productivity and sleep

[Bob]

Does anyone have suggestions for staying productive while getting less-than-ideal sleep amounts?  Esp over the long-term?

[Tash]

drugs? coffee? well over the long term i guess if you gradually diminished your sleeping hours your body might adapt more easily but i really don't know. some people can just live on 4hrs a night and i think they're nuts.

[thalbergmad]

Mrs Thatcher used to survive on 4 hours sleep per night, but a lot of people thought she was nuts.

I have always needed 7 to 8 hours myself plus a snooze after dinner. Anything less, and i get tired during the day.

My cat used to be asleep for about 20 hours per day.

[pianorama]

Donald Trump claims he only needed 3-4 hours of sleep. 

"Tufts University researcher Ernest Hartmann found that 'people who sleep for less than 5.5 hours tend to be extroverted, ambitious and efficient, while people who sleep more than 9 hours tend to be anxious, insecure, introverted and indesicive.' Other researchers think this is nonsense, noting that short-sleepers tend to be fast-paced, Type-A personalities (thus prone to heart disease), while long-sleepers include society's creative, alternate type thinkers and artists"

That was from Uncle John's Absolutely Absorbing Bathroom Reader.

[pianistimo]

interesting, that article!  (my husband tends to amaze me with little or no sleep sometimes and still has energy in the morning).  whereas i sometimes do myself in when i have bouts of insomnia by staying up too late and then get tired in the morning.  maybe a glass of milk and not try to wait until i'm tired again (which is 2-3 hours later). 

funny, i had a lot of insomnia last year, but this year it is only once in a while.  stress can do it, i guess, and maybe subconciously was worried about something.  probably my leg.  the doctor said 'you probably have anxiety attacks' and told me not to worry.  once she said that - they seemed to go away.  she said it often happens when people get an injury - they worry about not moving the extremity and waking up thinking they're unable to move - when they really can.

[arensky]

My cat used to be asleep for about 20 hours per day.

Ah...a cat's life. How wonderful! 

[zheer]

Does anyone have suggestions for staying productive while getting less-than-ideal sleep amounts?  Esp over the long-term?

 I hate to admit it, but i need 9 and a half hours sleep,like a baby.
As for staying productive, i find intellectual stimulation does the trick. I also find good looking women help me to keep my eyes open.

[thalbergmad]

Intellectual stimulation.

Oh of course, you mean the chatroom

[ahinton]

Mrs Thatcher used to survive on 4 hours sleep per night, but a lot of people thought she was nuts.

Whatever anyone may have thought about her in those days when she was UK prime minister, that minimum sleep routine didn't do her any favours in the long run, it would seem.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Whatever anyone may have thought about her in those days when she was UK prime minister, that minimum sleep routine didn't do her any favours in the long run, it would seem.

Best,

Alistair

She is not bad for an 80 year old, but i think her health would be better today if she never became prime minister.

I am glad she did though. I bought my parents council house at 75% reduction.

[ted]

I do not think that sleep debt in general can be cancelled. I am convinced that prolonged experience of insufficient sleep, no matter what the amount each day, has a cumulative effect which damages mental and physical health in the long term. Many people do not know their ideal sleep times. The time to find out is when you are on holiday and are without schedules. What I usually find is that there is a collapse into heavy sleeping at the beginning of a holiday. After a few days of getting up late I usually find myself wanting to get up earlier again. About two weeks into a holiday a stable cycle develops and this, I assume, would be my ideal sleep pattern. I tolerate broken sleep badly, even if the total time is adequate. Also, I appear to need a certain amount of intense, recallable dream sleep, not necessarily every night, but at least once or twice a week.

However, I have many friends and relatives with ideal patterns grossly different to mine and they seem healthy and happy.

[klavierkonzerte]

SOMEONE HELP ME.

it's 6:30 in the morning and i didn't get any sleep i have been rolling on my bed from 2 oclock.
this has been going on for over a week now i don't know what's wrong with me i can't get myself to sleep and if i did it's only for an hour or less.
the wierd thing is that i'm not at all tired but i'm scared that something is wrong with me i don't know what made me hyper.

[pianistimo]

talking to my general practitioner helped me.  i wasn't even going to bring it up - but she asked a question about something and so i told her.  she was concerned because it does affect your day.  maybe your doctor will find out what's wrong or refer you to someone who cares.  i think just talking to someone helped me.  when i found out i had anxiety - i said to myself 'oh, at least now i know what's going on.' 

sometimes sleep apnea causes this.  your nose gets blocked and you wake up and can't go to sleep.  i don't have this, but my husband sometimes does if he's had a cold or sinus problem.  also, dry air sometimes worsens it (or allergies).  for my son, i had to literally take all his dirty clothes out of the closet each night - and he would sleep fine.  he was allergic to the dirt on the clothes or something.  you can buy those nose thingys at pharmacy store, or air filter.  air filters are GREAT if you have this problem.  also, getting a pillow and sleeping at a bit of an angle.

sorry to hear of your difficulties too.  seems at first like a minor thing - until your body starts making it a routine.  that's what happened to me.  i'd keep waking up at 3:00 am and it was frustrating.  maybe nerves or stress - and we need to do something to calm down - drink tea, stop worrying.  ? it's easy to say but hard to do sometimes.  prayer works for me when i can't stop worrying about things.

[thalbergmad]

SOMEONE HELP ME.

it's 6:30 in the morning and i didn't get any sleep i have been rolling on my bed from 2 oclock.
this has been going on for over a week now i don't know what's wrong with me i can't get myself to sleep and if i did it's only for an hour or less.
the wierd thing is that i'm not at all tired but i'm scared that something is wrong with me i don't know what made me hyper.

If you are having trouble sleeping, simply log on here and read some of pianistimo's posts.

Works for me.

[pianistimo]

glad to help.  ?