Night Owls

[David D. Davidson]

I don't know how you guys can handle such little sleep - I find if I dip below 6.5 hours or so, I'll be sick within a week. Fatigue etc aside, the inevitable flu/cold/whatever as my immune system tanks is enough to dissuade me from missing out on my needed hours.

 

[shanez]

I live in my own time zone.

 

[SBC]

As for needed sleep, I find that 7 hours -- either 10 to 5, or 11 to 6 -- is perfect for me.

I'm fine on 3 or 4 hours of sleep a day, for a few days ... but after a few days on that I experience noticeable mental dullness and an emotinal slump.
7 hours a day seems about optimal.

 

[bullet08]

I'm able to get around 5 - 6 hours nowadays. But I don't function any better than when I had 3 - 4 hours. Sleeping is overrated.

 

[VDL_Piper]

If you live in a different time zone or internationally, your posts would show up as the middle of the night. I've sometimes wondered how members in Australia or NZ see the forum. We are used to fast moving threads, maybe the site seems slower when they are on?

We already know what you're going to say before you say it, one of the benefits of living in the future

Oh and I have the winning lotto numbers for the Thursday night draw, 7, 16, _ _ _ _ _ _

 

[krizzose]

I consider myself lucky that I naturally sleep well. On a week night, I get in bed around 9 and read for 45 min or an hour before lights out. My alarm is set for 5:50am. My cats wake me up 2 or 3 times a night, but always gently and I can usually doze off again without much trouble.

I used to have a very stressful job, and my sleep suffered significantly from the anxiety and the impossibility of regular exercise. Ten years of that became more than enough, and I found something else with a better work/life balance.

 

[pipingfool]

I worked in restaurants and bars for many years in my 20s and my body got used to the routine. Even now that I have what is essentially an 8-5 job, I'm still up pretty late. My body just likes being awake at night.

I also like it because my wife and kids are in bed, so if I want to watch something that I know only I will enjoy or if I want to step outside and smoke my pipe and read, I'm not taking away from any family time.

I also enjoy the solitude. Gives me time to shut my brain down before going to bed.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I don't know how you guys can handle such little sleep

My body just won't remain shut down for any longer. Not really a choice. I notice no fatigue and haven't been sick since I was a kid.

 

[renfield]

I've always been essentially nocturnal. My father was as well so there may be some genetic component to the predisposition.

I've also existed on 4 hours of sleep per day all my adult life. No idea if there is any connection to being noturnal.

 

[Buckeyestime]

My typical night is lights off around 10:30, asleep in 5 minutes, and the. Up around 3:00 ish to pee (56 years old so I guess it goes with the territory). Sometimes I get another couple of hours, most times I am up for the day. I operate on 4-6 hours most nights and seem to be ok as I rarely am tired during the day.

During college and work, some of my best work was from midnight to 3:00 am.

 

[litup]

I'm not proud of my sleeping habits. I typically have to force myself to go to bed at 1:00 and then I lay there frustrated that I'm not asleep until 2:00 or later. And then I'm up at 7:30 so I can start drinking a pot of coffee before my work day starts. By evening time, I can barely keep my eyes open and I inevitably doze off for a couple of minutes after dinner . . . and then I wak up completely refreshed and ready to tackle the night. Every once in a while I can break the cycle and go to bed at midnight and feel totally refreshed the next day. But that night I'm usually so awake from the good night's sleep the night before that I can't possibly fall asleep early again.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Not a night owl. I have done factory shift work my entire adult life and have worked all kinds of odd hours. I believe the Almighty made people to sleep when it’s dark and wake up when it’s light.

I can naturally sleep about 9 hours if I’m catching up, and about 8 if I’m holding steady. I stay up too late playing guitar a lot and miss out on some sleep for that regularly.

I’ve noticed that when I get placed on second shift (15:30-00:00), after a few months I’ll start to get depressed.

I like the old bit from Poor Richard’s Almamack:
“Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

 

[sablebrush52]

Over the years I’ve had to adapt to different environments.
In College I functioned quite happily on a few hours of sleep daily. Between classes, making art, working at the jewelry store, and women, there wasn’t much time for sleep, so 2 to 3 hours a night was standard.
When I was a freelance matte painter my sleep schedule adjusted to what felt natural, about 4 AM to 10 AM. I could get more done between midnight and 4 AM than any other time of the day.
Nowadays this production requires another adjustment, so I’m in bed before midnight and up around 7. I never use an alarm. Never needed one. Usually wake up rested, despite the best efforts of my CPAP machine to deny and destroy my sleep. What a racket.
When I retire I’ll see where my schedule settles.

 

[HRPufnstuf]

I flip with the work season. I'm up at 3 am to work by 5am during the golf season asleep by 9 pm usually with a nap around 2 or 3 pm. After the course closes, my internal clock reverses almost completely, I'm frequently awake until 3 am and then sleep until noon, with a nap around 4 or 5 pm. You may all notice the difference in my post times come spring.

 

[HRPufnstuf]

But aren’t you used to it by now?

Light sleepers never get used to it, we just cope.

My sleep disorder is a gift from military service.

 

[Winnipeger]

My sleep disorder is a gift from military service.

I knew there was something wrong with me when even during boot camp, with Reveille at 05:00, I still couldn't get to sleep before 1:30 or 2am, even going to bed at 21:00 or 22:00. I'd just lay there, exhausted and wide awake. In the field I went two weeks with virtually no sleep. I was hallucinating while on nighttime guard duty. I took a nap one day in an icy puddle on the sniper range for about 45 minutes. No one could see me, so I knew I wouldn't get balled out for napping during the day.

Now I only work evenings and that suits me just fine.