How well do you sleep and for how long, mul... - Healthy Eating
How well do you sleep and for how long, multiple choice poll and please say what other is.
168 Voters
Depending on when my last cup of tea was and how worried I am.
I fall asleep very quickly, but bathroom calls interrupt, then perhaps I may doze a little.
It really depends how my pain level is. As I have very disturbed sleep. I often fall asleep about 4pm ish on the couch this happens every day.
I feel exhausted and lethargic all the time. Been tested for sleep apnea which it isn't.
Been going on 11 months now. Tried readjusting my sleep patterns using a couple of different methods.
Still not resolved, back to see GP next week to see what else he suggests. I am on an antidepressant which has helped me a lot with coping, so know how to really monitor my stress and anxieties as I wouldn't take the medication until I was given other support. Don't drink caffeinated drinks after lunch time either cause I know how caffeine can make me hyper.
So funny as 2 years ago I couldn't sleep and now I am sleeping too much. The joys. 😁
Yep - I can relate to that too xx
I get so many suggests all to do with how to help you sleep at night. I thank my friend for them then say yes, got the sleeping at night thing sorted. It is the waking up and not needing to sleep after doing things that I need to sort out.
However I am determined to get it sorted out. 😁
Well very good luck on that one - which again I can relate to.... Spending hours trying to get to sleep means falling asleep at the wrong time - it's all a vicious circle - Happy Christmas! xxx
I would love to get a good nights sleep. So rare. My body gets very uncomfortable so I have to get up after about 6 hrs. Then I get really tired and have to take a nap.
I feel for you whatgoingon and at least you live with your condition. 😊
Thank you for your kind words.
Perhaps not a true picture. I have a brain condition which makes me suffer from extreme fatigue. I sleep 10+ hours per night.
Hi wobblypat at least you live with your condition and your body must need to sleep. 😊
I picked 6 and 6-7 hours of sleep because it depends on if I get waken up by my CGM alarming if I’m having low blood sugars ( like this morning).
Fantastic poll Hidden !😀👍
Thanks Leah, I usually sleep for 7+ hours and can easily sleep for longer when I'm physically tired.
So I sleep like a baby...👍 😀
I hope you realise how lucky you are and how jealous I am........xxx
Hi Flossie1920 I do indeed realise how lucky I am because I also suffer from stress sometimes and remember when Talking heads sang "I'm tense and nervous and my heads on fire" and I thought theres others who feel the same...
Life is what we make it...😊
You're lucky you can get to sleep 7+ hours a night. I have to be up at the same time every day since I have to take pills first thing in the morning.
I can't remember the last time I had a really good sleep. When I was younger, yes my memory is still that good, I used to sleep for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In fact I had the opposite of today's reply - I used to sleep for 12 hours and my nice, kind father used to throw cold water over me to wake me up...... Now is pain, gel, cream, pain killers but nought works.... so it's back to the herb sleeping tablets (the doctor doesn't trust me with "proper" ones!) 2 cocodomal, followed by my usual concoction and then count jumping sleep! When was the last time you saw flying or jumping sleep??
Keep well as you can my friends.
Hi Flossie1920 interestingly cocodomal and all opiates can cause restless sleep, magnesium is a great natural muscle relaxant and helps us sleep.
So good luck with this.
Jerry 😊
Thanks for the info Jerry - it's now on my shopping list. xx
Here's a link about MG
thesleepdoctor.com/2017/11/...
Just don't buy magnesium oxide as it will help your muscles relax until their laxative qualities wake you up...☹️ Chelated MG is best as is magnesium oil ribbed on the skin which is my preferred way of getting extra MG.
So good luck with getting better sleep. 😊
Wonderful - thanks again my friend. x
the best magnesium for sleep is magnesium L -theonate. some magnesiums ( oxide for example) are very poorly absorbed and some can cause loose stools
Well done for pointing that out Jerry about how cocodimal and opiates can cause restless sleep.
I don't trust doctors and would rather do things the natural way, nature is always better.
I have a brain injury and used to suffer with regular headaches and rough sleep, this was when my diet was pretty crap and consisted of lots of sugary processed foods and so on and rarely ate many fruits and veg at all.
Now is different, I eat more fruits and veg and try to shun sugar (refined sugar) from my diet and I feel a lot better for it too. I haven't been anywhere near a hospital in 10 years, I hardly get headaches now (If I do get a headache I prefer to inhale frankincense essential oil or practise some yoga).
My sleep is much better now because I use lavender essential oil and I also use silicon ear plugs to drown out noise
Man tries to better nature but it cannot be done, nature is so much better.
I meant "SHEEP" not sleep.... sorry if I caused confusion but I'm really not surprised. x
l seem to have an afternoon nap if im not busy. but 90% of the time between 8.30 am and 1430pm running round doing something.
