How Do You Sleep?

[Rob McCow]

This could almost be the most snoozeworthy questionaire anyone has ever come up with but - Tell us about your trips to Nappington Snoozleford!

Answer any / all / none of the questions below!

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
Can you sleep during the day?
What gets you up in the morning?
Do you sleep in at weekends?
What hours do you normally keep?
Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?
How often can you remember your dreams?
Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?
Does it get more difficult as you get older?

[Si Hunt]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

About medium, I'd say. Once I wake up, I cannot get back to sleep for anything! But I can sleep at night even if someone shines a light in my face, as in fact often happens!

Can you sleep during the day?

Not easily, only when I'm ill or extremely tired from the night before.

What gets you up in the morning?

Once I wake up my mind immediately finds something - anything - that I could be doing and I just have to leap out of bed and do it! Usually stuff on the computer. There is always something exciting to download, edit, create or make.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

Only relatively speaking. 6am on a weekday turns into 8am at the weekend. It takes a lot to see me in bed past 9am.

What hours do you normally keep?

12am - 6am in the week, that's fairly rigid although can go half an hour either way. At weekends it's more like 1am to 7am if I'm in. If i'm out and about then anything goes!

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

What great questions! Yes, I fix up a glass of water then roughly get stuff ready for the next morning. I make sure the lounge is fairly tidy as I hate going down to a messy room the next day. I might get some meat out the freezer for the next days meal, and look out a recipe or make a shopping list so I know what I need from Tesco the next day.

If I'm tired, I then clean my teeth/wash and go to bed to read for half an hour before sleep. If I'm not too tired or have things to do, then I go on the computer for 20 minutes first and do stuff!

How often can you remember your dreams?

As visitors from the Dreams thread will know, I go through phases of dreaming vividly every night with total recall. This last year or so it has been less, but I still occasionally dream and remember.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

I think I do, yes. I never really get tired during the day, except sometimes on the way home from work. Sleep is a funny thing, often you dream (pun unintended!) about getting more, but then you realise you don't really need it. Six hours is about right for me.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

No, my sleeping habits haven't changed in years. I'm blessed with being able to nod off as soon as my eyes close, IF I put my head down at the same sort of time each night and wear my eyes out with a few minutes reading first. If however I miss my "slot" and am still awake after about half twelve, or haven't tired my mind out, then I'm basically doomed to stay awake all night. If Mr Rayner does the same then we tend to keep each other up chattering away for hours and the sleep patterns end up screwed for the rest of the week. It's best to stick to a routine.

Si.

[Dino]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

Supposedly a heavy sleeper. I can sleep through a ringing ear anyway!

Can you sleep during the day?

I live to sleep in the day! It's like time travelling but only able to go forwards.

What gets you up in the morning?

Sometimes rage haha, sometimes, I just feel the need to get up.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

Weekdays and weekends. I don't discriminate.

What hours do you normally keep?

A lot. Not really thought about it.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

Take meds. Lie down on my right. Off we go.

How often can you remember your dreams?

Pretty much every day, but some days I can't remember.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

Maybe I get too much. Who can tell.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

Not really. If anything it gets easier!

[Si Hunt]

"Applejack, do you have a drinking problem?"

"No. It's the easiest thing I ever done!"

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

I'm a heavy sleeper at certain points of the night, light at others - and I suspect that's the case for many people, as everyone has a sleep cycle with different stages of sleep.

Can you sleep during the day?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. As a rule of thumb, I have to be pretty damned tired to be able to sleep during the day.

What gets you up in the morning?

Do we mean literally, or metaphorically? Metaphorically, being unemployed, I have nothing that gets me up in the mornings! Literally, it's my wife getting out of bed to go to work, at which point I jump in the shower, and then head downstairs for a cup of tea and some toast.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

No, not really

What hours do you normally keep?

About 11pm - 7am is when I sleep. My body is pretty clockwork - 8 hours of sleep and then I wake up.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

Yes - I feed the bunnies, then wash my face, moisturise and then brush my teeth. Then, I tend to get into bed and fall asleep to an audio play.

How often can you remember your dreams?

Well, if I knew how often I didn't remember my dreams, I'd be able to answer this question more effectively

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

At the moment, I certainly do get enough sleep.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

No, not really!

[Stuart Wallis]

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

At my age it's virtually impossible!

Ah...

[Philipnet]

As a shiftworker and someone who used to have sleeping problems I have a unique perspective on this.
My shift work is two weeks on days and two weeks on nights so I change my sleeping time every other week.

