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How many hours of sleep a night do you need? - Now with Poll

Discussion in 'Sleep Disturbance' started by Alvin, Mar 3, 2018.

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How many hours a night of sleep do you need to function best on average?

  1. Under 6

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. 6-7

    11.9%
  3. 7-8

    15.3%
  4. 8-9

    40.7%
  5. 9-10

    28.8%
  6. 10-11

    16.9%
  7. 11-12

    1.7%
  8. 12-13

    1.7%
  9. 13+

    1.7%
  10. I nap during the day as well

    27.1%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. TigerLilea

    TigerLilea Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,816
    Location:
    Metro Vancouver, BC - Canada
    PEM doesn't affect the numbers of hours I sleep, however, I do find that when my PEM is at its worst, it takes me much longer to fall asleep at night.
     
  2. Mij

    Mij Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    8,204
    If I do too much during the day, particularly going out (grocery shopping, hair cut etc) I am guaranteed that it will take a long time to fall asleep and I will sleep less (3-4hrs max).

    But when I have PEM I can fall asleep with no problems and sleep quite well.
     
  3. Webdog

    Webdog Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,265
    Location:
    Holodeck #2
    8-9 hours usually. 9-11 hours in a crash.
     
  4. Sbag

    Sbag Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    419
    maybe try the slow release melatonin - they work really well at giving a longer nights sleep
     
    alktipping likes this.
  5. Jan

    Jan Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    498
    I've needed at least 9 hrs sleep since I got ME just to function at all. I do take sleep meds though, without them I wake up after 3-4hrs.

    PEM causes insomnia initially,followed by several days of sleeping for over 10 hrs.

    My sleep is now messed up by thyroid issues and I can now sleep for up to 15 hrs.
     
    alktipping, Hutan, Alvin and 2 others like this.
  6. Louie41

    Louie41 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,308
    Location:
    upper Midwest US
    I sleep 9-11 hours per night. Less than 9 and I'm barely functional. If I don't set an alarm, which is most of the time, I sleep 10-11 hours.

    I used to have terrible "tired but wired" problems (up til 3 or 4 am), but that has come to a screeching halt since I started taking N-acetyl cysteine at the dose recommended on the bottle (Jarrow N-A-C). I've been doing this for about 5 months.

    I can't take melatonin; I get hallucinations.

    Since concluding that I'm in constant PEM, I've started resting in bed most afternoons, usually with an audiobook. I often fall asleep for an hour or so.
     
  7. Alvin

    Alvin Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,309
    It really is. I wondered if we need more sleep then non patients but the consensus is not clear but troubles with sleep seem to be quite common among thread posters (and myself) :banghead: :cry:

    I used to be this way but these days not so much, though when i can sleep more then i need i do still feel stunted mentally though usually i wake up when i have had enough and can't fall asleep again.

    I am surprised that PEM affects some peoeple's sleep patterns but not others, it seems to be an individual thing.

    Indeed, same here :(

    I can't do alarms anymore, the lost sleep and jarring wake up really burns me for that day :banghead:
     
    alktipping and Inara like this.
  8. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    13,142
    Location:
    UK West Midlands
    Interesting @Louie41 i must put NAC on my list of things to try. I have the 3-4 am thing although I am finding 1mg of Melatonin helps most nights and hasn’t given me the problems you’ve had. After a special event when I’ve done more than I should is when I get worst tired but wired it is the start of PEM. So it would be good if NAC could reduce that somewhat.
     
    alktipping and Alvin like this.
  9. Louie41

    Louie41 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,308
    Location:
    upper Midwest US
    You take this 3 times per day, so i don't think you can just take one before bed when you think you need it and expect any results. @NelliePledge It's not like melatonin in that regard, or a sleeping pill.
     
    alktipping, Alvin and NelliePledge like this.
  10. ArtStu

    ArtStu Established Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    51
    Location:
    UK
    I need an average of 12 hours sleep a night. Although I've just spent more or less the whole of last 7 days in bed asleep, 4 days fighting the flu, then another 3 days with the most painful headache ever. Lost half a stone, relieved to have come out the other side and back to just the ME poorly feeling.
     
