On the topic of sleeping "better" rather than sleeping "more": does anyone know of good research into decreasing REM sleep? I remember reading that too much REM sleep can cause one to be exhausted even after 8+ hours of sleep.

iblokh

around 5... which is definitely not enough. can't seem to stay awake in class

zikman

Seems I've been getting about 4 to 5 hours a night lately...

I mean who has time for sleep anyhow, with everything thats got to be done. Theres the job, the blog, the crying baby...

sweet dreams to all :)

presmmbb

elephant tranquilizer, anyone? :) i sure need one...

parcaelum

Yuck, I pulled an all nighter last night working on homework, studying and trying to get some things done. I'm exhausted...

allholy1

I get usually around 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Geoff

    I'd have to say, less than 5. Of course, six months out of the year, I'm on night shift, 6 PM to 8 AM. I sleep during the day, A LOT. Best is with the shades open on cold days, in the sun!

    Naturally, tonight, on severe weather night in the South, I should be asleep. I'm working days, tomorrow. But no, I'll keep the coffee pot running, and keep on top of the weather. Sleep's for sissies! I can crash when it gets cold, tomorrow night!

AcidReign

Go to bed at midnight, up at 6 AM (even on weekends). Works fine for me, but then again I have an office job so it's not like I need to be super alert and rested.

smitty1123

Damn... I sleep less than 5 hours.

Dooga

Around 7 hours a night. Sometimes I am working till 3am though...

GeorgiaBoot

I usually get about 7 hours. And it's really, REALLY hard for me to get up in the mornings. Even if I'm really busy and have a lot of stuff going on, I usually say to myself "screw it, I'll do all this much better with a fresh start" and go to bed.

But on the other hand if I sleep more I feel like I just "wasted" that extra hour or two and feel bad about it =/

oleg

weeknights i'm lucky if i get 3 hours a night. but on weekends i'll get anywhere from 12 to 16 hours in a night. btw, i'm a 2nd year industrial design student taking 19 credit hours.

origamimavin

I'm all over the place. It depends on many factors, including whether I'm under stress, have gone to the gym, my kids are sleeping ok, etc., etc. I had twins about five years ago and pretty much got no sleep at all for three straight years. This put enough stress on my body that I developed a chronic disease that by its very nature ALSO makes sleep elusive (genetically I was destined for it, but I don't think it's coincidence I got it when I was so run down).

So my motto is kind of "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," not because I like it that way but that seems to be my reality.

One part of the problem is I am extremely sensitive to light and noise, even more so in the last few years. To help with this I am getting custom earplugs made this week (yay!) and I'm going to try this sleep mask: [www.amazon.com]
I'm no doubt going to look like a comic book character wearing it but I just want some sleep!

PillowFight

Weekdays, 5-7 hours per night. Weekends, 9-12 hours per night.

Marce

i moved 3 blocks away from my job so i could sleep an extra 30 minutes (i.e. commute time). now i get 7 hours on most nights but sometimes 5.5-6.

i find it hard to believe people who say they only get 3 hours of sleep on a continual basis. i can understand when you have newborn babies or are a medical intern but there can't be that many people who read lifehacker right?

Khamel

I get about 12 hours of sleep. The rest is between Misc/Managing my business.

Neobug103

More on quality of sleep: I saw David Spade perform the other night (hilarious by the way) and he was talking about taking Ambien and discovering for the first time what it was like to truly sleep: "oh, so this is what people mean when they talk about sleep? It's not waking up 6 times during the night?" - something like that (it's difficult to retell a stand-up joke) - but it was so funny and so true. If you wake up a lot at night, you don't feel rested the next day even if technically you were in bed for 8 hours.

vered

I function best on 8 hours... but.... working a full-day job, being a full time mom/partner, and trying to get a network business off the ground in my "spare time" (ie when everyone else is snoring) has me down to 4 or so. Which affects my productivity, and makes me have to put in longer hours to get things done. It's a vicious circle!

seekingserenity

I sleep 6 hours at night :) . Through days, another 1 or 2 hours for napping is good ^^
I've tried to sleep 7 hour but it's not work because I still need anoter hours for napping and it makes not different :p

Nxqd3051990

I am insomniac... But it all depends.

