Do you sleep well? They say we need less sleep as we become older.

According to the BBC News Magazine article (link in my earlier post here) it seems that around 6-8 hours sleep is what we should be striving for. Less than that could lead to health issues (which I think we've always been aware of - problems surrounding sleep deprivation are well documented), but now research is indicating that more than 8 hours can also be detrimental to health. That people whose sleep regularly falls outside of the 6-8 hours, on either side, have a heightened risk of dying younger. So I for one am not envious of those who sleep 9 hours or more each night. If we can depend on the research of course

Goodness , 9 hours for so many of you. Can't remember the last time I slept that long. I do have occasions when I just can't sleep but in general 6 - 7 hours is plenty.

I sleep approximately 4 - 5 hours , if I am lucky. I don't however feel tired or grouchy the next day so I guess it suits me. I do however every two or three weeks find I have a night or two where I sleep like a log so I guess my body clock catches up with what I need.

Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly, as long as it is done at the right time. Exercise stimulates the body to the stress hormone cortisol, which activates the alert mechanism separating in the brains.

Need a good 9 hours but don't always get it. No alarm clocks unless we have an early start. Double glazing keeps out the sounds of the wildlife so the only thing that wakes me up is worry about one DS and his manipulating, lying wife.

Oh and chocolate in the evening keeps me awake.

I've been drinking sherry recently as I inherited a bottle and have slept really well. The problem being, though that having taken it last thing at night I don't know if I'm over the limit when it comes to driving the next morning [not that I do tend to drive early in the day but in case I needed to go somewhere at short notice].

Gripe water! Now there's a thought, haha. I used to love that stuff

Sherry sound a good idea for getting you off. I understand that the branded sleep enhancers also contain alcohol. A bit like gripe water used to!
x

I'm the same, whitewave. I like waking up early when it is light already.

I went to my GP about pain management when I was waking five times a night. He prescribed something that helps with both the pain and the sleep and now I usually only wake once or twice. I have woken once or twice a night since my teens, so that's normal for me.

I am so envious of all the good sleepers on here. I sleep so badly, waking to pee anything up to 6 times a night - and that's discounting the two or three times I go before I even get to sleep. I'm never sure whether I wake because I need the loo or I need the loo because I wake - you know, a kind of psychological association thing. So in consequence, like Galen I rarely get more than 2 hours sleep at a stretch.

I read two very interesting articles the other day about sleep (one was a link I followed from the first one):
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31928434?ocid=socialflow_facebook
m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783

It's the second link - The Myth of the Eight-Hour Sleep - that fascinated me. Just lately I've been having a sherry before bed and I've been fairly consistently sleeping for 4 hours, then waking/sleeping/waking/sleeping for the next 4 when I give up and get up. I'm now thinking maybe I should get up after the first 4 hours and do something...

Good morning - I slept until about 6.45 then up to make tea, watch the news and start the day! I tend to go with the sun and often find myself awake really early in the summer but as I LOVE the sun I don't mind at all and may sit with my tea in the garden listening to the peace and quiet.

Getting back to the subject though I do find that the more tired I am the less well I sleep - which seems odd.

I sleep quite well and luckily don't have to get up at night but I do have nightmares sometimes. Most of this is down to my DH passing away and other major traumatic events over the past few years. I have a few friends who also have nightmares, some have been through stressful times and some haven't (although at our age everyone has had something bad happen to them.)

I go to sleep easily and usually sleep through to 6.30ish. The nightmares happen in the early hours. I do deep breathing but sometimes I have to get up. I often have a look at Gransnet to see what's going on and that really helps.

I am usually in bed before 9.30pm on a school night. I read for 20 minutes or so and then I am out like a light. That's the easy bit. I tend to wake up at around 1-2 am and then toss and turn, being tortured by my brain which tends to be in overdrive during the night. The hot sweats don't help either and I have the window wide open and lie on the top of the covers while DH is huddled up freezing. I eventually drop off again at 5 ish only to have to get up at 6.45-7am. I have tried going to bed later but I am usually so tired by 9pm I can't stay awake.

DH says that I will sleep better when we win the lottery and can pack in the business. So I think I am resigned to insomnia for the foreseeable future.

I tend to go to bed at the same time and sleep for 8 hours, in about 5 days out of 7. I find that if I miss the 'nodding off' moment, then I start thinking and cannot sleep. I usually get up for half an hour, read or watch something mindless on TV and then start again!

The worst thing is waking around 3, then it is difficult to get back to sleep, so I get up again! It's not so bad if you can lie in in the morning.

Whitewave: I hope you are enjoying The Kashmir Shawl. It's a good read. I like all Rosie Thomas's books.
x

I'm permanently sleep deprived. I only get 2 to 3 hours at a stretch as sciatica usually wakes me up. in total I suppose I'm lucky to get 6 hours a night so am always dropping off if I sit down.

I just read some research that found that around the world and in all cultures the average amount of sleep in 24 hours was 7 hours. Not necessarily all at once. That chimed with me. When the children were babies and toddlers I found that if I had bits of sleep that added up to 7 hours I felt OK. I prefer 8 but seem to have reverted to 7 these days. Do people find that the clocks changing affects their sleep pattern?

Sleep would be lovely. I have just given up trying to sleep and made a cup of tea. It doesn't take much to disturb me. A couple of hot flushes and then a fit of coughing caused by a cold draught from the window and I'm wide awake.

It has been many years since I had more than 4 hours sleep. And that is interrupted sleep. What with restless legs syndrome keeping me agitated and insomnia keeping me awake, even if RLS settles, it's a nightmare. No more than one hour at a time.

I envy all you sleepers.

I need 9 hours. I always have, and generally get them.
If I have problems, I lie there and rest. Rest is nearly as good as sleep, as far as I am concerned.

This is with waking 2-3 times. I never sleep for more than two hours at a time

I always thought I had very little sleep. I purchased a fit bit that tracks your sleep
I'm averaging 5hours a night!
This might account for my fatigue.

I am so envious!
The thought of being able to sleep for more than 3 or 4 hours...what bliss. My inability to sleep is less of a worry now I am retired but I do wish I could learn how to sleep!!My head just goes into overdrive and I find it so difficult to drift off and never for more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. My dogs now expect to go out between 3 and 4 each morning.
On the plus side it's lovely hearing the birds wake up before the traffic starts.

From being an insomniac I've started sleeping really well again.

I gave up and bought Nytol tablets, took one every night for a week and then stopped them. It seems to gave helped re-establish a good sleep pattern or it might just be that old placebo effect again.

Who cares? Not me if it works.

Sorry for the thread wander.

The Dave Clarke Five are on the telly. I never noticed in the sixties that they were clockwork.