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

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.

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.

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.

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

I know I sleep too much. that's why I try to hold fire on bedtime till close on midnight. I read that 8 to9 hours is fine. I just can't get my arse self out of bed earlier. Love my bed. Just love it the most in the mornings.

My granny spent her last few years in bed full time. Then slipped away in her nineties.

I don't think she was ill at all. They wouldn't let You do that nowadays.

Can't be.irve it! I slept for 8hours and 20minutes last night and only woke twice.
I was exhausted when I went to bed.

I no longer have a stressful job so I sleep like a baby but I still make at least 2 trips to the loo on a good night. I sleep for at least 7 hours a night, going to bed after a shower around 11pm or before and switching off my light at midnight. On the occasions I cannot sleep, no panic, as I am not going to work, I read for 20 minutes or so and then sometimes but not always I am out like a light. I appear to get up between 7.30am and daily.

I love my bed in the mornings too,Jing - trust me, if it weren't for the fact that I always wake up wanting the ruddy loo IMMEDIATELY, I'd happily lie there and drift off again

Cant remember the last time I had a good night's sleep. If I wake in the early hours, I lie awake fretting and worrying, I can never get comfortable despite a new mattress and some very expensive John Lewis pillows. I always ache when I get up.

If I do wake in the early hours, I ignore all thoughts at that time of night, as by the time I have had my breakfast, I will have decided that my nighttime thoughts are pure rubbish.
I used to do the writing them down in the night thing, but gave up as I invaribly ended up throwing the piece of paper in the bin after breakfast.

You're lucky to be able to ignore your thoughts in the wee small wakeful hours, soon - I wish I could! I know the thoughts won't bear the light of day, but logic doesn't come into it at that time of night...

It was a skill I had to learn.
I ended up putting a piece of paper under my pillow!

It said, "If you are reading this in the middle of the night, please ignore your thoughts right now. They are definitely rubbish"!
signed soontobe
At the beginning of training myself, I sometimes had to pull it out and read it 3 times during a particular night.

Until I retired I would be up half the night fretting about deadlines and spreadsheets. Even when I was bone weary I'd toss and turn for an hour or so before I finally nodded off, then wake up with a start again two hours later worrying about things I hadn't done that day. And so it continued till it was 5.45 and time to get ready for work, or until I gave up, got up and started working on my computer at any time from about 4.

Now, I read for twenty minutes or so, switch off the light, put my head on the pillow, count my blessings, smile sweetly and nod off. Seven or eight hours later I wake up, still smiling. Ah, retirement.......

Six or seven hours at the most for me, like Leticia (a long way up there ^^) it always seems a waste of time

My maximum seems to be 2 hours then I spend the next 5 hours reading, counting sheep, more reading, thinking (thoughts I don't want), logging on to GN then finally drifting off when it's time to get up! Just read somewhere that one GNetter starts with the alphabet and tries to think of 5 boys names then 5 girls names etc. I'm going to try that tonight.

Generally I get into bed about 11pm. I read for a little while then switch off the light at about 11.30pm. Then I wake up an hour or so later (sometimes thinking it's time to get up), go back to sleep and then look at the clock again at 3am, 5am, 6am. Then anytime from 6 onwards I get up. Sometimes I fall back asleep at 6am but not often. I've tried sleeping on my own as sometimes DH disturbs me but the pattern is still the same on my own. I long for a full night's sleep.

I definitely need more sleep than I did until my late 50's. I'm an early to bed person and whilst I love trips to friends or the theatre in the evening, the following day I'm in a fug.

Like others, I wake at night but not in the anxious way I did sometimes when I was working. I learned to relax all my muscles so I can rest and I always drift back to sleep. I'm awake by 6.30 and can't usually drop off again.

I should add, I wake at 6.30 no matter what time I go to bed.

I'm looking forward to the clocks going forward an hour. I hope to wake up at 6.30 and not 5.30 which will be most welcome.

I've started taking a magnesium supplement because apparently it helps relaxation, and last night I slept 9 hours! I was so shocked, can't remember when last had more than 5 or 6.
Fingers crossed it's a permanent change, so fed up with waking at 4 or 5 am.

I've been using magnesium oil spray for about 10 days - it is supposed to absorb better via the skin.
To date I see no difference in sleep patttern.

Its now 5,50am and I haven't yet slept.
I went to bed at 12.30, took my sleeping pill, read for a short time. got up at 2.50 am. I've been reading, playing patience/solitaire... and eating too many cookies !!

I spent years of about 4 hours sleep a night, having to work in the evenings and preparing for work the next day, getting up about 7.30am. I usually needed a catnap for about 20 minutes when I got in from work (about 5.30pm) which I suppose made 4 1/2 hours sleep altogether. I can now comfortably go to bed about 2am and waken about 10am. I may get up to the loo but that makes me sleep better when I get back to bed (Sometimes I don't even open my eyes!). On the 2 to 4 days I have grandchildren I have to get up earlier (4 to 6 hours sleep) but it doesn't seem to make any difference to my energy levels. Maybe tiredness is all in the mind!!!

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