On a good night (after finals), I sleep from 12am to 11am. 11 hours
On an average night, I sleep from 3am to 9am. 6 hours
On a bad night, I sleep from 4am to 8am. 4 hours
On a really bad night, I sleep from 4am to 5am to 6am. 2 hours total...
On a really really good night, I don't sleep. :D

ph15h

Wow, I'm surprised at the number of people that are getting sleep. I'm up in 4 hours and just started contemplating going to bed, and on weekends I'm up at the same time, but I'm generally up until 2 or later...

8 Hours would be incomprehensible.

JeffCarr

I managed to last for nearly 2 years on only 3 hours of sleep per 24 hours (rarely at the same time every day!) and for about 6 months of that 2 years not sleeping between Tuesday morning and Thursday evening at all.

I don't recommend it for anyone honestly, it's been a year since I've had that schedule and I still feel sleep deprived. I'm starting to think I'm the sleep equivalent of that poor child that grows up and never feels full. I could sleep for a thousand years and it wouldn't be enough!

JFitzpatrick

I'm with ph15h but, instead of being an insomniac, I'm a programmer :P

I don't sleep at all or sleep 2 / 3 hours atleast once a week. I sleep over 12 hours atleast once a week. I sleep anywhere from 4-8 hours on other nights.

My sleep schedule is almost never routine ... it depends on my mood ( which cycles ) and my motivation / concentration levels. Every few months, there's a good week or two where I hardly sleep at all, typically staying up through every night working on some new, exciting project.

That's just me, tho!

remi

I just got engaged, so spending time with my fiancee trumps sleep any day.

Donathius

Yeah, been getting around 5-7 hours lately because of tests. Sometimes 3-4 hours a night for a couple nights....

SDreamer

@remi: same. but having a schedule like that screws me up when I don't have much to do nor the motivation to work on anything else. that's when lunesta comes in handy :D

I used to be a huge fan of caffeine (think lots of bawls and espresso) and I thought at some point that was affecting my ability to sleep and stay asleep, but I've cut down on that drastically (for non-sleep related medical reasons) and nothing's changed. Bah.

crazylady

And how much of that precious sleep time do we miss cause we are reading lifehacker ;)

David Hunter

Eighteen credits at the moment, but I get about ten hours a night. If I ever think I'm going to get less than three or four hours on any given night (which as a cinematographer is often), I just stay awake; once the new day comes, it feels better to have just stayed awake than to be awaken during the middle of deep sleep.

mediaphile

And there was me thinking I was the only person in the whole world who had trouble sleeping! Although for me it is the quality of my sleep that's the problem! I recently boarded up my windows to try and block all the light from coming in so my room is pitch black and it seems to be helping a little.

I'm always reminded of Groucho Marx's comment "the worst thing about being an insomniac is that everybody else thinks they've got it worse than you." (Or words to that effect)

pixelkid

<5 hours/night but I can hit 7-8 on the weekends. damn med school

CndnsdAlan

I'm happy at 4 hours, and have been that way as far back as I can remember. It's a real line in the sand, though. One minute less, and I'm useless the next day.

I wonder if this has anything to do with why I'm posting this at about 20 after 4 in the morning? :)

Counterglow

I try to get 8 hours in, but usually sleep less than that due to time constraints. It's more often about 7-8 hours, but if I'm very unlucky it's something like 6 hours. Any less and I'll go insane.

Trouble is that I sleep usually okay (not always), but my eyes dry out like hell. Makes me even more tired, especially my eyes. I do use a (cheap) eye mask, but that does not seem to be sufficient, unfortunately. :( I'm pondering to get a better eye mask or something, unless there are other tips. I sometimes use eye drops before and after sleep, but that isn't exactly helping much either.