Hi Jerry
Very interesting poll Jerry.
Fortunately I sleep very well and approximately 7 to 8 hour nights. Doubt it'll be like that tonight as we have the grandchildren overnight tonight.😉
Hi Alicia and thank you, I sleep like a baby and I put that to being contented and physically active.
Last night I woke just after 4am as the boars were digging up the membrane I'd had gravel laid on and the ruckus...So at 4-20am I was out in the frost photographing them until the big mamma had enough of me shining my torch at them and marched next door and dug their lawn up...And I was soon back in bed and fast asleep...😀 🐖 😴
That's good and yes being physically active really does help.
Oh my goodness, that's wakng you up very early but for a good reason. You'll love it when it's finished.😀
why do we use the phrase "sleeps like a baby " when babies are always waking up- ask any parent !!
HI alchemilla12 I think it means sleeps peacefully and contented. Because you are quite right. 😊
Jerry, you were woken up by boars!?
Yes Matt Wild boars breed near me so I live in their territory. I have given them their own entrance so they don't have to smash my fences down and we seem to get on fine as they come within a few meters of me and visit 3 or 4 times a week. It can be unnerving having a 500lb wild animal that can beat a lion in a fight looking me right in the eye especially when its dark...I call them the local hooligans as they will smash a garden fence down and wipe out a veg patch very quickly.
Wow. I didn’t know UK had wild boars haha.
Obviously my span of knowledge isn’t very widespread :).
I always imagined wild boars to be in Greece (Caledonian boar) or the likes of America and maybe parts of Europe.
There’s a lot about UK that I have no idea about and yet, I live there too :).
I put other because I have a boring habit of falling asleep in front of the TV around 10! That's if I have woken up the previous night then failed to go back to sleep (worrying usually which I do to an Olympic standard!). I usually read for an hour or two then drop off about 6am.
Hi Coco51 I don't think you are alone as I do the same and imagine lots of people do...📺 😴
Yes true. And I should go to bed earlier. But my husband's a night owl. Like you I find the more exercise the better. Oddly an occasional afternoon nap can help, but only 45 mins. Must try the lavender oil for the waking hours....
Sleep is so important and I rarely sleep badly these days, but I've really worked at it. I see sleep as important and as necessary to health as exercise and a healthy diet- but it doesn't just happen. I think more needs to be done to help people to sleep well.
Hi loobyloo222 very well said we all need a good nights sleep and not enough importance is put on that. 😊
I do think that some people consider poor sleep quite normal- when it really isn't. I sometimes wonder how many health conditions could be improved by encouraging healthy sleep- it's a bit of a mission of mine!
Hey this sounds like a great mission loobyloo222 and I'm with you on this. 😊
I agree with you on that, lobby.
Poor sleep isn't normal at all. I think poor sleep can be fixed. Well, for me, I fixed it.
I have a brain injury and it is pretty common for BI survivors to have poor sleep but I don't see it as "Well I have a BI that's why I get poor sleep", I believe you can fix that.
My sleep used to be rough and those were the days when my overall diet was also pretty poor as well.
Now, I would say, I haven't got a perfectly healthy diet but it is much healthier than what it was and my sleep has improved :).
As I always say "A healthy diet reflects a healthy body" or "You are what you eat".
People are ideally supposed to get at least 8 hours sleep but I know for a lot of people that doesn’t happen.
I like to think I get about 7-8 hours of sleep most of the time.
My sleep used to be quite horrible and with a brain injury it can make matters worse... I know a few other brain injury survivors who have rough sleep.
I used to wake up in the early hours and would not be able to get back to sleep and when I finally did drift off I would be out for an hour and then the alarm would go off.
Sleep is a lot better now that I use essential oils.
Lavender essential oil is great for sleep.
Another thing I try to do before bed is not use my iPad before I sleep cos electrical devices can keep you up.... says the person who is using hid iPad before bed :).
you can actually download a programme called f.lux that automatically downregulates the colour of your screen from the blue to a more subdued colour once the sun has set.You put in your location ( not your actual home address just your area/ country ) and it sets the time for sunset and sunrise where you are.
Thanks for that bit of info :).
I had heard of f.lux once before but never really had a good look into it.
I think I should have a better look into it now :).
Forgot to add to the vote of how I sleep. It is more soundly now whereas years ago it was leaning to more fretful.
I tend to sleep for about 1 to 2 hours at a time, wake up for bathroom break then sleep again, I think the longest I have ever slept for in one go is 3 hours
Hey Doggie123-UK this sounds really hard to me so I wish you well with getting better sleep. 😊
Thank you, but I am used to it now,, if I get over tired I will have a nap in the afternoon
I am usually in bed for 8 hours, but get about 7-7.5 hours of sleep (apparently it's typical to spend 10% of your time in bed awake).
