How much sleep does one need?

**Gman1524** · August 5th, 2005, 05:15 PM

Not sure where to post this so I thought I'd put it here.

The question I pose is how much sleep does one really need? I ask because I seem to get almost none. I work a quasi night shift, and it is very difficult for me to sleep. For example, last night I had exactly two and half hours of sleep, and yet I feel fine. I realize that is not normal. I have been to the doctor's and have been prescribed Ambien. I only take it when I go a few days without sleep. As a matter of fact my prescription expired a couple of weeks ago. I'd rather not have to take anything, but I realize that sleep deprivation is very real to people.

I have been prescribed Lexapro in the past as well. My doctor says that my metabolism is really high, and as such sleep is hard to come by. The Lexapro did absolutely nothing so I let that expire as well.

I have tried taking anti-histamines, but I HATE taking them. Yes, I do get some sleep but I wake up feeling as though I had not slept at all.

I have tried valerian, and chamomile teas. Nothing works. Ever since I was a little kid, I rarely sleep for more than two hours at a time - even when taking the Ambien.

Allow me to explain a little about my metabolism. It has slowed down some since I am in my 30's, but it is still quite high. I used to eat every day for lunch: a salad, a big Philly cheesesteak, and a pound of pasta. Within three hours I was so hungry that I actually had the shakes. I have to graze all day long. I could munch on sticks of butter, and never gain any weight. My cholesterol is good, and my blood pressure is also good. Also, I am not a big man. I am only 5'8" and about 165 pounds.

There have been weeks when I went a couple days without sleep without feeling bad. I rarely, if ever, have any caffeine. I might have a 16 oz cup of coffee at 2:45 AM. But I make it 8 oz of regular coffee, and 8 oz of decaf coffee. That is the extent of my caffeine intake for the day.

I usually average about three hours sleep a night, and I rarely, if ever, feel the ill effects from lack of sleep. I suppose that is why I drop by here as miuch as I do because I am not sleeping.

Sorry so long. I was just curious, and wondered if you had any input or suggestions for me.

Yours,

A very unsleepy Gman

**falconfootball** · August 5th, 2005, 06:03 PM

The body recovers and grows the most while at rest, especially deep REM sleep. The ideal is to get 7-9 hrs of UNINTERRUPTED sleep per day/night.

**falconfootball** · August 5th, 2005, 06:04 PM

Gman, ever tried Ambien? I hear its good stuff

**fRedEcs** · August 5th, 2005, 06:05 PM

"Vier Stunden die Männer - fünf die Frauen - und sechs die Dummköpfe!", that's what Napoleon said.
I think it depends. As long as you feel good there's no reason to worry although it might affect you immune system.
Normally elder people tend to sleep less. When I was 20-30 I also had several days a week without more than 3-4 hours of sleep but than nature stroke back and I had to sleep 10 hours.
Does your need of sleep change when you are on vacation (if you have any)? 3 hours sound quite minimal especially if you can't balance it with nights of more sleep.
I still do some 3 hours nights (thanks to EF) but the other day I have to pay for it.
If you want to know more just enter "napoleon" and sleep" (or "schlaf" as I think you read german also) into google.
It brings up lots of maybe helpful sites. This article quotes Napoleon with six hours for the men but I think four is correct because six is quite normal and he definitely was a worcoholic with less sleep than normal:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/h...eep/telegr.htm

Quote:

Sleeping for nine or more hours a night is not necessarily beneficial to health. recent surveys in America have shown that adults who are either long or short sleepers tend to die younger.

Here in Germany we have sth called "Schlaflabor" (sleep laboratory) where they examine unusual sleeping.
Maybe you can find sth like that in your place.

**Gman1524** · August 5th, 2005, 07:37 PM

I never, and I do mean never, sleep for more than two hours uninterrupted. I hear people talk about eight hours of sleep, and I often wonder what that is like. I rarely sleep, and do not feel bad at all. Actually, I am working on two hours sleep and I feel pretty good. Whenever I have tried to sleep longer I usually wind up with a headache.

My concern is that I wonder about my immune system. I hate being sick, and I hope that my lack of sleep does not contibute to that.

Falconfootball, read the second paragraph of my first post. I already said I tried Ambien. I used to take Ambien with a cup of chamomile tea, and take an anti-histamine along with it. I usually woke up after about three hours.

Maybe I'm a vampire.

**MichKar** · August 6th, 2005, 06:02 AM

How much you need? There is no universal answer for it, but research concludes that an adult need about 4-5 hours of constant sleep. The body will adjust to the shorter sleep, which will result in a quality sleep, faster Deep Sleep, better Sleep-Wake mechanism, shorter REM phase though. If you are feeling okay, not being tired during the day or work, when you blood pressure don't rise (a common result with sleepness), shorter sleep is okay.

But that's just the physical component, what also matters is the psychic side. Do you feel depressed, distrissed or being out of balance? Then you have too less sleep, no matter what your body condition will tell you.