Trinsec

I clock in at 4-5 hours per night. On weekends, I might get 5-6 hours. I'm pretty much unable to sleep more than this, unless something is wrong with me. There are aspects of my job, though, that are very physically demanding, so I'm in very good shape.

At least, that's how it used to be. Now, I have a little boy who just turned 17 months old. These days, sleep fits into the same category as winning the lottery or dating a supermodel:

They're all Things That Happen To Other People.

Terry

Just lately I've been sleeping 2-4 hours a night, not because of work though, but because of a pretty severe depression. It seems to be sorted now though - slept like a baby last night. And no - I didn't keep waking up crying! *grins*

sciamachy

I'm asleep most days by 10-11, awake by 5-6. It's all in my brain - haven't used an alarm clock in a decade.

I don't feel sleep deprived, this seems to be what my body wants to do. I feel rested 99% of mornings, unless I'm ill. (sniffle) like today.

And, those of you looking at the time stamp, I'm in far east Canuck-land - it's 6:22am now.

Jim (The Canuck One)

I currently fall into the 7-8 bracket, which you may envy if you think you're not getting enough sleep but to be honest, I feel more exhausted than when I used to get 5-6 hours - maybe being 10 years older has someting to do with it though...

Johnjoe0110

i enjoyed less than 7 for a long time and now I wake up at 6am I find I need to go to bed before 11pm or i am screwed...then there are always exceptions but I do like the longer sleeps...if only as a result of being ripped from my peaceful slumber every single morning of the working week.

simmo

@oleg: I know EXACTLY what you mean.

Crescent

Not a whole lot. I have a 4-month-old at home. She's JUST learning how to sleep through the night, but she still usually wakes up once at night. And to top that I'm a night owl.

I probably get 6 hours asleep total on average these days, but it's interrupted, so it's not quite the same. I take naps during the day on weekends to counter.

I can do with as little as 4 hours though, but if I do that, I have to get a solid 9 hours at some point within the same week to get back on track.

Pixelantes Anonymous

Do they account for not being allowed to sleep more because of babies and young children? That's our issue these days! I'd love more sleep!

jmdockter

I try to go to bed at midnight but I end up going to bed closer to 12:30 or 1AM. I wake up around 6:45 so I get close to 6 and by the end of the week I'm dragging ass. It sucks but I can't seem to get to sleep any earlier. At 2-3 in the afternoon I'm tired as hell. By the time it's 8PM I've got a second wind and generally couldn't sleep if I tried.

Jesse Mrozowski

@Jesse Mrozowski:

That is exactly my life style.

mickbw

I saw this study last night and kept thinking about it all night so I go much less sleep than my normal 5-6 hours.

seriously.

mickbw

@iblokh: Seeing REM amount increases as you sleep longer, maybe try breaking 8 hours into two four-hours? I also believe anti-depressants decrease REM but it is probably safer to just break down your sleep. If nothing else, just try to get up the first time your body wakes you up. That should be a natural indicator that your body has had it's amount of sleep/REM.

I get around 7-8 hours and find myself naturally waking up. It might be because I finally keep my schedule consistent by sleeping after I watch an episode Seinfeld and waking up around 8 no matter what. However, since my body is not fully ready to go, I take about an hour or two to just relax/walk around before officially starting my day.

orangepixistix

can't sleep, clowns will eat me...

c0dek

Define "sleep." I'm usually in bed around 11. I can't seem to get to sleep until at least 45 minutes later (some nights it takes an hour or two). I'd like to say I get 7-8 hours, but it all depends on when I actually fall asleep.

fluxrad

@iblokh:
I think the cure would be get more sleep in general. From what I've read, REM is an essential element of sleep. Without it one does not feel rested and when deprived of it one tends to go to that stage of sleep faster than normal. I'd guess you're REM deprived and need more of it.

