40 replies to this topic

[Dive_Girl]

I have been working an insane amount of overtime at my office, which is good (is going toward paying for the July NC Wreck trip) and bad because I am dragging bum and SLAP HAPPY (I'm sure none of y'all could tell this by my posts!! )

Now some nights I've actually had up to 8 hours of sleep, but I am still waking up dog tired. Isn't 8 hours enough?? I am drinking all the proper amounts of water, eating well, and taking vitamins during this time - so it's not that.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need more hours of sleep during more intensive brain days? Anyone have the answers here?

Me so sleepy......

[captsteve]

The more physical exercise i get the less sleep i need.....

[ScubaDadMiami]

I hear that elevated partial pressures of oxygen can be most beneficial. More diving is the answer.

[Desert_Diver]

It's not the length of the sleep (so much), it sounds more like the quality of it. Jeez, here I am paraphrasing Lindsay Wagner! I get by on 6:30 to 7 just fine, but I don't take work to bed with me. Also, us 'birthday enhanced' folks need less sleep than younger adults do, by around an hour or so, so you can't use my number as gospel.

The hardest thing for most adults to learn is what kids normally do: let it go. When kids go to sleep, they just blank out. No worries about what was said today, no grief over what's coming tomorrow, they just sleep. A lot of adults will worry endlessly about stuff that went on during the day, and won't put it down. It makes 'em restless and they wake up frequently during the night, destroying the beneficial break. I've been there, and got an ulcer from the stress. If you keep interrupting your sleep, NO number of hours will fix it. You're probably getting the equivalent of 4 to 5 hours per night, right now (scientific wild-assed guess).

*Before* you hit the sack, spend a few minutes going over the day's events. You have to make a concious decision to allow yourself to review them, then let them lie 'till the next day. Only rarely will dragging work to bed with you let you wake up with the solution. So, relax, review, then REST. It'll do you a world of good, and you'll wake up happier. After a lot of practice, you can skip the review step 'cos you won't need it any more; you'll have learned how to sleep like a kid, again.

I'm not the Dali Lama, but it sounds a lot like what I used to do to myself. I worked myself to a frenzy, and after about 6 months it nearly killed me. Researching it years later, it can also cause scarring of the brain tissues, and extreme cases of constant deprived sleep can produce symptoms similar to epilepsy. I had to learn to chill out, AND how to blow steam off before I got better. Eventually, it worked for me.

Taking sleep aids or Benadryl won't help 'cos they can take you down below normal REM sleep, which is nearly as bad as the other extreme. You're supposed to kind of wander back and forth between deep sleep and REM sleep. Also, they're addictive, and they won't solve the problem. They're only intended for VERY occasional use when normal (relaxation) methods fail. For me, a glass of wine works pretty well on the rare nights I can't sleep.

I'm *not* a doctor, so if there's anyone in the field, please correct me!

Finally, if you *can't* get it resolved on your own, talk to your doctor about it. My problems & solutions may have NOTHING to do whith what you're experiencing. Your doc may recommend talking to a therapist, which does NOT suggest you're crazy. It just means you didn't get the 'User's Manual for The Mind' (nobody did), and you need some competent help getting an issue identified and resolved. Psychiatry isn't a hard science, but at least they stopped drilling holes in people's heads to let the demons out.... mostly.

[Blackhawk]

Sleeping is only a very small part of feeling awake. I normally only get 6 hours and I am very rested when I wake up and through out the day.

Things I've noticed that helps with rest...
1. Exercise... This blew me a way at first.... Just training for a total of 7-8 hours a week you gives you an extreme about of energy.
2. Diet, I'm sure WW will back me on this one a good diet is very helpful. My diet is nowhere near "good" all I did was cut out ALL fast food and my energy skyrocketed. Sounds weird but it's true
3. Stress, This is a HUGE one. Stress has very weird physical side effects. (I had one G/F who got so stressed at work she actually broke out with weird bumps all over her body for 6 months)...
4. Lastly Over working. 40 hours is normal for a reason. Lots of studies show working 50+ hours for an extended period of time decreases productivity. Don't quote me but I believe if you work 50 hours for 4 weeks you start doing LESS work every week. It adds up. Any athlete\Martial Artist will tell you balance is one of the most important factors in the 'game'... it's also important in life. If you're work\personal life is not balanced you get stressed... It all goes down hill from there.

[Dive_Girl]

The more physical exercise i get the less sleep i need.....

I'm afraid to ask for ellaboration!

[Dive_Girl]

The hardest thing for most adults to learn is what kids normally do: let it go.

I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought that my 8 hours could be restless. Thank you! I'm going to try working on that starting tonight!

