The Myth of the 8 Hour Sleep: larabriden.com/the... - Thyroid UK

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The Myth of the 8 Hour Sleep

greygoose profile image
49 Replies

larabriden.com/the-myth-of-...

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greygoose profile image
greygoose
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49 Replies
rebekah40 profile image
rebekah40

Nice article. Sadly many of us have been governed by societal norms and feel pressured to achieve approx 8 hours sleep in one go, plus, alas, many of us can't afford to have broken sleep. I haven't slept well for years and should really get up and do something, but I just lie there! I have been so conditioned, it's unbelievable! And now I am going to bed :)

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply torebekah40

Well, we were brought up to believe we had to sleep for 8 hours, get up and be at school - or work - on time. We can blame the Industrial Revolution for that!

But they are talking about 'healthy' people, not us hypos. We just have to do the best we can, the best our bodies will allow us to do.

Sleep tight! Sweet dreams.

rebekah40 profile image
rebekah40 in reply togreygoose

Good morning! Yes the Industrial Revolution, I forgot about that!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply torebekah40

How could you forget about the Industrial Revolution?!? Your history teacher would be horrified! lol

rebekah40 profile image
rebekah40 in reply togreygoose

I know, and the worst of it is I am actually studying history!! Shame on me! :)

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply torebekah40

lol

foxglove profile image
foxglove

Hi, had forgotten about the "split" sleep pattern which I very much have. But oh how wonderful to have an 8 hour stint! Any tips?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

Oh, gosh no! Wish I had. My daughter suffers from sleep problems, so I'm always on the look-out for something helpful. But there doesn't seem to be much other than sleeping pills or warm milk and orange-flower water!

I have posted other articles about sleep on here, so maybe one of those will ring a bell for you. But, at the moment, I Don't have anything to add.

Inna profile image
Inna in reply togreygoose

Magnesium 500 mg seems to improve my interrupted sleep.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toInna

Works for some. Does nothing for me, I'm afraid. :)

Inna profile image
Inna in reply togreygoose

It doesn't make a whole lot of difference for me either, but I wake up 2-3 times less, I started walking in the evening before going to bed, maybe this helps, we'll see..

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toInna

If you're waking up multiple times, it might be a good idea to get your adrenals tested.

Inna profile image
Inna in reply togreygoose

It might, but I'm unaware of the 24 hour saliva test in Warszaw, so not really possible for me at the moment.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toInna

Ah, ok, I didn't realise you weren't in the UK. Can you get them done privately in Warszaw?

Inna profile image
Inna in reply togreygoose

Thats the thing, I didnt find any labs that have it...

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toInna

:(

rebekah40 profile image
rebekah40 in reply tofoxglove

I agree...to have 8 hours sleep would be amazing!

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply torebekah40

Indeed - like a gift from the Gods! I think being a "good" sleeper is an unrecognised talent!!!

rebekah40 profile image
rebekah40 in reply tofoxglove

Yes, you are so right!

foxglove profile image
foxglove

Thanks for reply. A rather unusual "cure" was suggested to me recently:-

Half cup orange juice - preferably from freshly squeezes oranges

Half teaspoon cream of tartar

Half teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

Stir to mix, drink

Not tried it yet, if you do let me how you get on!

Maybe the orange flower water will do the trick, must get some!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

Yes, that sounds good! I must suggest that to my daughter. That would calm the adrenals, I think. I Don't know if she has fatigued adrenals, but it's possible.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply togreygoose

I've just suggested this cure to my daughter, and she is willing to try it! Yay!!! Hope it works. I'll keep you informed! :)

Inna profile image
Inna in reply tofoxglove

If I manage to find cream of tartar, I'll give this a try too))

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toInna

You can get it on Amazon! lol :)

Inna profile image
Inna in reply togreygoose

I'll do the local search first))

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply toInna

Hi, available in M&S, baking section, £1.05p for quite a large container! Oddly enough not in health stores, seem to remember it was used in baking scones (many moons ago!!! )

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

M&S? Interesting. Yes, it's used in lots of recipes - or it used to be. I think it's somewhat gone out of fashion. Thank you for letting me know. :)

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply togreygoose

Bought some there yesterday , our local health shop(H&B) didn't even know what it was and it was a middle aged man who was on duty - I'm sure his Mum must have used it!

Still haven't tried the "cure" myself as I would have thought the vitamin C in the oranges would be more likely to keep one awake. maybe works on the homeopathic principle?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

I'm not sure about that amount of vit C keeping one awake. I used to have the habit of eating 3 or 4 clémentines in bed! lol Didn't keep me awake.

How many middle aged men do you know that know about cooking? A lot of them try, but they Don't seem to know much about it, in my opinion. I wouldn't have expected to find it in a health food shop, it isn't exactly a health food of any kind that I know. Much more likely to find it in with the flour and sugar, and other baking thingies. I have to buy it on-line because I live in France and I've never seen it here. Which is strange because : " It comes from tartaric acid, a naturally occurring substance in grapes and some other tart fruits that in the principle acid in winemaking. It helps to help control the pH of fermenting grape juice (wine) and that also acts as a preservative for the wine." You'd think they'd know about that!

bakingbites.com/2008/07/wha...