Radio_Radio

7. I usually powernap during the day though.

dragontail

I'm not able to function well without 7-8 hours of sleep. Luckily, I don't work in a field which requires 24-hour availability... I honestly don't know how my pager-slave buddies survive.

MameDennis

8.5+. Always have and I'd be happier on 9 or 10.

That includes my engineering undergrad years, 60+ hour weeks as an industrial engineer, later as a graduate student + 20-odd hours a week employment, and now as a full-timer with a 10 month old baby.

There's no such thing as 'too busy' to sleep for 99% of people. If you need it, you can find ways to carve out the time.

I'll never understand why people subject themselves to working in fields that force them to sacrifice their mental health for the job. I'd rather come home each evening with cuts, bruises and burns on my body than not be able to get good sleep.

ppiddyp

@fluxrad:

"Sleep" is when you're actually sleeping.

I usually am asleep for 8-8.5 hours, but there are nights when I'm in bed for 8 hours but I'm only sleep for 5-6 of them because I'm, uh, entertaining a houseguest.

Deprong Mori

I have severe obstructive sleep apnea but I also have a high degree of compliance with my BiPAP machine. So I generally sleep for as long as I allow myself the time to (usually 7-8 hours) and I can actually get a report generated from my machine showing how much I sleep. I would probably sleep about 9 hours on the weekends but I have dogs. I'm basically part cyborg now because I fall asleep immediately when I put the mask on and my head hits the pillow, BUT I can't sleep without the machine now, not even if I wanted to (which I don't). It is both a blessing and a curse.

FriarJohn

I have no idea how much sleep I need, because if I let myself just sleep until I wake up naturally, I'll sleep like 10 or 11 hours! I couldn't possibly need that much sleep! I usually aim for 9 hours, but I can get by on 8 hours -- maaaybe 7 and a half hours once in a while.

I completely agree with ppiddyp though: there's no good reason to sacrifice your sleep. I'll sacrifice TV-watching, web-surfing, even skip homework assignments (college, boo!) before I give up any of my precious sleep.

LearningNerd

I need my sleep, I really do. About 8 hours a day... and 10 at night and I'm good.

-Bill Hicks

bugmenot21

It's funny--seems like no matter what time I go to bed, I always wake up around 6:00-6:30 AM. Sometimes I fall asleep after reading to my son, and get 9+ hours. Sometimes I don't go to bed until well after midnight. Either way, the amount of sleep I get doesn't seem to affect me that much during the day, not sure why. Perhaps it's a residual effect from architecture school, when 3 hours per night (or less) was the norm...

onesix18

I recently had a huge life-changing sleep-related event. No matter how long I slept, I never felt rested in the morning. I found myself nodding off every time I sat down on the couch. It got progressively worse until I started nodding off at my desk at work... and I didn't even know it. My coworkers took pictures of me just to prove it was happening. That's when I got really scared. If that was happening, how did I know I wasn't doing that while I was driving my family around?

So I got tested and found out that I was suffering from sleep apnea. Basically, when I was sleeping, I would stop breathing. That would cause my body to actually wake up, but because I was falling back to sleep so quickly, I had no idea it was even happening. This was happening at a rate of 170 times/hr. Almost three times a minute! I wasn't getting any sleep at all. So, now I use a CPAP machine, which basically keeps a constant stream of air pressure pumped into my nose which keeps the my airway open and encourages my breathing to continue.

For most of the time that this was going on, I had no idea that I even had a problem. I just thought I was exhausted from work, baby, etc. The very first night I used the cpap, though, made a huge difference in my quality of life. I was suddenly able to get up and move and actually get things done around the house instead of falling asleep every time I sat down and never having even a little bit of energy. I've lost 30 lbs in the 3 months since I've been breathing again and that's without any kind of diet or exercise to speak of. I would recommend to anybody who is feeling "chronically sleepy" to talk with a doctor about it asap. Just that simple thing made a complete 180 in my life.

Sorry that was so long. It just kind of came out like that. Congratulations if you had enough free time in your day to read that whole thing.