I have a bladder beyond my years too, that doesn't help 
I normally have enough with 6 hours. I get very uncomfortable after that so I have to get up. If I am tired after work, I take a nap.
Hi DebRosa it sounds like you have a sleep pattern that works for you. 😊
it varies: some nights about one third I sleep soundly for six hours, the others are mostly a mixture, soundly for part then fretfully for the remainder, others fretfully at the start then soundly for the remainder, and about once or twice a month I sleep fretfully allnight
interestingly enough the following question was asked on a [Scottish] Panel Show, what do people do in Scotland for five and three-quarters of an hour every day?
and the answer, sleep
it surprised me but that used to be my average too
Hi Wullie2009 apparently the population of Wales sleep the least. And 5.75 hours is not enough for me...😊
I had haven’t slept through the night or four more than 2-3 hours at a time for more than 15 years. I don’t actually remember what a “good nights sleep” feels like!!
Hey I'm so sorry nutzieone and I hope that your sleep habits change for the better.
Jerry. 😊
Sleep fretfully plus insomnia as evidenced here since I’m answering your email at 3.30am 😖
Hey I feel for you as I know how important a good nights sleep is. I find being physically active and avoiding caffeine in the evenings helps me go to bed with a calm mind and a desire to sleep. It's when my mind is over active that sleep is fretful.
Jerry. 😊
I’ve had broken sleep for years but I have recently gone back to work after a long long illness and the stress of the drive plus a new company makes it worse.
Once I am more settled in the work I will try to get more exercise.
Thanks for the tips.
Well good luck to you Catmad10 as it must be hard returning to work after a long illness. And I wish you well with this and good as it must be stressful.
Jerry. 😊
Morning I sleep about 4 hrs but pain wakes me up every night
I recently went on a sleep seminar at work, and learned there is not a one size fits all number of hours needed. It varies from around 5-9 hours with most of the population falling between 6-8 hours, it is whatever time leaves you refreshed and able to manage your day without undue tiredness. For me it is around seven hours with an occasional extra hour.
Toilet visits don’t wreck my sleep, I can drop straight back off again, but hot flushes do disturb it - thanks menopause!
Stress can disturb me as well, I get off to sleep ok but then wake up after a couple of hours and start the mind going round thing.
Ah yes, the random- thoughts thing. I know of that well.
I saw an image on facebook not too long ago that I thought was funny.
It was of a girl trying to go to sleep and her brain says to her "Hey, are you awake?".
The girl says "Yes I am, now shut up".
Then her brain randomly says "Did you know that every C in Pacific ocean is pronounced differently?"
The girl is lying there with her eyes wide open and does not look pleased :).
I usually fall asleep very quickly. But that can last, sometimes as little as 3 hours. Then its sleep, doze, awake, doze, awake, sleep awake. I go to bed tired, wake up exhausted. Often fall asleep during the day.
No of course I don't sleep with sheep, my bed isn't big enough!!! xxx
LOL 😂
I have seasonal Affective disorder so sleep depends on how light it is. In the summer I'm lucky to get 5 hours unless I use an eye mask and I have blackout curtains. In the winter I use a sunset/sunrise alarm or it's hard to wake up and when I do I'm very groggy and constantly fall asleep throughout the day. I also use light therapy in the morning and taking vitamin D3 has definitely helped me this year. The sunset program helps me get to sleep along with meditation to help calm me before bed plus lavender essential oil in my diffuser. I've pretty much programmed my brain to go to sleep to a background of crickets chirping - it's the only sound I found effective. A regular bedtime routine is also very important but sometimes it's just chaotic and I can't get my mind to shut up.
This is fascinating lawli56 and assume your daylight therapy is using a daylight bulb?
Here's a link:
sad.org.uk/buying-a-sad-light/
Jerry 😊
I have a medically approved Lifemax portable blue spectrum led light pod that gives out the correct type of light at therapeutic levels. I usually have it on during breakfast for 30 mins to begin with gradually extending to 1 hour in the darker months then back to 30 minutes as the days get longer by 10 minute increments. I generally use it from late October to April when I begin to notice that I'm finding it harder to wake up and my energy and mood levels drop significantly. This works best for me but everyone is different.
I will also use it for most of the morning on very dark, dull days while I'm on my laptop. I feel a lot more energetic when I do and my mood is better. I don't look directly at it but have It at an angle off to the side and in front where the light can still enter my eyes, between 2 to 3 feet away from me on a side table or desk. It's important that it hits your eyes but shouldn't interfere with what you're doing. Being portable it's easy to take to work if you need to.
