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How Much Sleep Do You Need? How Much Do You Get?

August 20, 2018 By Jeff 17 Comments

Before we get started with this quickie, here’s a link to the Monday podcast episode. It’s also available at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, etc. And this is the description I wrote for it:

This one is all over the place. We discuss the rarest of occurrences at my house, adventures in passport renewals, revenue enhancement fees, the thing I think about when somebody mentions Canada, how the Brits love to look down their noses at Americans, a grand canyon, the curious history of the Jeffs, and whistle dicks who say “legit” all the time. I hope you enjoy it! Pass the beer nuts.

Yesterday I had to get up at the swarthy ass-crack of dawn and go to work for six or seven hours. I don’t mind the six or seven hours, but the early alarm flat-out kicks my ass. I felt like a zombie the remainder of the day, was fading in and out of consciousness while Toney and I were watching TV, and couldn’t fall immediately to sleep when I finally surrendered to the platform. It was like some kind of unfunny cosmic joke.

And today… I still feel weird and out o’ sorts. In fact, it might take until Wednesday for me to feel completely normal again. I blame some of that on my age — I used to be able to bounce back from shit like that. In fact, during a previous lifetime, I had a job where I rotated a week on day shift, a week on the evening shift, and a week on overnights. With a few days off in between. And I was fine. I don’t remember having any troubles with that schedule. I think it might kill me in 2018. Is that melodramatic? I believe it’s true.

I’ve become a delicate flower when it comes to sleep. I need at least seven hours per night, or I struggle the next day and am full-on miserable. That certainly wasn’t the case earlier in my life. How much sleep do you require? Do you generally get it? Tell us about it in the comments, won’t you?

Also, have you ever worked a schedule that you never really adapted to? I used to work overnight at a grocery store in North Carolina and was exhausted 100% of the time. But it wasn’t because of the hours, it was because it was physical labor and I was often there for 12 hours at a time. That was no good. But I don’t blame it on the shift, really. It was the shittiness of the job itself. Man, that was the worst…

What do you have on this? Have you ever known anyone who could get by on four hours, or whatever? Do you think that’s true, over a long period of time? I’m skeptical. Please use the comments to bring us up to date on your sleep situation.

And I need to call it a day here.

Have a great one, my friends!

Now playing in the bunker
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nads says

    August 20, 2018 at 2:04 pm

    First?

    Reply
    • Alice in WV says

      August 20, 2018 at 2:31 pm

      yep

      Reply
  2. Lew in Bama says

    August 20, 2018 at 2:42 pm

    I need 8, and before kids had no problem getting that, sometimes more. Even after I had my first baby, he slept through the night at 14 weeks, I regularly got 8 hours. Now that I’m pregnant and getting comfortable is becoming increasingly more difficult, I would gladly take 7, but regularly get about 6 right now.
    I know this because my fancy Fitbit watch tells me how much sleep I get. We are in bed by 9:30, alarm goes off at 5:30, but getting up every hour or so to pee or change position because there is a small human poking me in the ribs from the inside makes it difficult. And for some reason, my husband has taken up snoring since I’ve been pregnant, as if I don’t have enough keeping me from sleeping right now.
    I know people who thrive on 5-6 hours, and can get by on even less than that. If I’m going to get less than 6, its not worth it. There’s not enough coffee on the planet to make me a tolerable human being on less than 6 hours sleep, never mind being even remotely pleasant.

    Reply
  3. Kenju says

    August 20, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    As long as I get seven straight hours ( uninterrupted) , I’m fine. Unfortunately, my cat thinks she needs to be fed by 7 am and I am on a 2 am to 9 am schedule.

    Reply
  4. AngryWhiteGuy says

    August 20, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    I sleep about 4 hours a night. 7 days a week. Over time I have adjusted to this and on my one day off, my body just wakes up with no alarm clock. My daughter just started high school and spends Sunday evening with me at my apartment. I have to take her to school by seven on Monday, my only day off. It’s a half hour drive, but still no problem. I stay up until 2 on Sunday night, but am wide awake by 6. She is the same way. Requires very little sleep and is still functional. Sleep is overrated.