[Dive_Girl]

4. Lastly Over working. 40 hours is normal for a reason. Lots of studies show working 50+ hours for an extended period of time decreases productivity. Don't quote me but I believe if you work 50 hours for 4 weeks you start doing LESS work every week. It adds up. Any athlete\Martial Artist will tell you balance is one of the most important factors in the 'game'... it's also important in life. If you're work\personal life is not balanced you get stressed... It all goes down hill from there.

Well I'm screwed on this one. I work 40-60 hours a week at my day job right now and then I head to the dive shop most evenings and weekends. I've been doing this for 4 years+, working and teaching.

Good grief, I'm scarred for life!

[Scubatooth]

Stan

your advice is pretty accurate, and i follow it (try at least). for me it really depends i can go on little as 6 hours but then there are times i need 10 or more hours a night. The requirement for sleep is due to the chronic condition i have (crohns) in that when im not doing so good that sleep is because im so fatiqued and really need that much sleep (sometime more).

As for stress it does cause problems and i know it as stress is a factor that can kick start more severe symptoms of crohns. I am normally a very driven person who puts others before me, but recently i had to just stop as it was going to cause me to get sick again. so what i did is i took a leave of absence from working at the resturant(which im fortuante i can do because of my support base) and just took some time for myself (alittle more to it but thats the gist).

As a result now six weeks later im starting to feel better and be in a better state of mind and being. Im ready to go back to work (probably in 2-3 weeks) which will help me to pay for some upcoming projects and a vacation (NC trip).

Stan is very correct about sleep there have been times when i had so much running through my head that i couldnt sleep or if i did it was non restorative. i would be able to fall asleep but it wouldnt be till 3-4 in the morning (or later) and would fall asleep from exhustion and would end up needing 8-10hrs, which i couldnt do because i needed to be up and going at 10 am. Normally i would work on adjusting my just trying to unwind earlier(listen to music watch some TV, something to get my mind off the days events) in the night and to lay off the caffine by 2pm (sometimes its not possible) so that i could fall asleep by 10-11 so i could get my 8-10 and be able to get up at a decent time.

now if im really not able to adjust my pattern then i ask the doctor for a temporary RX for some meds so that i can get it adjusted and then work from there, but i only take them long enough to do the job as they are highly addictive,and benadryl doenst have the intended effect on me it actually jacks me up. Then after the basics are done i work on it from there.


This is just from experince and not intended as medical advice. If you feel that you need help, please seek the counsel of a qualified medical provider.

FWIW

Tooth

[Blackhawk]

Well I'm screwed on this one. I work 40-60 hours a week at my day job right now and then I head to the dive shop most evenings and weekends. I've been doing this for 4 years+, working and teaching.

Good grief, I'm scarred for life!

Yes, I understand. I'm VERY pissy about working only 40 hours a week. For the most part I'm GOOD at keeping it that way. More times then I will admit I've had to stay and work because my application was due in a month and it was time to ramp up and get it done so demployment goes according to schedule... I really picked the wrong line of work for 40 hours a week . I've thought of going back to school for pharamcy or something more than once. I enjoy a busy life outside of work. I hate it when work interfers with my hobbies

[Diverbrian]

I haven't worked forty hours in about a year. Normally, I work through 8 to 12 hr. shifts through a couple of weekends and take a weekend or two off. Right now, we just don't have any options at work (this is more equipment than personnel related) and frankly the money is nice. I just talked to the boss today and he told me to expect the same for another year at least. I just made the comment that the cost of taking a couple of weekends in a row off is that I work every day through May 1 to May 18 when I take off for my trip to Dutch Springs.

I have to agree with the comments about overwork. It does interfere with sleep. It makes it harder to let go of the day and get to sleep. The dreams are oftentimes enough to wake you up.

All good advice. Try to relax and you should get better rest. Hopefully, I can take it before driving to NC .

[Dive_Girl]

I haven't worked forty hours in about a year. Normally, I work through 8 to 12 hr. shifts through a couple of weekends and take a weekend or two off.

And you get loopy huh? Oh WAIT! I know you do!!! We are slap happy buddies!

[Doc Crawdad]

You keep feeling tired because as you lose sleep your body builds up a kind of deficit of sleep. As for the 8 hours, that varies by the individual. Their are some that only need 4-5 hours (wish I were one) and some whose bodies need 10-11. 8 hours is just kind of an average. I find that my body works best with about 9 hours. When the overtime rush ends try sleeping an extra hour or two each night (go to bed early) and you should be back to normal in about a week, barring any other conditions. (stress, insomnia etc)

[6Gill]

Maximize your sleep by dreaming of sleep...

[Dive_Girl]

Had work I had to take home last night, BUT I closed the research a tad early, finalized notes for the next day, and told myself I can't do anythgin about work, scuba, or other while I'm sleeping! I woke up 3 minutes before my alarm went off at 5:45am!!