MojoFilter

About 8 hours... But I need a little more or a nap to function better. Any less I go psycho.

Angryrider

I get around 7 or 8 hours, I guess. It's not usually enough though. I've always needed about 9 hours to function properly, ever since I was a baby.

Raethlanel

I put 7-8 as what I'm getting, but what I need is 9-10. It's been that way my whole adult life. I have allergies that put my body under stress, and I don't get as much oxygen when I'm asleep as a normal person would. So it takes me that much longer to have the metabolic tasks of sleeping happen.

Right now, it's been over a month since I've had the proper amount of sleep for me, and two weeks since I went 48 hours on 1 hour of sleep. I am barely functioning.

I've also found my ideal sleep/wake schedule is ludicrous for my time zone--about 10 to sleep and 8 to wake up. Didn't work too well before I started working from home. Doesn't work too well with a school-aged child whose natural sleep schedule is midnight-noon. Doesn't work too well with a preschooler who wakes up at least once in the middle of the night...

WomanWithManyHats

I try to sleep 8 hours, but I don't mind sleeping 9 or 10. It depends on my schedule. I noticed that by sleeping more I have more things done (I used to sleep 5-6 hours for 15 years). I am very busy like any other "normal" human leaving in North America, but I don't let work, school or friends to interrupt my sleep.

dokidok

I probably get about 4-6 hours of sleep a night. Every month or so I crash (usually by mistake) and sleep for maybe 12. Sleep just isn't a high priority for me. Assignments, lectures, studying, work, friends, and volunteering come first.

lmath

I get 5-6 on average, but the biggest reason for me is insomnia. Meds for it knock me off my butt, and I can't have that being a mom of two under the age of 5.
My husband gets about the same, but honestly,n soeone go to be before 10pm, even if they have to wake up at 5:45 in the morning?

tm2ts

For me, sleep depends on 2 pre-schoolers, 2 dogs and a cat and what they want in the middle of the night.

pobox90210

I am absolutely religious about my sleep - 7 hours *minimum*, preferably 8 or 8.5. ppiddyp is right - I don't get enough exercise and my house is a mess most of the time, but I show up for work and class clear-eyed and well-rested every single day, and I take the time to cook healthy food every single day. It's priorities, people. As a teen and twentysomething I often slept 2-4 hours per night and occasionally crashed out for 12+ hours, and in my mid-thirties, I am paying the bill for it. Chronic sleep deprivation is sometimes a solution to immediate problems, but it's *never* healthy.

lyndyn

I've been an insomniac my entire life; I'll sleep for 3 hours, wake up and run around for a couple hours and then fall asleep for another three. On the up side it's a great way to get things done without distractions, since the rest of the household is asleep at 2 AM. My boyfriend will sleep for 10 hours whenever he has the chance.

BlueV

I normally get five hours or less--that's enough to get me going during the day. I normally fall asleep around 2 AM and wake up at 6 or 7 AM. I can stand to sleep for half an hour more, but beyond that is pushing it--the more I sleep, the harder it becomes to wake up and stay awake.

Sometimes I won't even sleep at all if I know I need to be up early anyway. If I take even a short nap I'll be too tired.

Amalga

I use the binaural beat audio technology from Intelegen Inc. It puts the brain into theta in about 5 minutes during the theta state the sodium / potassium ratio is reset in brain cells. It allows most to do well with 5 hours of sleep and a nap or listening to 20 minutes of a brain wave synchronization CD during the day.

richardthomas

I work a graveyard shift - midnight to 8 am - and rely on modafinil to boost my alertness level when I need to do something that requires a functioning mind.

5 hours of sleep a day is barely workable and is probably detrimental to good health, but until I change jobs, that's how it plays for now.

Jovetaloni

Its hard to get the sleep you need and get ahead. You should look into taking supplements if you want to get less sleep.

Melatonin, Theanine, Phenibut (strong), GABA, 5-htp, "ZMA" (magnesium) just to name a few ;) They will give you a DEEPER Sleep which will let you recover faster in a shorter amount of time.

