Sleep late , wake up early ?

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Does anyone have nocturnal awakenings in the middle of the night or require less sleep than others do ?
I sleep for about 5 & half hours daily ; go to bed at about 11:30 & wake up at 5 or 5:30.
On some days I wake up at around 2 o clock in the night for apparently no reason. And on some nights I would lay in bed for hours without sleeping a wink.
I also dont like napping , something other people love to do. Why waste 2 precious hours of your life laying nearly brain-dead when you could go outside & be productive? we already spend 1/3rd of our lives dont we?
I dont like sleeping in general.

I do that too, but I thought napping was like twenty minutes or so! I don't do it though, I see no reason and I don't feel tired

Usually I stay up till at least 12am at the earliest and wake around 6, 7 or 8 or earlier, last night I did not sleep....got a couple hours of after 6 this morning sleep maybe but it was off and on and now it is 10am. Starting to wonder why people don't just become nocturnal in the summer when it gets hot out during the day....would cut down on the overheating.

Last edited by Sweetleaf on 02 Aug 2014, 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

I sleep on average about 6 hrs a night. Usually 11:30PM to 5:30AM. Sometimes, I have a "freak" 4hr night, and once in a great while I will sleep 9 hrs.

Sometimes I take naps.

I rarely fall asleep till twelve and sometimes it takes ages to fall asleep but once I'm asleep I'm asleep and could sleep forever. I hate getting up early. I slept for nearly twelve hours today. I usually average 9 if I don't have to get up for anything. But even if I only sleep 4 hours it's not an issue.

I have nocturnal awakenings all the time. And regardless of how early or late I go to bed, I almost always end up sleeping all day and being up all night. People tell me "go to bed early!" but they don't understand how my sleep patterns work, despite the number of times I've tried drilling this into their heads. The only time I can sleep somewhat normally is if I've been awake for a prolonged period of time, and if I avoid going to sleep when I'm tired. I need to be tired to sleep. People don't understand this, I can't simply make myself "go to sleep" unless I'm tired.

I haven't been sleeping nearly enough. I tend to get about 5h/night. I really should aim for 7-8.

The thing about sleep is that science has recently proven why we need to do it.. and it's important - for brain function. Basically, when you sleep, little garbage truck cells drive around your brain and pick up waste material expelled by cells. When you're sleep deprived, these toxins build up and slow/interfere with brain functions.

Sleep used to seem like a waste of time.. but now that we know it's required for optimal health, brain functions, and healing etc and so forth it seems more and more valuable vs. the old mantra of "F it, I can sleep when I'm dead!"

Personally, I'm going to try to get more sleep on a regular basis. It's a bit difficult during the Summer when it's too hot at night to fall asleep early and I still have to be up early in the morning.. but I'm going to try.

No to both, except when jet-lagged will wake up in the night until the hormone system readjusts.

I generally need 10 hours, usually get 5-6 because I have a tendency toward nyctophilia. Different people need different amounts of sleep, so if you're running along ok with the amount you get, there's generally no reason to be concerned about how it differs from others. But, you might be cautious about thinking it is just a waste of time, and also look into studies done to research the effects on people getting similar amounts of sleep you do.

Our culture does view anything not visibly active as non-productive, but sleep is actually a very productive state, just in another way. Some research indicates that restorative processes take place at certain times at night, and if you're not asleep, the restoration doesn't happen. It may take years to feel the effects, and the build-up can be imperceptible and gradual.

A friend of mine almost wrecked her body from exhaustion because she thought sleep was not accomplishing anything. Then in a crashed-out, depleted state she finally read studies about what sleep actually does. Lack of sleep can increase mortality:

(from: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/ex ... oss?page=3)

Taken on another level, there's a mystic perspective, and some feel that sleep is a time to be able to connect with a higher place, or divinity, or whatever is out beyond our conscious ability to comprehend. Some would find that meaningful time spent. Maybe not a concern for others, and maybe it happens whether we desire it or not. Who knows.

