General Discussions => General discussions => Topic started by: mina.magpie on February 19, 2009, 04:28:06 AM Return to Full Version

Title: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: mina.magpie on February 19, 2009, 04:28:06 AM

Are bad sleeping habits driving us mad? (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126962.100-could-bad-sleeping-habits-be-driving-us-mad.html)

QuoteTAKE anyone with a psychiatric disorder and the chances are they don't sleep well. The result of their illness, you might think. Now this long-standing assumption is being turned on its head, with the radical suggestion that poor sleep might actually cause some psychiatric illnesses or lead people to behave in ways that doctors mistake for mental problems. The good news is that sleep treatments could help or even cure some of these patients. Shockingly, it also means that many people, including children, could be taking psychoactive drugs that cannot help them and might even be harmful.

So I'm now curious after reading this article in new scientist ... how many hours a night do you sleep ... and are you considered entirely sane ... apart of course from the obvious that you've been possessed by an evil spirit and tricked into thinking you're a member of the opposite sex. :P

I get 7 hours a night ... if my brain isn't running away with me and hounding me to write something or just check this one thing online or whatever ... more typically I get about 5 ot 6.

I have noticed that, when I sleep well for a while, I'm less prone to depression and stuff, but apart from that I've not noticed any differences within myself.

Mina.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Sephirah on February 19, 2009, 04:31:34 AM
Ahaha... unravelling my sleep patterns are like unravelling the mysteries of the universe. ;D

I sleep for a seemingly random number hours, until my mind decides to wake me up.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Pica Pica on February 19, 2009, 05:04:51 AM
my natural sleep pattern is eight hours sleep from 2AM to 11AM, but the expectations of others frequently interject and I get less.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: mina.magpie on February 19, 2009, 05:36:02 AM
Quote from: Pica Pica on February 19, 2009, 05:04:51 AM
my natural sleep pattern is eight hours sleep from 2AM to 11AM, but the expectations of others frequently interject and I get less.

Tell them they're driving you nuts ... you now have the science to back it up!  ;D

Mina.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: vanna on February 19, 2009, 05:44:08 AM
I am 6-30pm to 8-30pm then 2am to 6am
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Jay on February 19, 2009, 05:53:32 AM
I chose 5 or 6.. never enough.. althought I usually sleep on the bus to work and back ;)

Jay
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: SomeMTF on February 19, 2009, 06:18:26 AM
8+
I feel tired so often.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Renate on February 19, 2009, 06:37:47 AM
Left to my own devices I'll sleep from 10:30 PM to 6:00 AM and catch an hour nap in the afternoon.

I'm one of those people that an hour nap does a world of good.
I've known those for whom an afternoon nap turns into multi-hour and they wake like something out of "Dawn of the Dead".

Lately, it's been more 11:00 AM to 6:00 AM and no nap. The sleep deficit shows.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: je on February 19, 2009, 07:26:50 AM
I don't have a job, so I can crawl into bed whenever. I'm probably getting at least 8+ noncontinuous hours of sleep right now. At the very least, I know I'm sleeping a ton more than I did before HRT.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Lucy on February 19, 2009, 07:36:20 AM
This is quite a strange question, I say that because form month to month this can change dependant on what stage of depression I am on. There was a time when I would  get between 4-5 hours a night and prior to that I was almost a compleate zonbie for sleep was impossible. insonia is a fowl thing. I Voted for 7-8 hours because that seens to be my average nowdays.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: lisagurl on February 19, 2009, 08:58:46 AM
9:30 to 7:00  That is 9 1/2 hours and I feel great. Sleep recharges your batteries.  This world asks too much of our time. People would get more sleep without phones and TV.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Janet_Girl on February 19, 2009, 09:39:33 AM
When I can I sleep till I wake up.  8 hours at least.  Days that I have to work in the morning, I am lucky to get 6.

Janet

Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Jeatyn on February 19, 2009, 08:18:02 PM
I rarely sleep

people around me will claim otherwise because I seem to always be in bed

but most of the time I'm just laying there staring at the wall thinking about stuff and dozing a bit

that is if I even bother trying to sleep, I can stay up for days and days, and do quite frequently
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Alyssa M. on February 19, 2009, 10:57:27 PM
Quote from: Pica Pica on February 19, 2009, 05:04:51 AM
my natural sleep pattern is eight hours sleep from 2AM to 11AM, but the expectations of others frequently interject and I get less.

Okay, I think I understand. You work as a conductor during the day on a westbound long-distance train. During the night, you take the return trip, crossing between time zones. I bet you thought nobody would be clever enough to figure it out. ;)

--

I used to sleep terribly, racked by worry and stress. High school was the worst for this. It was my girlfriend in college that taught me to get over it. She'd always tell me, "It'll be better in the morning." And, to my amazement, she was right. I guess that's something most people learn before age 20.

Today I sleep well even if I'm really stressed out. Sometimes I'll stay awake very late, though, working or thinking about something. But it's not an inability to sleep, but rather a lack of desire, even though I'm tired. Being back in school has led to a number of all-nighters. In fact, I pulled a double-all-nighter a week ago, not sleeping Sunday or Monday nights.

Mountains also interfere with sleep -- sometimes I can't get to sleep before midnight and have to wake up at 2:00 a.m. for an alpine start. Some of those couloirs get mighty sloppy by nine o'clock on a spring morning. Sloppy and avalanchey.

