The question came up after a recent post where I hadn't got much more than 3 hours sleep but still got out for an early morning photo shoot. "How do you get by with so little sleep?"
I don't know, and I have no choice. Oh, I did have a bit of a choice on that particular morning when I set the alarm to catch the sunrise, but for the most part, I have to be content with 5 hours of sleep (which I don't always get). I feel a bit lucky when I get 6 hours, and every so often (which is an odd phrase since it doesn't happen often) I might get 7.
It is odd because, historically, I have required a fair amount of sleep to function – something like 8 hours with a little bit extra on weekends.
Sue and I would sleep about the same length of time back in those days. But in our more golden years, she has gone one way while I have gone the other. She now needs something close to 10 hours a night while I exist on the hours mentioned above.
She usually heads to bed around 9 o'clock while I stay up until 10:30 or later – often later, like last night when the hockey game didn't end until almost midnight. Still, I was up not much past 5AM whereas on most mornings, I won't see Sue until after 8.
As I have written recently, I do nap on many days, but it is very short, likely 10 minutes or so. Sue sometimes has a little nap too. She will likely have one today because she was up before 7.
I still don't understand it, and I am certainly not always overjoyed with the situation, but it is what it is.
Some people can function on far less sleep than others, so if it works for you, AC, then all is well. As for myself, my average is 6-7 hours, but some nights closer to 5. Lucky for Sue that she can get so much rest.
ReplyDeleteSince you have "things to do" that are much more interesting than sleep, it's certainly understandable. My friends always say, when I tell them I slept a lot "You must have needed it." But I don't usually have a thing to get up for in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI need eight to nine hours, otherwise I feel terrible. I could never get by on your short sleep. I'm with Sue.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbour is 70, I am 69. Our sleep patterns are a frequent topic of conversation between us, haha. Four hours at a stretch seems to be about average for both of us. oh, yes, we nap. My bedroom window faces east so I wake with the sun. (And the noisy birds)
ReplyDeleteI like to get about 8 hours but am functioning fine on the often interrupted 6 or so that I get with a baby in the house.
ReplyDeleteI have the same issue, AC. A very good night is 7 hours sleep, mostly it's around 5-6. But it's never in one chunk...I wake at least 3-4 times a night, and if I'm lucky I'm back asleep in 15-20 minutes. I put it off to age.
ReplyDeleteI don’t get much more.than 5-6 hours a night. I can nap for an hour or two though.
ReplyDeleteI go to bed too early. I read but I shouldn't be in bed. Aging had made a major change in sleep patterns.
ReplyDeleteI can function on five, but generally pull in eight hours or so.
ReplyDeleteMy dad got by his whole life on five hours a night, and 20 minutes before supper.
ReplyDeleteRight now I am at around 7 hours if I don't have to set the alarm. If I do, then I need at least 8. Mind games, but very real!
ReplyDeleteI hear you. JB is up 3 or 4 times a night. Every night.
ReplyDeleteWe don't worry about it, since we can nap whenever we want to. It takes the pressure off.