As long as I get less than 7 hours of sleep I am good. But I have been finding that on the weekends, sometimes I will get a 'good' 8-10 hours of sleep and I just drag all day long. I am used to getting aboiut 6 hours a night and honestly I feel I am at my best at about that point. No more no less.
I find that i'm mostly affected by when i wake up rather than how much sleep i get. I suppose that fits the sleep cycle explanation though. i have to either wake up really early for a purpose, or let myself wake up naturally to be fully awake when i get up.
luckygehrig wrote:davidmarver is exactly right with the cycles. They've proven the existence of these cycles by measuring brainwaves. Basically you want to try to wake up in a period of "light" sleep rather than in the middle of REM. That's when you feel really tired no matter how much sleep you get.
There was something in the news somewhat recently where college students invented or were going to invent an alarm clock that wakes you up during the "light" sleep. Pretty cool.
I know that I usually have to get 8 hrs of sleep or I feel so tired. Sometimes if I don't sleep enough I get one of those annoying little muscle spasms that won't go away at some random place on my body (most irritating one was my temple) or I can even feel short of breath. What a wuss. I think doctors recommend 8 hrs 15 mins a night or something like that.
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” --Henry David Thoreau
luckygehrig wrote:davidmarver is exactly right with the cycles. They've proven the existence of these cycles by measuring brainwaves. Basically you want to try to wake up in a period of "light" sleep rather than in the middle of REM. That's when you feel really tired no matter how much sleep you get.
I third that. From my experience, I feel a little more tired than usual after a deep sleep when I'm deeply entrenched in a dream state. I always go out for a run a few minutes after waking up and even though I'm feeling quite perky during the jog, I feel like I'm lagging a bit. I'm the type of person that can draw up energy even if I've gotten 3-4 hours of sleep. When I was small, I was always used to waking up early and training myself to do that and so that's part of it too I believe.
Naturally, there are times where eventually you'll feel more weary than tired though if you don't get the recommended hours of sleep a night and you can't necessarily nail it down on awakening from REM sleep. When I travel from US to Europe, I often find myself not sleeping for quite a long while (I adjust slowly to time zone variances more than usual) and there was a time I went 72 straight hours without sleep, even when I wanted to doze off. This is more of a special case, but it's worth putting out there in the open.
luckygehrig wrote:davidmarver is exactly right with the cycles. They've proven the existence of these cycles by measuring brainwaves. Basically you want to try to wake up in a period of "light" sleep rather than in the middle of REM. That's when you feel really tired no matter how much sleep you get.
I never knew this but it makes perfect sense. It would explain why I get up and function just fine if I sleep for about 6.5 hours and I really drag and have a tough time if I get 8.
Nice me too!!
I drag if I sleep 10 hours but am fine waking up after 7 or so
i can't sleep more than 6-7 hours. maybe i'm just a creature of habit and am used to waking up early. even on my off days for work, i find myself waking up around 8am.
I honestly think your body reacts to sleep in time frames (OR at least mine does) 3-5 hours is all the same 6-9 is all the same and 10- and up is the same. So if I'm gonna sleep 8 and a half hours I should just sleep 6, it will have the same effect on me. It's jsut the way it reacts yo your body I guess.
“Never argue with a idiot, because first they will bring you down to their level. Then beat you with experience.”
I generally get right around 7 hours each night. On the weekends I always think it'll be good to sleep in, but it always makes me feel more groggy when I do, so I try to stick to the same schedule, and with a sixteen month old you're pretty much at their mercy for sleep anyway.
CadensDad wrote:I honestly think your body reacts to sleep in time frames (OR at least mine does) 3-5 hours is all the same 6-9 is all the same and 10- and up is the same. So if I'm gonna sleep 8 and a half hours I should just sleep 6, it will have the same effect on me. It's jsut the way it reacts yo your body I guess.
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by BGbootha » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:37 am 