CoolDula

how about none @ night and 7 or 6 hrs during the day

995ov

I'm a (self-employed) programmer too, but I really need at least 8 hours sleep to get into the flow and stay clear. Usually I take a 1 hour nap after lunch in order to get my concentration back. Normal workdays usually go from 0700-1200 and from 1330-2100, leaving 2 hours for myself (which I spend on my own web-projects... occupational habit;)

I-V-O

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

downbeat

Usually around 6 or less, but it's OK for me, I don't need more. I don't drink coffe, but I never been sleepy!

ProZsolt

Usually around 5 1/2 hours a night, which is unfortunate since I am a high schooler in the 8.5 to 9.5 recommended sleep slot. I try to make do, but sleep deprivation makes it difficult to focus, or think straight for large portions of the day. School starts at 7:25 a.m. and I also have a part time job at a 24-hour establishment, which keeps me busy until anywhere from 8-10 p.m. on school nights. I also seem to have insomnia, it takes me over an hour to fall asleep on a regular basis.

ripismoney

Melatonin, baby!!
Better than the antihistamine-derived pills. (diphenhydramine HCL)

[metavitae.com]

spaceman7

For a high school student, I sleep a rather long amount... about 7 and a half hours per day... it's probably because I don't procrastinate (though I am rather behind in my Engineering Tech class)

runiteking1

I see a bunch of people who say "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I figure that living in a fog is basically not living. I'll sleep enough, and enjoy the life I have when I'm awake.

(8 hours, typically)

libelle

@MojoFilter:

Can I ask you how you got tested? Did you do a study at a clinic or take a machine home? I'm asking because I've had similar symptoms for a while - I had a few tests done while I was living in Japan, but the city where I lived was rather small and backwards in terms of medicine.

Twice they gave me an extremely uncomfortable machine to attach to my throat, nose and finger while I slept - with scotch tape. Of course, the contraption was so intrusive that I hardly got any real sleep both times and the results came back inconclusive, after which the doctor pretty much gave up.

iblokh

@ Radio_Radio

I searched around and I'm having trouble finding the article I read, but I believe that it's actually stages 1 - 4 (deep sleep) where the mind and body rest, while REM is responsible for emotional processing, formation of memory, learning, what have you - basically, selective strengthening and weakening of neural connections. In any case, it's actually a fairly taxing and exhaustive process, which is why we cycle in and out of it. But I think you're right in the sense that in a state of sleep deprivation, your mind tries to make up for lost REM sleep first - so you wake up tired.

But - as a last point - excessive REM sleep can also be caused by stress and depression, because your mind/brain has more emotional input to process:

[www.clinical-depression.co.uk]

I would be interested in reading whether something like "excessive learning" can increase REM sleep as well.

iblokh

I work with a team in India, so I have 2 nights a week I have to stay up past midnight to talk with them. It then takes an hour or two to unwind in order to go to sleep, so I'm often hitting the sack around 2 AM. Then I have meetings at 8 AM, and work to 6 or 7 PM. I have an hour commute each way, and add in an hour to get dinner, and I have exactly one hour for myself left per day. I lose most of Saturday sleeping, and the rest of the weekend is taken up by chores not done during the week. I am probably going to have to hire a maid; I just can't keep up.

And this is NOT the worst job I've ever had! The worst had me working over 100 hours a week, sleeping only an hour at a time, working in the car...it damn near killed me.

Keter

never enough sleep at night. i'm stuck in a nap rut because of it. both joy and sorrow.

cheesebubble

Grad Student.

If I get over 5 hours of sleep on a weeknight it's a miracle.

I have class MWTHF 9am-5:30pm, Tuesday until 9pm. MWF I work 6pm-9pm, and occasionally on Saturdays.

Weekends I maybe get 8 hours sleep a night depending on weekend homework and my work schedule.

