in reply to Sleeping Patterns

I've found that I require less sleep as I get older. If I get about 5 or 6 hours each night, that's enough. I also remember that I had to drag myself out of bed in the morning when I was younger after getting the 'recommended 8 hours' that we always hear about.

I get up at about 5-5:30 am every day after going to bed around midnight. It's much easier for me these days and I feel better during the day than if I were to get 8 hours or more.

I'm most creative early in the morning but sometimes I have inspiration late at night and work until about 3 am. Even then, if I get a few hours sleep I do well for the rest of the day.

I don't have sleeping problems. I just like to be awake for more hours than I used to.

Mick

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Re: Re: Sleeping Patterns
by merlyn (Sage) on Apr 25, 2001 at 19:17 UTC
    I've noticed that too. Maybe it's a linear progression.. as a newborn you need 15 hours per day, then you go through the 8 hour high-school phase, then the 5 hour phase in mid-life, and maybe just 2 or 3 hours (in the form of midafternoon naps {grin}) when you get older. And when you hit 0, you die. {grin}

    -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker

[reply]
      The smallest documented amount of sleep that anyone needed was an old lady in England who needed 15 minutes per day. (Factoid out of a book on sleep I read a few years ago.)

      More facts.

      Most people if given the chance will sleep more than 8.

      The average soldier is able to function 48 hours straight in an emergency if they are well-rested.

      The average soldier can train themselves to go on 6 hours of sleep a night. Their self-reported estimate is that they are functioning normally. The wives of the married ones say that the soldier is a total wreck. Performance on a variety of ability and alertness tests suggests that she is right.

      If you are overweight, have a loud snore, and feel tired all of the time, you probably have sleep apnea. Literally in the middle of the night when you relax you cannot breathe, and the nightly struggle for oxygen causes the snore, and prevents you from getting a solid rest. This is a medical condition and you should see a doctor, but be warned that many doctors are unaware of sleep apnea, so find a doctor who knows what it is.

[reply]
        It is not necessary to be overweight nor snore to suffer from sleep apnea. If you feel tired all the time, with or without the snoring, you may have sleep apnea.

        Also, snoring itself can cause sleep deprivation even without apnea. This condition is termed 'Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome'. With UARS, sufferers are constantly awakened because they are struggling to get air through their upper airway, though they never actually stop breathing or have low pulse-ox levels.

[reply]

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