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply togreygoose

Thanks for your usal common sense and informative reply - strange about C. of T. not being available in a wine making country Oddly I've been having a load of black grapes and kiwi fruit for supper recently (stirred up in ice cream of course) and never thought what vitamin C might be in the mix. Have found my old "orange squeezer" and have all the sleep ingredients to hand so maybe try the "cure" tonight!

Thanks too for info. about Inna, being typically British I assume we all live in U. K....slap my wrists

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

No, exactly, I did too. No slaps needed. lol

Inna profile image
Inna in reply tofoxglove

Sorry, the only M&S I know is Marks&Spencer and they dont have a baking section))

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply toInna

Yes I did mean Marks and Spencer, I purchased some there yesterday from our local store (Wrexham) Maybe it would have been more accurate to have said HOME BAKING produce. - sorry if I misled you. Used to be used a lot in home baked scones etc. but maybe not so popular now I would think most supermarkets also sell Going to Sainsbury's tomorrow if I remember will have a look there

Hope you find!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tofoxglove

Last time I was in Sainsbury's they had it, but that was several years ago. And Inna lives in Warszaw. That was why I suggested Amazon.

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply toInna

Inna , didn't realise you lived in Warsaw (greygoose just told me) so of course you might have to resort to Amazon. All the main supermarkets in UK stock so quite easy to obtain here. Hope you manage to source it!!! Best of luck.

Inna profile image
Inna in reply tofoxglove

thanks)) the difficulty is I've never used it before and never heard of it either)) I think, its quite possible to find it here, I just need to know, what to look for)

foxglove profile image
foxglove in reply toInna

Lots of folks not heard of it! Used to be used a lot when I was young (long time ago - I'm now 75) Sort of off-white powder, sold here in cardboard drums usually but if wanting a large amount in plastic packs. The Marks and Spencer's one has plenty of half teaspoons measures.

Best of luck on your quest. I have all the ingredients and might get around to trying the mix tonight!!!

p.s. I'm not religious but I understand St. Anthony is the guiding saint so maybe a word in his ear? ....if all else fails. Mean this sincerely, know what it is to be seeking something that just doesn't appear to exist (ha-ha)

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toInna

These two links might help :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potas...

tesco.com/groceries/product...

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply tohumanbean

That second link above is a silly one to have used - it would last no time at all. But at least it tells you what it is made of.

amazon.co.uk/Buy-Whole-Food...

^^ Cream of Tartar for MEN! A whole kilogram of it! ;)

Northie profile image
Northie

I couldn't sleep the night through before I became hypo so can't blame this on the condition. If I ever do sleep a night I spend the next day yawning and fending off headaches, lol. So this news is good cos it means I'm normal and every one else ....urrrmmm....ummm....isn't??

Hurrr hurrr.......kidding people, kidding........I'm soooo not normal.... :)

Oh! Did I mean to say that? Prolly not.... :)

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toNorthie

Ahhhhh, you say that, but when did you become hypo? Impossible to put a date on that. But it's long before you get diagnosed because symptoms are slow to develope, you Don't notice them straight away - that could have been one of the first symptoms - and blood levels lag long behind the onset of symtoms. So...

Northie profile image
Northie

Hummmmm....point taken on board but in my case I know this is something from childhood. Perhaps being hypo exacerbated the issue but I have long been a troubled sleeper......and I'm no spy. Hurr hurr....see what I did there? Oh yes, it doesn't take long for my sharp wit...cough.....and humour to raise its head...humph...sleeper? Russian spy? Errr, hummm, I'm getting me coat...... :)

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toNorthie

:(

I have never been a eight hours a night person. I wake a lot, sometimes I get up and have a drink of milk then go back to bed. I agree we are all different and some need more sleep than others. If I have a really bad night I try not to let it bother me, your body has a way of redressing loss of sleep. It is difficult for many as they have so much pain which stops them getting a good nights sleep.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

As a teenager, I could sleep round the clock! But now, I do very well with about 6 hours sleep. Then, some days, I just conk out in the afternoon and get anything from half an hour to four hours, as if I was catching up. Usually works out well.

adflores profile image
adflores

It is good to know that not getting the straight 8 hrs of sleep isn't necessarily bad.. Although, my trouble is with too much sleeping. (Most of the times, if I do not have to wake, I could sleep 8, 9, 10 or even 11 hours straight.) However occasionally, I will have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.. I wonder if I break up the sleep between first and second sleep if that would work for me.. I am tempted to try! Thank you for the post Greygoose!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toadflores

You're welcome, adflores. I thought it might put some people's mnds at rest. :)i

humanbean profile image
humanbean

When I was in my teens I could sleep for 18 hours without waking up. Now, four decades later, I'm lucky if I manage 5 hours. *Sigh*

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tohumanbean

Life really isn't fair, is it! lol

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