[jahona]

How much sleep do you guys average? How much do you always try to get every night?<br><br>
The reason I ask is that I've just been dead tired the last two days, even though I'm not training the amount I feel that I can or want to do. Monday night I biked, yesterday morning I got up early to run (got a bit less than 8 hrs of sleep), didn't bike last night like I planned, got about 7 hrs of sleep, didn't run this morning like I planned, and I'll bike tonight.<br><br>
Am I trying to do too much too soon? Should I plan more than 8 hrs of sleep?

 

[VictorN]

I hate to link to the Active MS forum, but when we were there for that short while I started this thread.<br><br><a href="http://community.active.com/thread/11900?tstart=90" target="_blank">http://community.active.com/thread/11900?tstart=90</a><br><br>
Victor

 

[TriBob]

I try to get 7-7.5 during the week. Hopefully a little more on the weekend.<br><br>
Without knowing your history and recent schedule, it is had to tell if you are doing to much to soon. But, if you are that tired, your body is telling you it needs a break. Take two days off and see how you feel.

 

[Stitcher]

At the height of a semester, when there is a ton of stuff going on at work...I try to be in bed by 8 or 8:30 so that I can chill to some TV before drifting off. I was VERY surprised last semester at how frequently I missed the 9:00 shows coming on.<br><br>
I tended to be up by 4 or 4:30 most mornings, though...cause it's easier for me to get morning workouts in than afternoons.<br><br>
My classes met at night, and that was always a challenge as well.....Class would be out at 8, I'd get home...snarf some food if I remembered, the go to bed.<br>
There were those nights, though, when I wouldn't even get home till 9 or later, then, there was definitely a fast eat/sleep schedule.

 

[Thor]

If you just began or are in the middle of a change in your training volume, you will notice a more than usual fatigue set in. When that happens, snag an hour or two extra sleep, or even 10 minutes, by going to bed earlier or getting up a touch later. Sleep, in my opinion, is among the most important aspects of training at volume.<br><br>
If you've been at the same volume for a longer while and now all of a sudden you are tired, perhaps there were other factors in your life at play -- such as being forced to stand at work all day when you normally sit. If something like this can't be linked and you haven't stepped back to a rest week within the last several weeks, then a rest week is probably the right thing.<br><br>
As for number of hours to sleep per night, I don't think it matters at all what others sleep. You have to find your magic number, and you probably know what it is or can figure it out easily based on, well, the prior two or three years.<br><br>
When I catch up on my sleep and insert an easy day or two, it's amazing how my energy and more importantly motivation bounces back.

 

[LookiLoo]

I try to get 7 hours a night, and sneak a nap in on the weekend with dd (although sadly, she's outgrowing this... <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"> ) Sleep is precious, sleep is sacred.

 

[Tithers]

I get a decent night's sleep...like 7 hours.<br><br>
When I'm overtrained I'd get 3-4 a night. that SUCKED!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Woodrunner]

How you feel can depend on a lot of other factors besides duration of sleep, such as quality of your sleep, if you're feeling sick, if you are stressed, etc.<br><br>
I seem to follow 1.5 hour sleep cycles. I would be a much better athlete if I could hold to 7.5 hours of sleep. After a good sleep I feel incredible. But work, kids, house chores, activities etc. I'm often lucky to get 5-6.

 

[pcsronbo]

I get about 7 when i am in balance. Life, Work, Family, Workouts. Bed at 10, up right at 5.<br><br>
If things are out of whack, so is the sleep<br><br>
if you need sleep let me point out the solution.. sleep. Seriously, sometimes it helps to hear it from someone else.<br><br>
If your volume has increased, so then also may the demands on your body. But it could be other things like work stress, family, love, sex (mostly lack thereof) all can play into it

 

[jahona]

VictorN - Yeah, I thought I remembered another "sleep" thread somewhere else.<br><br>
I just started my official training this past two weeks, mixing in the cycling and running, so yeah, that would explain the extra fatigue. I just feel shot during the day at work. It probably doesn't help that my body is really fighting my goal of becoming a "morning person."<br><br>
I kind of expected that the new load of training created the need for more sleep. The question was asked to confirm that but to also see how much sleep everyone normally gets. I'm still trying to find the balance of sleep, training, work, and normal life.

 

[txdave13]

In bed by 9:30 or 10:00 and back up at 4:15. We'll just call it almost 7.<br><br>
Of course, this is assuming that I don't have to spend time with the kids, calming fears about being beset by "bad puppies" or using the all-repelling "bug spray" (air freshener, but it calms the dd3 right down).

 

[LeftRightRepeat]

10-5 = 7.

 

[pcsronbo]

too much, too soon. you should not feel "shot" at work. The shift from night->day person is not one that will take long - with sufficient hours of sleep<br><br>
consider sleep quality too. caffeine can mess with some, for example

 

[jroden]

Since having children, I have had many, many "disrupted" nights of sleep where the total hours were maybe the same, but the deep part of the sleep was broken once or many times. For whatever reason, I find this leaves me just as tired as if I got 2 hours less of unbroken sleep. I have also found that as I age it harder to "catch up" by sleeping in, once I'm up, I'm up.

 

[pcsronbo]

btw there is no shame in naps. I nap during the peak portion of my training. luckily, I can do that as I just stick it on my schedule, but I find it optimal for being a useful human during the rest of my week at work, with my kids, etc. So I'll schedule several Monday PM naps. That way hard sat/sun and a hard mon am swim, then I'm dead to the world Mon PM. So I go home, sleep 1:15, back to work, then I can still be useful for kids and work monday night. otherwise, i'm not

 

[fox-runr]

about 7. I feel my best when I get 8.5, but I hate being the first to go to bed at night.

 

[BethR]

I usually get about 8 hours, but 9 is perfect for me. I'm much sleepier during the winter. When it's dark, my body says sleep - even if it's only 5pm!

 

[Tri-Tammy]

Wow Beth, I'm just like you. I get up in the dark and go home in the dark- all I want to do is sleep.<br><br>
I can get by on 7-8 hrs of sleep. I do much better with 8-9. And on the weekends, that number looks more like 10 hrs.

 

[mmoonptdeux]

I do well on 7 hours these days. Before I needed 9-10, but I think a lot of that was due to the fact I was severely overweight and probably some apnea problems that never got diagnosed.<br><br>
With that said, I've been functioning on more like 5 hours these days. If I couldn't nap on the commute to & from work, I would probably be like ronbo and be dead to the world.