Since you have a chronic Insomie, a Pharmacology only therapy won't help. You will need then a combination of changing behaviour and medical treatment. That you doctor only has prescribed you medicine, could be a sign, that he may not be capable of treating your Insomie (Sleep research is still not that common in the general medical education). Perhaps you really should consider FredeCs advise and look out for an expert like a Sleep Research centre.

I've tried to look up a decent page in english, but I only find paid subriction sites. Don't know how well your german is, but perhaps you can try this
http://www.schlafgestoert.de/index.html

There should be a Sleep Centre in Phil (Temple University has one atleast), perhaps they are more capable of helping you than we are.

take care Gman

**sunshine superman** · August 6th, 2005, 08:35 AM

iuse to sleep 7 or 8 hours, even longer, now all i need i 4, 5 or 6, and i'm well rested.

**PythonPower** · August 11th, 2005, 02:12 AM

gman you are not alone. same here. rarely sleep and when i do, sleep very short amounts and am ready to go...some people think i am nuts, my mom thinks i am doing drugs (LOL) , but i just dont feel the need to sleep. when i sleep also, same here, very light sleeper, i can here everything going around me, i can literally tell you if someone were to come in my room while i am sleeping, i can tell you where they walked in the room, how long they were there for...so i dont know...go figure...sometimes on weekends, i tend to crash and just sleep through the whole day and thats it and i am set for a few weeks again. go figure.

**fRedEcs** · August 18th, 2005, 09:59 PM

Gman, have you ever tried acupuncture? Today I talked to a friend who had sleeping problems also.
He had several medications and cures until he decided to give it a try and it worked very well for him!

bodygrow · August 19th, 2005, 06:30 PM

gman, ever consider a sleep lab. Also there are even sleep study tools you can get through the mail that allow for sleep analysis in the privacy of your own home. just a thought

dan007 · August 19th, 2005, 10:09 PM

Hi Gman, well my friend I am very healthy but I have the same problem with my metabolism, it is very high and im always hungry, i can eat four to five big macs and wont gain any weight, I sleep but once i sleep more than 8h, i wake up feeling as if someone punched me, i am not big either, 5"6 and 160 pounds

**Pikran** · August 23rd, 2005, 03:44 PM

Last year I did technical support at ESRS (European Sleep Research Society) congress and thus heard some lectures concerning this topic and found out that sleep represents an extremely complicated problem.

I can second previous posts.. 7-8 hours is enough in my opinion, but it´s highly dependent on individual needs. Some professions such as night shift nurse might significantly reduce the amount of sleep.

Maybe you can bypass shallow sleep and fall directly into deep sleep, exactly as Alexander the Great enjoyed his "cat nap" (you´re a cat btw

)

There´s another factor. Your brain and the body might not be sleeping simultaneously. Sometimes, the sleep center is unsuccessful in shutting down both the brain and the body at the same time. So some people that suffer from sleep deprivation stay awake even after their brains have halted (though that´s quite rare).

If you are interested here´s a CD with plenty of excerpts from this conference that was distributed for FREE. I´m posting this in order to show the complicatedness of sleep.. maybe there´s an answer for your problem.

Hope it´s OK to share them since it´s not copyrighted babe stuff and relate to fitness topic.

http://rapidshare.de/files/4297282/J...part1.rar.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/4296654/J...part2.rar.html

you have to burn ISO image on CD to get access to search engine (otherwise there´s directory with PDF files)

**PythonPower** · August 24th, 2005, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan007

Hi Gman, well my friend I am very healthy but I have the same problem with my metabolism, it is very high and im always hungry, i can eat four to five big macs and wont gain any weight, I sleep but once i sleep more than 8h, i wake up feeling as if someone punched me, i am not big either, 5"6 and 160 pounds

whoa! easy on the junk food there killer. it may not show up as weight, but it will show up as high cholestrol or even worse, clogged arteries.

**Gri3v0us** · August 29th, 2005, 09:24 PM

At times, i find myself to be up very late...usually around 3-4am the most...I don't feel tired at all...I guess my afternoon is my new night.

**Derkylides** · August 31st, 2005, 08:05 AM

There's no way anyone can give a universal formula for required sleep. There are documented cases of people simply not sleeping AT ALL for years and functioning perfectly well. Why does it bother you that you sleep 2 hrs per night if it doesn't affect you? I'd gladly trade with you. It is only a medical issue if you feel real health-related problems as a result. Otherwise, stop worrying and enjoy the extra time - you get to live an extra day per week more than the rest of us

**PythonPower** · September 1st, 2005, 01:18 AM

what about being on the edge? i have been on the edge for a quite a while too. i would be nice, calm and collect, but in a moments notice i would be ready to rip your windpipe out and watch you choke on your blood...?

Suiko · September 16th, 2005, 05:28 AM

Try powder theraflu! The green box! That stuff can knock out a cow! It has antihistmine called Diphenhydramine and pseudoephedrine that can help you get a good night sleep! I had the same prob couple of years ago! That stuff really helped me out! Mix with hot water and enjoy! I have an article regarding this issue! I will dig it up and post it when I find it! It was a CE course I had to take!