    Reply
    • Wisey in Ttown says

      August 21, 2018 at 1:53 pm

      No wonder you’re angry

      Reply
  5. Ognir says

    August 20, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    Jeff –

    Do you still listen to Phil Hendrie?

    Reply
  6. Joe T says

    August 20, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    If I get 7+ hours anymore, I’m doing good. On average about 6.5 a night.

    I’ve worked every shift imaginable and have always adapted to the hours.

    Reply
  7. Mookie325 says

    August 20, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    I get about 6 to 6 1/2 plus 1/2 hour of snooze alarm time (does that count?). When I was in my 20s I would exist on 4-5 hours a night with no problem. I really need to get close to 7 now to feel good, and I’ll gladly take 8 on the weekend.

    Reply
  8. The Qweezy Mark says

    August 20, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    I need 7-8 hours and usually get it, or darned close. Even 9 hours on the weekend, but that’s just passing out. Maybe one or two days a week are short and leave me a little wasted, but I tolerate it a lot better than I used to. This is the case for the last 2 years or so.

    I’ve had issues with poor sleep for many years in the past. At one time it was extreme. Thank God those days are well behind me. Most of the improvement is due to the fact that I simply don’t give the shit I used to. Oh, all terrible things are certainly still possible but nothing has really hurt me yet and if there is a disaster, I’ll just do what I have to do to fix it just like I always have.

    Reply
  9. chill says

    August 20, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    I’m not sure what I need, but I usually get less than that. It’s rare that I get 8 hours, and usually it’s less than 7. It never seems like enough.

    The work hours that agreed with me best were the 4pm to 12 midnight shift, which I worked when I was in my mid-20s. I’d get up at noon, run any errands (because everything is open then) and get to work by 4:00pm. After work I would go visit my derelict friends. We’d talk, get wasted and listen to music; the evening is not finished until the album, the beer and the cigarette are all done at the same time. This business model fails if your social life can’t be conducted in the wee hours.

    Reply
  10. Phil Jett says

    August 21, 2018 at 7:20 am

    Worked the dupont 12 hr rotating shift for the last 24 years. 4 nights, 3 off, 3 days, 2 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days, 3 off then 4- 8 hr days and a week off then repeat. Take my vacation on my 8 hr days which gives me 2 weeks off after the 12 hr shifts pretty much from May through December. Almost always get 7 plus hours sleep on both days and nights except when I get up early after a night run so I don’t waste that day.

    The 12 years before that I spent most of my time on submarines and slept whenever I had 15 minutes available.

    Reply
  11. Jerry in WV says

    August 21, 2018 at 12:06 pm

    6 to 7 hours max. I need to get out of bed as soon as I wake up or I start getting all anxious. In bed around 11, up between 5:30 and 6. Back in my younger military days, I worked at all hours so I got used to grabbing a few hours when I could. Probably screwed up my sleep schedule for life.

    Reply
  12. Wisey in Ttown says

    August 21, 2018 at 1:59 pm

    I used to think I was getting 7-8 hours of sleep but was still always tired. After getting checked out, I found out I really wasn’t sleeping much at all. I was waking up almost 40 times an hour. Thank God for my CPAP. I now get about 7 hours of good REM sleep a night. Seriously, I thought I had a Low T issue or something worse. I got the CPAP and felt great in the morning and actually got to ditch my high blood pressure medicine to boot. It was a life saver for sure.

    Reply
  13. AngryWhiteGuy says

    August 21, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    No, not really. I have adapted to little sleep for over 35 years. All the events that have torn me down have made me angry. Unusual amount of personal destruction has made me cynical, enraged, and of course….angry.if I could sit for a drink or two with you, after a two hour diatribe, you would completely understand.

    Reply
  14. Westersteve says

    August 22, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    After 25 years of a 7 on/7 off 12 hour night shift job my sleep schedule is totally messed up. 5-6 hours usually is fine for me and about once every 2 months I have a day where all I do is sleep.

    Reply
  15. matt k says

    August 23, 2018 at 8:15 am

    need? 8 to 10. what do i get…5ish. shiftwork and children being born has absolutely screwed my ability to sleep altogether. I used to sleep like, 12…mind you i was in university and i used to drink like a fucking pirate.

    Reply

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