How Much Sleep?

I know how much sleep I am supposed to get, and how much sleep I would like to have but I am curious to know how much sleep everybody REALLY gets.

I’m usually up at about 5:30 and would love to get at least 8 hours. Of course, it’s more like 6 average. It’s hard to shut down and fall asleep so early in the evening. Even when my body is fatigued from daily workouts my mind tends to go overactive right as I hit the pillow.

I use GABA and ZMA to help make the most of the hours I can sleep. They’re both cheap and have hormonal benefits as a by-product of deeper sleep. The enhanced dreaming is cool too.

Anyone have recommendations for quieting the mind? Besides a brick to the head?

[quote]helga wrote:
I know how much sleep I am supposed to get, and how much sleep I would like to have but I am curious to know how much sleep everybody REALLY gets.[/quote]

I went all of the way through school getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night or less (about 3 hours if an exam was the next day). I also trained about six days a week as a “release” for studying. I made very good gains in that time period. I personally believe that where one factor of your training success is lacking, another can be amplified to take its place. My workouts were short (around 35min) and intense. My food intake during that time was in no way restrictive aside from brief periods of attempting to lean up a little. I am sure if my food intake had been overly restrictive, my recovery would have been compromised.

I currently get more sleep than I have ever gotten in the last 10 years or so. I don’t expect that to be the norm because I have never been one that felt the need for more sleep. I am hyperactive in terms of things running through my head constantly which often makes even getting to sleep initially a problem.

8-12 hours for me, being a freelance designer I pretty much do what I want, when I want.

Sunday through Thursday nights I average between 6 - 7 hours a night. If I start feeling like it’s catching up to me, then I try to crash earlier than normal (usually on a Tuesday or Thursday because those are the 2 weeknights I don’t lift on). Last night, for instance I went to bed at 8 instead of the usual 10 or 11.

Or I’ll take an extra hour off for lunch during the week if I’m feeling tired on a day that I do lift and get a nap mid-day.

On Friday and Saturday nights I get a solid 10 - 12 hours. I turn my alarm clock off on Sat / Sun and sleep until I wake up on my own which is almost always right around 12 hours.

I used to get between 5-7 hours of sleep a night. I now take valeria root and I get around 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night.

BTW, I never changed the amount of time I had for potential sleeping, I just had a problem falling asleep.

typically a good 7 or 8 hours.

I get anywhere from 8-12 hours on a day off and 5-8 when I’m working. I make up for lost sleep on days off.

Unfortunately, 4-6 hours on work nights. My body tries to make up for it on days off (10-11 hours).

[quote]Kruiser wrote:

Anyone have recommendations for quieting the mind? Besides a brick to the head?[/quote]

Someone else posted about taking Valeria Root. I have started taking the same thing (branded Valerian in Australia).

It has only been for a couple of nights so I can’t really tell for sure if it is having a significant impact at all yet but things certainly feel a lot better when i do try and sleep. I usually take it about half an hour to an hour before I will be sleeping.

[quote]Kruiser wrote:

Anyone have recommendations for quieting the mind? Besides a brick to the head?[/quote]

Xanax. (thanks Doc)Doesn’t matter what’s going on, panic attack, stressed out, being bitched at, you’ll go right to sleep and stay that way for at least six hours. It’s GOOD sleep.