10 Reasons Not to Skimp on Sleep

Really?

I'm 13 and get to sleep from 10:30 - 11:30/12:00 and wake up at 6. I do all my homework at school and I come home and relax, but honestly when I get 4-6 hours sleep I feel great! Like that dude, can your body adjust to your habits? I haven't gotten much sleep but I am 230lbs 5'9,6'0 and I run an 8 minute mile.

wOw.

wow i cant believ it. i didnt know that not alot of sleep can make you sorta obese. highschool teachers should definitely read this.! they give TOO much work.!!!

sleep 7-8 hours reply

i have severe sleep disorder, i understand your situation. i tried lunesta, and it is a joke, i was paranoid, i did not sleep and i had the worst taste in my mouth that i could not get rid of for almost two days. i suggest ambien, it has helped me, and of course even medication, like lunesta they say is not addictive is not accurate,in my opinion, iam not a doctor, but a fellow insomniac, i read the pamplets of my prescription and it says it can be addictive, but can be taken for as long as you have the problem. of course i don't like to rely on meds, but its better than no sleep. they have generic now so its very not expensive like it use to be. one thing i do is i go to sleep mostly at the same time every day. i take the ambien before i brush my teeth, and then lay down immediately, in a comfortable bed, and i fall asleep fast, i sleep about 7-9 hours, maybe you can try this. and force yourself to stay awake till the time you can with your schedule. the also have ambien CR now, which is controlled release, for different reason, some people can't fall asleep, or stay asleep and this works too. but i don't like it. i can't sleep because of all my stress, you might also want to try a herbal muscle relaxer, sometimes i take this because i find with my stress, i clench my teeth or my body is stiff, and this helps too. i hope this can help. i can't believe the 600 dollars a month, thats crazy, its because its new and as i previously said doesn't work, and the taste, ugh.............

Sleep

For more then 30 years I have averaged 2.5 hours per night sleeping. At 73 years of age, I remain active, eat reasonably well, drink lots of coffee, drink water about once a month. For some reason, makes no difference on when I go to bed, still wake up about 2 hours later, refreshed and ready to do. Tried just lying in bed longer to get more sleep, but, can't stand lying there when I could be doing something. All the problems mentioned in the article due to lack of sufficient sleep seems like poppycock to me. One would have to assume lack of sleep effects people differently and you can't just lump everyone together.

SLEEP

THE BEST WAY TO GET TO SLEEP QUICKLY AND STAY ASLEEP , IS TO BUY A PILLOW TOP MATRESS- MOST PEOPLE SHOULD SLEEP ON A PLUSH MATRESS - FIRM IS BAD FOR MOST PEOPLE - UNLESS VERY HEAVY - HEAVY DUTY OR FIRM IS TO STIFF - A PERSON SHOULD BE ABLE TO LAY ON THEIR SIDE AND HAVE THEIR SPINE IN ALIGN - TO MANY PEOPLE SKIMP ON BEDDING - A GOOD QUEEN SET WITH GOOD PADDING IN PLUSH SHOULD RUN 800-950 A SET . A THIRD OF OUR LIVES IS SPENT IN BED, BUT 1% IS GIVEN TO THE COST OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN HEALTHY SLEEP AND GOOD HEALTH - IF POSSIBLE ALWAYS BUY BEDDING WITH COTTEN BATTING AS AN ADDITIONAL PADDING LAYER - IT MAY COST MORE BUT IS WORTH IS, AS COTTON ALWAYS WILL REFLEX WHEN DEPRESSED , UNLIKE FOAM WHICH OVER TIME GIVES OUT AND IS HYPO-ALLERGENIC - PS I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH BEDDIND SALES IN ANY WAY TAKE CARE

7 to 8 hours of sleep_ I wish

Since Jr High School, so long ago, its hard to remember, I have taken about 45 minutes to get to sleep after hitting the sack. That 45 minutes 45 years ago, now takes anywhere from 2-4 hours. It does not matter what I do or do not drink. It does not matter what time I lay down to rest. It does not matter how much excercise I complete during the day, 2-4 hours is what it takes me to fall asleep. The bad thing now is that being almost 60 years old, I now get up 3 to 4 times a night to go to the bathroom. I would like it if I could just get 5 or 6 hours of solid sleep, let alone 7-8 hours. I have tried most of the advertised sleep agents, but all except Lunesta acted like speed and got my motor running not disengaged. Lunesta, was great but when I stopped taking it, I didn't sleep for 2 days. It would be great to hear about a non addictive substance that could slow everything down like Lunesta, but without the $600 a month costs.

To put this into perspective...

Before the advent of electricity, people used to get 9-10 hours of sleep per night. Without electric lights and electronics, there was not much reason to stay up late. People went to sleep when it was dark, and woke up when it was light. Very simple.

A completely manic level of stress/workaholism has come to be the norm in the US. People need to slow down and rest a lot more. I know from experience, you can only push it so far before you reap the negative outcome of this kind of life.

Sleep -- interesting research

I'm reading and hearing more about more about sleep.... and what more or less supposedly does or doesn't do for or against our health. Just thought you'd find this interesting. Who knows where it'll all end. First eggs were bad for us, now they're good for us... .but anyway, food for thought.

Love, Paula

The school system need to change. Students should not start class at 7am. They should be geting more sleep. Teenagers need the sleep. Teachers need the sleep. We can all benefit from more sleep. Class should start at 10am and end at 5pm. Or they should start at 9am and break for 2 hours then come back to class again. They can do errands, go home and eat, do stuff with family, get homework help, and then come back to school and leave at 5pm.

We need change! We demand change!

Why skimping on sleep may be unavoidable

As another person commented, a person may lack sleep due to economic neccessity. Two jobs, especially if commuting is involved, leave little time for ANYTHING unrelated to work.

But there is another serious cause. CHRONIC PAIN. Severe pain can rob a person of sleep to varying degrees-unable to fall asleep, unable to stay asleep for more than 2-4 hours, unable to sleep deeply. If someone is stuck w/the sort of Dr. who refuses to diagnose and treat a source of pain before it becomes chronic, or who smugly refuses to prescribe sleeping pills to avoid drug dependency, or refuses to believe that physical, not psychological factors have caused sleepless nights,days and nights can become visits to the first three circles of Dante's hell.

It happened to me. I had intractable migraines, then Bells Palsy and polyneuritis (in my case, the ganglia at the base of the neck was inflamed) simultaneously, THEN developed Trigeminal Neuralgia.Over two years of struggle w/ my HMO and private doctors passed before the correct diagnosis was reached. By then the TN was so severe my only hope was neurosurgery...and it failed.The surgery was so intensive that I had a seven inch incision and such a large area of my skull sawed open that after three years, a deep dent remains in my skull.The TN actually spread. Try sleeping with that level of pain.

IF ANYONE READING THIS IS IN SIMILAR SITUATION, DON"T GIVE UP. BE AS AGRESSIVE AS POSSIBLE, and take a friend/lover/spouse to Dr.'s appointments with you to take notes. When Dr.s miss a diagnosis their colleagues cover up for them and will even purge medical records. BEST OF LUCK.