don't think that's a hope any time soon, though, so I have to rely on my folks to help out. I am so lucky that they are glad to do so.
If this doesn't make much sense it's because I have just come home from a seven hour shift and I am real short on sleep. I'm going to melt into the couch!
Um, I should be sleeping right now. Yep. But, since I'm home with Elijah during the day (I'll use "home" loosely here. Ha!), when he goes to bed at night I have time to myself again for a few hours. I enjoy that time and therefore stay up later than I should to enjoy it. This past month I was getting 5 or 6 hours. Definitely not enough, but coffee helped me survive. Now that I'm home I hope that I'll get some more sleep and that Elijah will sleep in a bit. Hey, I am allowed to dream aren't I? :) Ahh, 8 or 9 hours would be nice and I'd be overall happier, I think. So, on that note...goodnight!
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm. . . should be sleeping right now, ironically, but sleep is THE most important thing is my house. Seriously, I think that sleep is the number one reason I haven't gotten pregnant again--I can't bare to think of all the sleep I'll miss! Anyway, I guess I should say that I usually get about seven and a half hours of sleep a night, but on the weekends I sleep in as late as humanly possible.
ReplyDeleteOh my! My son is obsessed with games too, but I'm glad so far he hasn't thought of playing them in the middle of the night!
ReplyDeleteI need 7 hours of sleep. 9 would be better but that never happens. I can only survive one day without sleep. If I don't get sleep the next night, I'm like a zombie that no amount of coffee can help...
I used to be exhausted. Needing 3 hour naps on Saturday and Sunday, having a hard time waking up in the morning, then getting digestive problems because of coffee overdose. Then I figured I needed to go to bed right after putting my son to bed, which is around 20:30. I'm MUCH more relaxed now. I mean, I do watch TV in bed, but at least my body is in a resting position (weak argument, I know). And I'm always asleep by 22:30 anyway - that's really the limit. 8 hours later, waking up is difficult particularly on work nights but then again, when isn't it.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm a manufacturer's rep. for a well know mattress company! I spend my days training on "sleep wellness" and the "benefits of sleep." While I believe 9 hours is good, sometimes its just not practical! Uninturrupted sleep is more important.
ReplyDeleteHowever; I seem to only get 6 hours of sleep...and my darling daughter wakes me almost every two hours. I. NEED. MORE. SLEEP. But until that happens...I guess I'll just continue to drink coffee!!!
I need 8 hours or I'm worthless. My friends and family all know not to call me after 9:00 because I'm getting into bed preparing to read myself to sleep.
ReplyDeleteMy new year's resolution as to try to get by on less sleep :)
David hates when I play Bejeweled in bed : ). I need a lot of sleep to be peppy. Like 9-10 hours!
ReplyDeleteWell, I am a little more opposite of most of your readers. I am the last one to bed at night (usually about midnight) and up at 6:30....of course I have an addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper that kickstarts my mornings, but I stay gret for the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteI *need* a lot more sleep than hubby, but I still don't get enough!!
ReplyDeleteI'm like you....I can't ever seem to get in bed before 11 so I get 6-7 house but I feel WAY better when I get 7-8 hours.
ReplyDeleteI NEED a lot but don't GET a lot:)
ReplyDeleteI need lots of sleep too. LOTS! Most nights I get about 8-9 hours and if I get less, I'm lost in space for most of the day and yawning by 10:15am. I have to admit though, some nights I fall asleep with Kasia and end up getting a ridiculous 10-11 hours of sweet, glorious sleep!! haha (Is that as bad as it sounds?!?)
ReplyDeleteI think sleep is overrated. Sex, that's another story.
ReplyDeleteI was faithful at 8.5 hours. Before Kids. Now, I get between 5 and 7, more on the weekends. I'm exhausted this week, and thinking I should take some iron or something. Or maybe go to bed at 10 instead of 11:30. EEK!
ReplyDeleteI don't really know. I think I do best with about 7 hours. But I am an inconsistent and poor sleeper so I don't really know.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love those pillows!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question:
I need a lot of sleep. A Lot.
I dont' get enough sleep. Nope.