Tonight I will be up till about 4 working on homework, and have class at 9:00. (I'm typing this during my 15 minute break I take every 2 hours.)

The program I'm in is right behind pre-med for fatigue related accidents, drug abuse, and suicide. Every semester for the first two years we average about 55% attrition rate.

Wheee... time's up... back to work.

Learethak

I don't get very much sleep at night and I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

Hmmm?

BigDanInTX

This comment is so far down the list, I'm not sure anyone will actually read it.

I am a sleep researcher and I see patients with sleep disorders clinically. You can Google my last name (my username) if you want to know more about me.

Sleep is extremely important. In terms of functioning, not getting enough sleep on a regular basis is probably related to more than just feeling sleepy. It may be associated with heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other serious medical problems. Long-term memory formation, integration of concepts and even the ability to regulate mood are in part controlled by processes that occur during sleep.

And "catching up" on weekends might not be the solution either. Data suggests that it doesn't work in the long term.

Those who report sleep less than about 6 hours tend to die sooner than those who report sleep between 7 or 8 hours. Those reporting over 8-9 hours, by the way, also tend to not to live as long. Actually, they have a worse outcome than the short sleepers.

While there is still a lot that is not known about sleep, there is a lot of data out there. And the point seems to be, as Bill Dement wrote in "The Promise of Sleep" (get it from Amazon) -- it is not possible to be in good health while your sleep is not healthy.

Many of the effects are subtle over time, like poor diet, and you don't notice until, like with diet, you already have the equivalent of a weight problem and heart trouble. With sleep loss, it only takes 2-3 seconds to drift into oncoming traffic. Not to mention years of wear and tear on your body.

Sleep is necessary for your body to function. You can starve yourself of it (or overindulge), but you're only hurting yourself in the long run.

I do not mean for this to be medical advice. I just care about this issue passionately, and I am disappointed how little real information is out there for people. Often, people don't realize how much better they will feel and how much healthier they will be when they get enough sleep.

And for the students: sleep deprivation (like all-nighters) may actually make you perform WORSE on an exam than if you studied the material less and slept, allowing your brain to integrate the information that you did study.

grandner

I don't sleep enough. I'm a student, with a relatively rigorous schedule, and the maximum sleep I get is about 6 hours. I've been down to 3 hours the last 3 days. I'm at a point where I'm contemplating dropping down to the basic classes and taking it easy for a little while.

Sleep deprivation and debt has given me a "burned-out" feeling. Logically, burning out is not a good thing, and thus, I know that I have to increase sleep or reduce work somehow. No matter what I do, it's going to be difficult.

Any students feeling burned out at the moment? Any tips to reduce burn-out?

Jptoor

It sucks, but I seem to need about 9 hours sleep a night.
If I've got say, a little bit of sleep debt, and then get less than 6 hours sleep, I'm often hit with near instant depression the next day - instant ennui and disassociation with life.
I'll get dressed for work and then sit there for the next several several hours (or until say, worried friends or workmates call), thinking - what's the point? What's the point to life? Why are we here? Isn't it all essentially meaningless?
Or find myself say, surfing the internet for pictures of Buddhist monks self-immolating.

And then I get enough sleep, and bam, I'm back to normal. It's a little easier not to take seriously when I know that mental state is almost entirely sleep-related. Doesn't mean I can actually *do* anything about the emotional state or lethargy until I get a good night's rest again. Oh, and I'm also likely to come down with a cold if I get less than that 7.
*sigh*

The biggest problem, is with new relationships - it took me awhile to realise the connection, ie, isn't ah, lots of 'activity' supposed to make you happier?

And that, well, I'm a night owl. Hoot, hoot.

Ah well. I guess I've just got to suck it up, and try and do/stick-with the early bedtime thing.

Sangrail

I'm falling asleep at work now. The trick is to look like your are working while taking a nap..
I need to start going to be no later than 10pm but xbox, hd tv, trying to get sex from the wife is keeping up sometimes until 2:30am..

kevon27