But without something forcing me awake, I'll sleep 10 hours easily.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: V M on February 20, 2009, 12:58:25 AM
My erratic sleep patterns started with jobs I had in the early '80s. I was lucky to get 4hr.s. Often went 2-3 days without sleep only to crash for 12 or more hours later if able. Now I try to get 6-10 hours. Age is catching up to me. Sometimes I still have fits of insomnia and end up doing the 12 hour crash. I keep trying to "normalize" my sleep patterns to a regular 8 hr.s a night. It is still a bit of a roller coaster.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Kaitlyn on February 20, 2009, 02:31:17 AM
I get about 5 hours on average during the week, and 12-16 on the weekends.  I work till 1:30 AM, and don't get home until 2.  I have to be up for school (maths) at 7 AM... it's so bad I want to stay up just to avoid waking up short of sleep.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Kirin on February 20, 2009, 11:34:18 PM
I get 6-8 hours of sleep if I'm left to my own devices; going to bed 2-3 AM and waking up 8-10 AM. But school and other things interfere, and sometimes I can get as little as 3-4 hours of sleep. The common belief held by my parents and teachers is that this is why I sleep through at least one class every day during the winter, but that's actually because of my seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)...I have no trouble staying up through the school day the rest of the year.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Miniar on February 21, 2009, 06:43:52 AM
I sleep from 8 to 12 hours a night. However, I got Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which ruins my sleep. 10 hours for me is like 2 hours for a person with a proper sleep pattern.
I am in constant physical pain, but no, I've not gotten any mental-instability diagnosis aside from a "you're probably a little depressed" talk from a doctor in Sweden.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Hazumu on February 21, 2009, 12:24:12 PM
Several years ago, I read the book, "The Promise of Sleep."   I'm a big believer in getting as much as possible.

=K
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: tinkerbell on February 21, 2009, 02:24:28 PM
There was a time in a galaxy far, far away where the days were pitch black and this Fairy couldn't sleep.  Times have changed dramatically for the better since then, and now I'm able to sleep my regular eight hours (sometimes even more depending on the day).  Considering that my work requires extreme concentration and my day starts very early in the morning, I HAVE to be in bed, sound sleep, by 9:00 p.m. every day.


tink :icon_chick:
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: JD on February 22, 2009, 10:22:44 PM
Whenever I need to be creative I seem to cut out on sleep. I think I'm  more irrational and thus creative when I have less sleep. Although I sleep around 8h per night if i can, if I need to get ideas I go for 3-4h for around 4 to 5 days. If that means I'm getting a little insane on the way, then that just proves how close genius and madness are.  >:-)
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: V M on February 22, 2009, 11:00:37 PM
I can relate to that  :laugh: Some of my best stuff has come when I was sleep deprived and somewhat intoxicated  :laugh: >:-) :laugh:
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Sophie90 on February 24, 2009, 08:20:30 PM
I require a fair bit of sleep. Uninterupted, I will sleep for 8 or 9 hours.

Though my record is 13. (5am to 6pm)


I have to get up at 9 or 10 most days, but I can't seem to convinve myself to get to sleep before 3am... even though I really need to...

It's half 2am now, btw.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: imaz on February 24, 2009, 08:42:55 PM
I sleep late, its 02.42 in the morning now!

Anything between 7 and 9 hours does me although the last few days I've had catching up to do.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: perfectisolation on March 01, 2009, 08:33:44 PM
Funny, I sleep a lot. 12-16 hrs a day. And I'm quite the looney toon.  ;)

JD I am this way too. When I was younger I would stay up til 3-4am drawing. It seems like after I get over that period of feeling extremely tired, I start feeling more spaced out I guess and get that 'nervous' feeling which drives my creativity somehow..
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: JD on March 03, 2009, 06:51:37 PM
I tried how far I can push it. So I tried going without sleep as long as I can on one occasion, and on another occasion i wanted to see how many days i can last with only 3h of sleep per night.

I invited some friends who took turns in playing videogames against me. The first 48h were easy, the next 12h interesting, and after that i started napping if there was a too long break inbetween the curves in racing games. ^^
Sanitywise i think i kept getting more irrational and less focused.

On the other experiment, I kept feeling better till around day 5. afterwards it just grew worse till on around day when I quit I felt completely listless and apathetic. :D

Don't think I can keep up with my current sleeping tables another 10 years though. My mom said she used to be like me, now she sleeps like 10h average per night on weekdays. XD god i hope i won't turn out that way... sleeping half of my life, what a waste of time. =P
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Renate on March 03, 2009, 07:25:48 PM
48 hours of video games?

I'm sure that 48 seconds of video games would make me listless and apathetic.
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Lutin on March 04, 2009, 09:18:05 PM
Quote48 hours of video games?


I'm sure that 48 seconds of video games would make me listless and apathetic.

My eyes start to hurt after 2 hours. ::)

As for sleeping, I couldn't vote, 'cause it varies. If it's the holidays then I'm as lazy as all hell and will stay in bed (denying I'm awake more than actually sleeping :P) for a good 14-or-so hours, but during the semester it's far less. I had 2 hours' sleep last night, and similar the night before. I've become quite attached to my insanity. :icon_weee:
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Sophie90 on March 09, 2009, 09:58:01 PM
Gah, I'm having a 4 or 5 hours a night phase... stressed... this will culminate in a 10/11 hour sleep binge at some point in the near future... probably stupid Wednesday night when I need to be writing my essay...
Title: Re: Sleep more, be saner! ~_^
Post by: Lutin on March 10, 2009, 02:05:55 AM
Essay nights are always the best for sleeping. :P ;D