Fortysomethings and Sleep Requirements

[Louis]

For all you “fortysomethings” out there, (I’m 43) do you find yourself needing more or less sleep as you get older?

I used to think that 7 hours were plenty (6 when I was in college) but these days 7 are more like the minimum for me. I try, but usually am too busy, to get 8 hours. The result is that often I feel pretty run down in the afternoon and it’s a real mental effort to get myself to exercise, which of course stinks. I have never had any problems getting to sleep, or staying asleep, it's just finding the time to do it. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day…

Thanks for your input.
Louis

[spiderlake]

Not yet 40 but I am finding I need more sleep these days..... that's why I have become a fan of the 28 hour day:

http://www.dbeat.com/28/

[Lost Weekend]

The older I get the less sleep I need. Back in my youth 8- 10 was the norm.

Now in my 40's, 7 hours seems perfect, anything more and I'm actually more tired. I do like a nap on the weekends after a good ride too.

[jerk]

the jerk needs sleep all the time. he would be asleep right now in fact if mrs. jerk weren't watching "without a trace". the jerk would also love to take two naps a day if possible.....hgh is released within a few minutes of falling asleep and with enough of that 'ish you can look like this guy:

[Grant McLean]

the jerk needs sleep all the time. he would be asleep right now in fact if mrs. jerk weren't watching "without a trace". the jerk would also love to take two naps a day if possible.....hgh is released within a few minutes of falling asleep and with enough of that 'ish you can look like this guy:


i'm off to bed !!

-g

[slowgoing]

yawn!

[93legendti]

For all you “fortysomethings” out there, (I’m 43) do you find yourself needing more or less sleep as you get older?

I used to think that 7 hours were plenty (6 when I was in college) but these days 7 are more like the minimum for me. I try, but usually am too busy, to get 8 hours. The result is that often I feel pretty run down in the afternoon and it’s a real mental effort to get myself to exercise, which of course stinks. I have never had any problems getting to sleep, or staying asleep, it's just finding the time to do it. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day…

Thanks for your input.
Louis

Yes. I can go on 5-6, needing 7 hours every 4th day to recover. A 10-15 minute power nap does wonders. Oddly, I find that I need LESS coffee in the a.m. to perk up than a few years ago. Anyway, our 2nd child is due next week, not March 23rd as the Dr. has said for months, so I guess I will find out what 4-5 hours is like! I heard Mitch Albom say he trained his body to only need 4 hrs a night when he was travelling all over the world -- but he is a wierd looking guy, so who knows?

[Ken Robb]

in my 60s I can't sleep more than 6 hours--I'd like to but I wake up for no apparent reason--honest.

[slowgoing]

in my 60s I can't sleep more than 6 hours--I'd like to but I wake up for no apparent reason--honest.

"No apparent reason" - that's what you're calling your wife now?

[manet]

01101101 01111001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01110000 01101111 01110011 01110100

[alancw3]

in my 60s I can't sleep more than 6 hours--I'd like to but I wake up for no apparent reason--honest.

in my mid fifties and like you cannot sleep more than six hours. use to be like eight hours when i was younger so i would think less as we age.

[Ozz]

I am usually happy with 6 - 7 hours, but I really like getting an hour or two nap in the afternoon after a hard ride. (42 yo).

[TimB]

I'm 43, getting less sleep than I need thanks to my two girls. (The three year old gets up early, the 7 month old stays up late.) I usually end up with about 6.5 hours, give or take 30 minutes.

Eight hours would be nice...maybe when they're in college?

[zap]

snipped

Eight hours would be nice...maybe when they're in college?

Why wait. Boarding school. Grade 6, so another 11 years or so you should have all the nap time you need.

[Birddog]

POWER NAP: here's a link.
http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/powernap.htm
Just Google it, this is the first on the list.


Birddog

[vaxn8r]

Don't underestimate quality of sleep. You may be developing sleep dysfunction making you more tired than usual.

My sleep pattern has been dysfunctional for years....

[Ti Designs]

I once thought that I would have plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead. Well, I'm dead now (at least that's what the paperwork says) and I'm still not getting any (sleep that is). Let's see, I get up at 4:30AM for the ride, nap from 11:00 to 11:30ish, work 'til 8:00, go home and do the titanium artist thing until around midnight... That's 4 hours of sleep on a good day. I really can't sleep much more than that, I've tried!

[davids]

I'm 45, and sleep 7-8 hours/night. And in my house, that's not much - I sleep less than either my wife (also 45, and can sleep 9-10 happily) or my daughter (12), and who usually sleeps about 10 hours, but can hit a full 12 on the weekend.

As I get older, I find that I sleep more lightly, though. The better my "sleep hygiene" - a consistent bedtime and wake-up time - the better I sleep.