[quote]skimmy_jimmy wrote:
i take a 3 mg dose of melatonin and am generally out in about 15-20 minutes. i can get 9-10 hours of sleep and still be dead ass tired when i wake up and be a bit sluggish through the day, im not quite sure if its because im not getting good quality sleep or what. i dont usually wake up in the middle of the night, maybe every other night to piss.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s the thing, if you sleep more, but are tired and sluggish, is it worth it? I’d rather get my 7 and feel great the next day.
Not optimal by any means, but when it starts to take its toll on me (usually every 6-8 weeks), I just take a few days off work and eat and sleep my ass off.
Although I have found, regardless of my work schedule or how much sleep I got the night before, I still need a nap everyday. I’m just exhausted by the afternoon and need to recharge.
I know I got good sleep when I wake up and have to take a leak, bad. That means I slept right through all the interuptions. That’s maybe a couple time a week, if that. I usually get 6-7 hrs during the week.
I find drinking disrupts my sleep, so I try to limit that as well. I am an odd ball in the fact that I sleep with a fan on all year round. The combination of sound and air flow in the room is soothing. KONG
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
I’ve always gotten between 6-7.5, and wake up a few times in the night. I do occaisionally get a solid 9, and I feel great afterwards. But it’s not something I can control so I don’t worry about it.
I can control what time I go to be though, so I aim for 9 hours before I have to get up. Even if I’m just lying there awake, I’m comfortable and relaxed, and that’s got to be good for recovery.[/quote]
Pretty identical to my routine. Some Saturday’s if I got nothing going on I will linger in bed and fall back asleep and get a little more then usual. At least six and half to seven hours for me a night and I feel good and energized the next day. On the Flameout sleep, I take right before bed and I fall asleep smoothly has no effect on keeping me up. Remember everyones different in that respect.
I too have a funny work schedule which means my sleep schedule is weird. I guess I miss one night’s sleep once a week. Not the healthiest but it works for me.
Saturday- stay up all night long working.
Sunday- nap in the morning, work all night.
Monday- nap in the morning, work all night.
Tuesday- nap in the morning, wake up in the early afternoon, do chores, light training or whatever. Sleep Tuesday night.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- normal sleep-wake schedule with the rest of the world.
I usually sleep very well. typcially if i have trouble sleeping it is because of supplements. Energy and Fat Burning pills taken in the mid afternoon or later always give me trouble.
The high doses of caffeine seem to stay with me late in to the evening.
If i have a test or big day ahead of me, sometimes i’ll take a prescription ambien just to be sure i’ll get a good night’s rest.
It works much better than OTC stuff and is definately not just a placebo effect. The one OTC supp i felt did work before i got my doc to give me ambien was melatonin though it made me groggy the next day.
[quote]JD430 wrote:
There are a number of supplements that are supposed to improve the quality of sleep.
The best known is melatonin, but i think most people take too much of it. Start with a 1 mg dose and go up to 2, maybe 3 at most. Also, I have found the sublingual to be more effective as opposed to capsules.
Valerian root is another that is often quoted as promoting calming and sleep. Never did anything for me. My understanding is that it needs to build up in your system, so it must be taken for a few weeks for that to happen.
Supplements that promote calming and improved mode like Sam-e, Gaba and 5-HTP are all supposed to help with sleep. I dont have much experience with them, but they didnt do anything.
From my experience(both personal and buddies who keep the same brutal work schedule as me), sleep problems are almost always either lifestyle issues or psychologically based. Trust me when I tell you that you can get into a bad rut about not sleeping and worry like hell about it.
This of course will make your sleep problems much worse. The good news is everyone comes out of this after they realize they are doing it to themselves.
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Thanks for the review, I’ll definitely look into that relaxation thing as I am indeed stressed out lately. If nothing happens, then melatonin it’ll be.