  11. Alvin

    Alvin Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,309
    Can you tell us more about this, what dose, how often, why you started it, does it help other ME/CFS symptoms?
     
    alktipping and NelliePledge like this.
  12. NelliePledge

    NelliePledge Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    13,142
    Location:
    UK West Midlands
    I’ve had to get up at 7am 3 mornings running to be ready for central heating engineer and other workers coming to sort out problems inmy house. It is so against what my body needs at that time.
    I had to go out yesterday lunchtime for food as I couldn’t use the kitchen. I had been resting on my bed upstairs out of the way after letting them in.

    When I was out Compared to my energy on my normal sleep/rest pattern it was very low. Straight away I was walking a lot slower whereas that usually happens when I’m on my way back to the car.

    It really bears out that I’m doing the right thing with my normal pattern of sleeping til about 9am then resting until late morning. I’ve probably got a couple of hours a night less sleep. It is very rare that I can sleep before midnight.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
    alktipping, Alvin and Jan like this.
  13. adambeyoncelowe

    adambeyoncelowe Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,731
    9-10 hours. I used to sleep closer to 12 hours. But when I use a Fitbit, it actually shows I'm only sleeping for 8-9 of these with frequent stirrings, and if I don't take drugs I don't get any REM or deep sleep (it's all light).
     
  14. Louie41

    Louie41 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    1,308
    Location:
    upper Midwest US
    Sure, @Alvin . For a long time, maybe 15 to 20 years (my onset was 1990), I'd go to bed exhausted, but then would just lie there with my mind buzzing around, unable to sleep. So I'd finally get up, go into my computer, and play Freecell for hours--at least until 3 or 4 a.m. and sometimes until 5:00.

    I'd then usually sleep until 10 a.m. when I'd awaken without an alarm. I was constantly tired and short of sleep. But no matter how tired I was, I couldn't sleep when I went to bed around !0:30 or 11:00 p.m.

    So, at the other place, I searched for info on "tired but wired," and came across this post by Hip: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/ind...d-hyperaroused-brain-state.44269/#post-719669

    In solution #5, Hip mentioned Jarrow N.A.C. I checked with my doctor to see if it was okay for me to take this, and she said okay, so I started. I don't think I've had more than 5 episodes of being unable to sleep since then.

    I take Jarrow N.A.C. (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) at higher than the recommended dose. I take 1 tablet 3 times per day--around 10 a. m., 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. I actually thought I was taking the recommended dose until I checked the label to answer your question, so I'm going to have to follow up on where I got the dosage I'm taking, and maybe modify.

    I also go to sleep with an audiobook, usually set for 30 minutes. That works best if it's something I've already read, so that I'm a little bored by it. I find David Sedaris particularly soporific, and have plans to someday write a book called, "Sleeping with David Sedaris." I expect Hugh won't appreciate it.:laugh:
     
    alktipping, Hutan, Valentijn and 4 others like this.
  15. Alvin

    Alvin Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,309
    Thats incredible!
    I may try it sometime, though i saw this article and became concerned
    https://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/09/05/29493.aspx
     
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  16. MarcNotMark

    MarcNotMark Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    336
    If you are taking the 600mg tablets (the ones I have here) then that's exactly the dose that Shungu did a small study on, maybe that's where you got it from :)

    Presented at the IACFS/ME conference in 2016:
    See page 34:
    http://iacfsme.org/ME-CFS-Primer-Education/News/IACFSME-2016-Program.aspx
     
    alktipping, Hutan, Alvin and 3 others like this.
  17. MeSci

    MeSci Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    4,440
    Location:
    Cornwall, UK
    I think that just demonstrated an ill-effect on lab-bred mice. Extremely preliminary, and far from certain that the same occurs in humans.
     
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  18. Alvin

    Alvin Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,309
    I agree but we have no confirmation of yea or nea.
     
    alktipping likes this.
  19. MeSci

    MeSci Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    4,440
    Location:
    Cornwall, UK
    The vast majority of results in animals do not occur in humans. Believe me, I have studied it extensively.
     
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  20. Alvin

    Alvin Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    3,309
    So we dismiss what we don't want to hear because we can convince ourselves it does not apply based on unrelated associations and non associations
    I take things more cautiously, i don't conveniently dismiss out of hand, i am not claiming this does apply to humans but i am saying i'd like to find out if it does or does not.
     
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