With sleeping in the evenings it's important to turn off blue light on your phone or laptop at least 1 hour before bed. You can find the settings for this in the General settings on your laptop or phone and set it to auto and also don't use the light pod in the afternoon or evening or you'll also have trouble getting to sleep as it affects your natural bio-rhythms.
Some people may find just supplementing Vit D or using a light pod is enough to relieve their SAD symptoms. It also affects more women than men and affects more people in latitudes closer to the poles where there is more seasonal variation in light levels.
For me it affects a lot more than just being sleepy in the morning it's like I go into hibernation mode and It seriously affects my mood and anxiety levels so I find it difficult to go out in the evening as well. I would sleep the clock around if I could.
Using the alarm, light pod and taking D3 supplements has really made my SAD so much easier to deal with. My doctor just offered me anti-depressants.
PS: It's also recently become known as Major Depressive Disorder with Seasonal Variation (bit of a mouthful).
Well this is interesting lawli56 so thank you for explaining this as it sounds very challenging for you.
And you're doing everything that you can and are are aware of what and how things affect you, so good for you and I wish you well with this.
Jerry 😊
I can get to sleep easily some nights but I wake at least 3 times every night, no idea why, the bedroom is cool as the window is open 365 days of the year, I’m not too cold sometimes too warm, however it means I haven’t slept the night through for years.
It's natural to wake up a few times a night. Apparently people who say they don't, are actually just forgetting when they do wake up.
People will be awake for 10% of the time they're in bed.
You are right here Cooper as I wake up sometimes and wonder why am I awake and then just fall back to sleep...😴
Sometimes I don't sleep all night , other times I can sleep for 24 hours finding it hard to wake up,always fatigued though.
I shall also point out that I am a sound sleeper and little sounds outside the house could wake me up.
In the past, we did have trouble around where we live with chavs or rowdy vandalising teenagers and that caused a lot of fretful sleep for many in the neighbourhood.
Thankfully this isn't much of a problem now but you still can get the odd crowd that seem to have really loud voices. It sounds like they are shouting to each other.
And lets not forget the neighbourhood dogs that can bark for Britain.
All this noise could keep me awake and I have tried out ear plugs before but found them quite uncomfortable.
Now I use silicon ear plugs and I think these are brilliant and really drown out background noise,
Another thing I shall add is a Himalayan rock salt lamp.
I know there is Information going around saying they are bad news but all of that is a load of rubbish to me.
The salt lamp has a lightbulb inside it and so it gives off a warm but relaxing glow.
Also the salt lamp is good to use in the summer as it acts like a natural humidifier, it can suck the water out of the air around it.
Only thing is though, because it sucks the water out of the air, you can end up with a puddle of water and rock salt and it could ruin the surface of wherever you put the lamp.
I have one on my desk and the wood around it has been ruined. I'm not too bothered by that though, at least it does it's job and sucks the water out of the air. That is the main thing. There's one thing I don't like about the Summer and that is humidity, I can't stand it :).
I've been going through the menopause for the past five years......nuff said? 😑 So I'm repeatedly woken up throughout the night by hot flushes. I also get insomnia and tachycardia quite regularly. Its not much fun.
Hey poor you MTCee as this doesn't sound much fun. The only consolation is it will pass and you are not alone in your suffering.
So good luck with this,
Jerry 😊
Thanks Jerry. You're quite right. All things pass and we adapt in the mean time.
I avoid caffeine completely and take vit b in the mornings. I also make sure I get plenty of outside light during the day, especially in the morning. I have a good nighttime routine. I eat healthily. I couldn't do much more to ensure a good nights rest 😂 but alas......I think I'm going to try some magnesium oil too if it helps with actually getting to sleep. That sounds good. Probably better for me than an alcoholic night cap ☺️
Most times try to have 8hrs except if I’m worried and I might sleep for 5hrs also if I forget and have coffee at 1pm or 2pm
after lunch with my friend in our Bar in our home in the village ,then I think wretched I’m forgetting as I’m older and have to laugh ,ole fool 🙈💕Thanks Gerry will try harder to plan proper leisure time ,after all this a retirement village it’s lovely too
Like a 5star Home!Keep Up the Good Poll /Health Unlocked Team /Forum💕👍
I have very small amount of sleep at all
Really stressful to say the least nothing works I have to sleep. When I am tired.
Colourfull500.
Hey poor you Colourfull600 not being able to sleep sounds really stressful so I feel for you and hope that you find a way to get a good nights sleep.
Jerry 😊
I sometimes have to get up in the night to go to the loo but am asleep again within 30 seconds until the cat asks for his food at about 07.00. We are all early risers, that's my wife, me and the ginger chap who wakes me by purring loudly in my ear.
