How many hours of sleep?

[Leithient]

Hey nerds!

 

I've got a question. One can hear a lot of recommendations about the amount of sleep that is necessary to be recovered or, in general, to have a healthy life. 8 hours, 7,5 hours, 3 + 1,5 hours (biphasic sleep), poliphasic, 10 hours, 6 hours...

 

Does anyone have a good source about this matter? I think that we could share our experiences here, too. I tried biphasic sleep a few months ago, but I give up because I lift weights and I was afraid of not being well recovered.

[ShotgunSally]

I have no scientific knowledge to back up my claim but I think everyones needs are different. I find regardless of how much sleep I get I want more but I am running on roughly 5 hours sleep right now and I feel perfectly fine! I would still take a nap this afternoon if I could get one, lol! You have to also remember that you don't just recover when you're sleeping! 

[Guest Dirty Deads]

Very interested in seeing how this topic goes. I have been getting 4 hours at night,  then another 4-5 later in the day. It seems to make me more tired than if I slept straight through for 9 hours.

[Leithient]

Very interested in seeing how this topic goes. I have been getting 4 hours at night,  then another 4-5 later in the day. It seems to make me more tired than if I slept straight through for 9 hours.

 

How many time have you been sleeping in two different periods of time? I've read that one could be a couple of weeks until his body gets used to sleep 4,5 + 4,5. Also, there are studios that say that one should sleep a multiple of 90 minutes (i. e. 3 or 4,5 hours), so maybe your problem is sleeping 4 or 5 hours instead of 90'X. Avoiding coffee also helps. I don't remember more info, but I can try to do a new search on the Internet in order to refresh my knowledge.

 

My experience is weird. I would like to try 'free-sleeping', but I am too obsessive with time and I think that this could be counterproductive. Now I think I am sleeping between 6 and 7 hours. I don't use an alarm clock to wake up, but I am very tired during the day, so I think that my sleep could be better.

[Guest Dirty Deads]

How many time have you been sleeping in two different periods of time? I've read that one could be a couple of weeks until his body gets used to sleep 4,5 + 4,5. Also, there are studios that say that one should sleep a multiple of 90 minutes (i. e. 3 or 4,5 hours), so maybe your problem is sleeping 4 or 5 hours instead of 90'X. Avoiding coffee also helps. I don't remember more info, but I can try to do a new search on the Internet in order to refresh my knowledge.

 

My experience is weird. I would like to try 'free-sleeping', but I am too obsessive with time and I think that this could be counterproductive. Now I think I am sleeping between 6 and 7 hours. I don't use an alarm clock to wake up, but I am very tired during the day, so I think that my sleep could be better.

it's only been about a week. It came about when I attempted to stay awake to reset my sleep schedule since I was staying awake until 4 am. I wasn't able to stay awake and ended up stuck in this rut of 4-5x2.

Now, I will say, I hate sleep. I have fought sleep since I was a child and it's never changed. Byphasic just might work for me if I give it a proper go. Definitely need to stop the coffee after the first sleep.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Read about polyphastic awhile ago and how some people do something like 3 1.5 hour increments over the course of a 24 hour period and are able to be fully energized. The problem is they need to be spaced extremely evenly throughout the day which conflicts with most lifestyles.

 

Personally, I need 7 to function normally, 8+ to fully recover from lifting or else I'll be more sore for days.

[Marty]

I used to brag about little sleep. Now I try to sleep 6-8 hours every night. It is key when lifting heavy and training hard. No way around it.

[CombatBoot]

7 to 8 hours for me. Any longer or shorter will make me hate myself. If I sleep any shorter, I'll feel fine in the morning, but fall asleep a few hours later.

[Nannoo]

I'm in the same boat as you.  I don't know how many hours of sleep are good for me... I have a really tough time falling asleep so it's hard to time it right so that I can do good experimentation when I have to get up at a certain time.

[Maledictus]

I'm a little cranky if I don't get a solid 19 hours of sleep.

 

One of our cats went into season recently and we all got very little sleep for a week because of the calling.  It was not a good thing.

[Red Alastor]

I used to think I could get away with sleeping only 5 hours a day, but the truth is that I wasn't on top condition and it's proved that lack of sleep makes you more easy to persuade and less likely to defend you opinions.

 

I've been trying to sleep 7-8 hours a day for the last year and it's really helping me with my weight/strength goals... as well as to not fall sleep during the day.

[Leithient]

I'm going to experiment definitively with biphasic sleep. 21 to 22:30 pm and 3 to 7:30 am. If someone is interested I can tell you how it's going.

[ShotgunSally]

I'm going to experiment definitively with biphasic sleep. 21 to 22:30 pm and 3 to 7:30 am. If someone is interested I can tell you how it's going.

 

I'm curious as to the logic behind the hours you've picked to sleep? I'm also curious to see how this works out! 

[clericofthenorhernrealm]

Alright, so I am sure you have all heard of REM (Rapid Eye-Movement or dream sleep) and non-REM sleep, along with circadian rhythms or your biological clock.

 

Each person has a different amount of sleep they need according to their biological clock, but most people need an average of 8 hours. This is because your rhythm can differ depending on how long you have been awake and how many times you switched from light to dark (which is why they say looking at tvs, phones, and commuters messes with your sleep).

 

Now, there are four stages of sleep: 3 non REM, and the REM stage. 1) About 5 mins, Muscles slow 2) 10-25 mins, first real sleep 3) Deep Sleep, restores body

4) REM is where you Dream, restores the mind

 

*Depending on what you need, you will spend different amounts of time in each stage, but every whole cycle takes about 90 minutes total. You will have 4 to 6 cycles depending on your biological sleep cycle. (You will probably need 6, 7 and a half, or 9 hours of sleep. Most are 7.5, and use more or less of 30 mins to fall asleep, hence 8 hours)

 

You may feel unrested if you wake up in stage 3 or 4 (like when you sleep too long and feel groggy, even when you got more sleep). To avoid this, set your schedule up so your sleep is in 90 minute increments, with some time to spare to fall asleep.

 

My roommate taught me this, but there is also this handy site about it: http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

[kaelvan]

About 5 hrs

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

I need about 8 to function and 9 to function well. Less than 7 and I'm unhappy. If I'm fighting off illness or a new surge of allergens I sometimes need more than 9.