As to waking in the middle of the night, you might research hormonal imbalances:


(from: http://www.drnishantrao.com/)

Or something else: http://www.emaxhealth.com/46/882.html

If it isn't any of those, there are approaches in modalities like Chinese Medicine to help track down what the cause might be.

Honestly, I feel like a vampire because I want to sleep during the day, and be awake at night. I think it's mainly because people are generally awake during the day, and I don't like being around other people much, or all the noise they make.

Sleep, of course, is important, but I'm not sure science is right that 7-8hrs is optimal. At least not for everyone. I think that everyone has a different capacity of sleep need. I have been sleeping an average of 6hrs a night since at least the age of 13, if not younger. That's 25 yrs and counting... I don't use an alarm clock, so it's not an "artificial" amount of sleep.

When I am sleeping, though, I am "dead to the world." I am not a light sleeper by any means, and I wonder if this is what makes up for the fewer hours I sleep.

I'm the same way. If i'm not tired, I can't sleep.

Does anyone here know why and what can be done to rectify that?

Do you do anything that would interfere with your body feeling tired? Too much caffeine or TV/video games at night, or music that is too energetic? Too much stimulation could mask tiredness, which could then interfere with normal sleep patterns.

Some things can help our bodies relax. Chamomile tea and warm milk are known relaxants. Reading in low light also helps. Slight vibrations. I don't know what you can do in the house, but I *always* fall asleep in the car when I am not driving because the vibration is so soothing. Do you live with someone who could give a back rub? Or, how about putting something on that adds a little pressure to your body. Sometimes, I wear my bathrobe even when I am not cold because I like the fact that it feels sort of like a hug. I also can't sleep if the covers don't "push down" enough. Could it also be that your mattress is not good?

When my son was born, he had to spend some time in the neonatal intensive care unit. That place is crazy! Constant beeping and bright lights. It is an overstimulation nightmare. With all that overstimulation, his body could not relax. When we brought him home, he would not sleep. Normally, newborns sleep about 16 hours a day. The first day he was home, he slept for 15 minutes in a 12 hour period. We had to train his body to relax in order for him to get to sleep.

The reason I say this is because it is possible that your body is feeling such stress or overstimulation that you can't relax enough to feel tired and go to sleep. I would do things to "train" your body to wind down. It might take some time. One night of deep breathing and reading a book is not going to fix an underlying problem.

What you say is very true.

It is not being able to quiten my mind down that plays a big part in not being able to sleep. My mind thinks deep and intense thoughts whenever and wherever it feels like it. I have tried hard but am not able to control and regulate my thought process. I have taken almost every sleep aid there is but to no avail. I have tried relaxation techniques but they didn't help. I am lactose intolerant and have a ton of allergies which makes my diet difficult to say the least. I also live alone which makes it harder.

Am pretty much at my wit's end about this.

I'm now in the habit of going to bed late - around 2am.
I get up around 7 for work but sleep-in on weekends.

A big part of why I go to bed late is to have some "me" time without people and tv and other distractions.
It's oddly funny that I only get to recharge right before bed.

Wow. Some of you guys sleep a lot!
I never needed a lot of sleep ever since I remember. Even on the most tired nights I don't need more than 8 hours.
I remember recently going to a party which ended at 11:30 & I had so much sugar content that I did not feel like sleeping at all. I stayed awake the whole night & throughout the day functioning without any difficulty whatsoever. I slept at about 11 the next day. So that makes about 42 hours without sleep.
I'm not concerned about it in any ways but surely this cannot be normal.

I find my mind races if I try to actually lay down and sleep when I'm not tired, and that's even when I turn off the lights turn off the computer, etc. I find that I actually get to sleep better when I do something that helps me unwind, like playing Tetris or watching a movie. People recommend against this, but they don't understand how I work.

I used to take melatonin every night when I worked so I could be awake in the morning, but eventually I quit because my tolerance went up a bit too much, and the low doses were doing nothing, while high doses put me to sleep for weird amounts of time, sometimes 3 hours, sometimes 12. It became too unpredictable, and I found myself hammering down energy drinks at work to stay awake, but they just made me anxious and irritable. I eventually quit my job, and honestly I would not be regretting it right now if I weren't hurting for cash.