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Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

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Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#41
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why it is, that some people can take a nap and feel refreshed. If I do it, I wake up WAY more tired than before going to sleep and will be groggy for a while. I am guessing it must have something to do with how fast you can fall asleep and enter deep sleep.

The nap should be short, e.g. 30 min max.

is that after falling asleep or including that time?

Im asking because I cant fall asleep in 30minutes

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#42
post #4

It is important that people realize sleep cycles do exist, but this seems a bit strawman-ish. If someone says "you need about 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep" I would rather take that as meaning things like "don't get up after just 5 hours" and "don't get up and check ebay auctions in the middle of the night even if it just takes 10 minutes", not "don't panic if you naturally wake up at 4am". ----- Btw, on > Historica…

>If someone says "you need about 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep" I would rather take that as meaning things like "don't get up after just 5 hours" and "don't get up and check ebay auctions in the middle of the night even if it just takes 10 minutes", not "don't panic if you naturally wake up at 4am".

If you're tired when you "naturally wake up", then do panic.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#43

My digestion won't support 8 hours of uninterrupted anything. I'm up 2-3 times every night, as though I had a young child, but I'm single. Some nights, I'll be up for an hour or more, then return to bed for "second sleep".

Check your eating habits (e.g. lots of difficult to process food, late), and consult a doctor.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#44
post #21
post #9

The amount of sleep also depends on age, obviously.

Well, kids need more, obviously. But old people do not really less than young adults, according to "Why we sleep".

>Well, kids need more, obviously.

Not really obvious. Babies and toddlers maybe, but kids after 5-6 seem to have much more energy.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#45
post #33

Having become a dad for the first time 14 months ago had quite the impact on the amount of uninterrupted sleep I have been getting since. I consider 4 hours in one stretch a good night. Averages are closer to 3 hours. My son simply is not a good sleeper. Even though my son brings a lot of fun to mine and my partner's life, I have not felt well-rested since his birth, and feel impacted both mentally and fysically due…

Fear not! :-) I found that my lifestyle changed every six months or so when I had young children. So, baby waking four times a night? Just hang in there for six months, it will probably change. Good luck and enjoy!

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#46
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has to be France

Nobody sleeps at the office in France, and his colleagues would find it very weird (weird but appealing, probably). Few people nap after lunch even at home, even in the south it's not a common practice anymore. It's a also quite uncommon these days to have your own office. Seems to me like it's more likely to be Spain.

I worked for a French Bank once. They slept openly in an atrium in the office. Eventually a sign went up forbidding it.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#47
post #33

Having become a dad for the first time 14 months ago had quite the impact on the amount of uninterrupted sleep I have been getting since. I consider 4 hours in one stretch a good night. Averages are closer to 3 hours. My son simply is not a good sleeper. Even though my son brings a lot of fun to mine and my partner's life, I have not felt well-rested since his birth, and feel impacted both mentally and fysically due…

I'm in the same boat. 3 years on and it's still extremely rare for my son not to wake up multiple times through the night and have to spend at least 20 mins (up to an hour or sometimes even up to 2 hours) getting him back to sleep. We've just had our second child and our daughter at 2.5 months old is also not a great sleeper during the night, but she will sleep through anything during the day. Combine that with both the kids staggering their sleep/wake schedules (as if they're colluding!) and I'm lucky to get a 3 hour stretch of sleep. Since I've been back at work after paternity leave I've regularly caught myself falling asleep at my desk at work and need to go and take a nap in my car at lunch time just so I can function.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#48
post #7

I work in Academia. I sleep after lunch every day. I have lunch in 30 minutes and then I sleep 20 minutes. I have an sleeping mat and a pillow in my office and I sleep on the floor. It really boosts my afternoon productivity, specially now that I have a baby and wake up several times during the night. During the weekends I sleep a little longer. I've been doing this for many years and I struggle a little bit when in…

I wonder why it is, that some people can take a nap and feel refreshed. If I do it, I wake up WAY more tired than before going to sleep and will be groggy for a while. I am guessing it must have something to do with how fast you can fall asleep and enter deep sleep.

I can wake up refreshed or more tired depending on how long I napped for. If I decide to take a 45min nap, I usually can't get myself to wake up before 90mins, and if I have to, I'm super tired like you said. A refreshing short nap that works, is 20 min max, I usually set the timer at 18mins.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#49
post #7

I work in Academia. I sleep after lunch every day. I have lunch in 30 minutes and then I sleep 20 minutes. I have an sleeping mat and a pillow in my office and I sleep on the floor. It really boosts my afternoon productivity, specially now that I have a baby and wake up several times during the night. During the weekends I sleep a little longer. I've been doing this for many years and I struggle a little bit when in…

I wonder why it is, that some people can take a nap and feel refreshed. If I do it, I wake up WAY more tired than before going to sleep and will be groggy for a while. I am guessing it must have something to do with how fast you can fall asleep and enter deep sleep.

A couple things to know:

The brain cycles through the various stages of sleep, on average 90 minutes long (it varies from person to person, could be closer to 75 or 105 minutes).

If you wake up in the middle of the cycle, when you're in DEEP sleep, you'll feel very tired and be tired for a long time after.

I find with a long nap past 30 minutes, it's just more common for people to end up waking up in the middle of their sleep cycle. NASA did a sleep study that found out that 24-25 minutes of actual sleep was the sweet spot for taking a nap.

So basically you could set an alarm for your estimated time to fall asleep + 25 minutes.

Or you could do a "coffee nap", you drink a cup of coffee and then immediately go to sleep. It takes about 30 minutes for the caffeine to hit your bloodstream. That way you'll wake up naturally.

Re: Do we really need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?

#50
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The nap should be short, e.g. 30 min max.

is that after falling asleep or including that time? Im asking because I cant fall asleep in 30minutes

Generally 25 minutes of actual sleep.

If it takes you longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep, you might need to look at cutting caffeine or other stimulants out of your diet completely. Exercise will also help.

Usually helps if you're feeling a strong sleep inertia signal (i.e. desire to sleep) compared to just feeling fatigued.

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