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
Probably somewhere in the middle. If I'm in need of sleep I will keep on sleeping

Can you sleep during the day?
Yes.
It helps that I can darken my room with blackout curtains. I often need to snooze during the day when switching to/from days/nights.

What gets you up in the morning?
The alarm. Or a feeling that I really ought to get on with the day

Do you sleep in at weekends?
I usually sleep in on the day immediately after I finish my working week (so Yes).
The rest of my weekend I spend working forwards/backwards to my new wake up time; or keeping a similar wake up time if I'm staying on days/nights.

What hours do you normally keep?
For a working week I wake up at 5:30 (either am or pm depending if it's days or nights I'm on) and go to bed 9/9:30.
If I'm switching to nights I stay up later and later and hope that I wake up later and later (which is usually not the case, so I have to snooze during the day).
If I'm switching off nights I have shorter days (fewer meals) and go to bed earlier.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?
Yep!
Standard stuff like cleaning my teeth and going to the loo.
But I also have a hot water bottle. Following this recent Winter I've still kept having a hot water bottle (except during the recent heatwave) as warm feet (and hands and head) helps me fall asleep quicker.
I have an eye mask (which helps block the ambient light that still enters the room around the edges of the curtain(!)
And ear plugs as I live on a busy main road

How often can you remember your dreams?
Infrequently (at best).

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?
I need 8 hrs sleep. Any less and I'm tired the following day.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?
I've found it gets better as I learn more about my body/mind and what they need in order for me to fall asleep.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

Can be heavy. Alas tin roofs + rain in NZ can mean like this morning heavy rain makes it feels like someone is playing Apocalypse Now in THX.

Can you sleep during the day?

Sometimes. Naps are nice.

What gets you up in the morning?

Mobile phone alarm
I have trouble both ends of the spectrum. Cant sleep at night, cant wake in the mornings

Do you sleep in at weekends?


I manage my son's football team on saturdays. We kick off at 8:30 am. So no.

What hours do you normally keep?

Go to sleep at 11pm, then wake up at 6:55 ... 7:05 ... 7:15 ...

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

Yup and its complicated. Lots of covers (houses here are cold). Usually lie on my back for a few minutes to unwind, then ready move on my side. Me and the wife have a complex series of covers between us to make sure neither of us steals the others covers (yes some separate and some shared duvet).

How often can you remember your dreams?

Often, and they can be quite upsetting and disturbing.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?


10 years ago I slept 1am until 7am. When I moved here I was doing 12pm until 7am. Now I'm an hour more than that. I could do with more I think!

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

No - far easier. I remember reading up until past 3am when I was at sixth form, surviving on only about 4 hours sleep - I was never tired.

Where do you sleep

There are times I really can't settle at night. I don't know how this works, but I often sleep more easily when I sleep on the floor, and often take my covers and sleep on a piece of floor. I might put on a computer or fan as well, I find the noise helps to lull me asleep...

[Andrew Curnow]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
A bit of both I think. When I'm asleep I don't find myself easily disturbed by noises outside, or other people coming to bed, or the TV downstairs, etc - on the other hand, when, for example, one of the dogs makes a "I could really do with being let outside for a wee" noises it tends to wake me up pretty quickly.

Can you sleep during the day?
No, my boss won't let me!

More seriously, yes, it's in fact now very unusual for me not to doze off after tea (hmm, does that count as during the day). I find that post-meal doze very tempting, and very hard to resist. The bit I hate is having to wake up & get going again afterwards!

What gets you up in the morning?
I set my alarm clock for 6:20, and then three alarms on my phone for 6:30, 6:45 and 7:26... but 90% of the time, in fact the dogs wake me up at between 5:30 and 6:10, so my first act on getting up is to turn off my alarm clock before it goes off!!

Do you sleep in at weekends?
The dogs (and particularly, it seems, their bladders) have a very sketchy grasp on the distinction between weekdays and weekends... so no!!

What hours do you normally keep?
Up at approx 6:00 am, and in bed by usually 11:00 sometimes 12:00. I quite often read a little bit before I actually turn the light off though, so probably 6 am to 12 midnight on most days.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?
Hmm, not as such. I have an 'evening' routine, which may be part of it - I always like to make sure the dishes are done before bed, and that the cats are all in and the kitchen window closed. I always put my clothes out for the morning, rather than flail around like a loon in the morning looking for stuff. Oh, and if there's anything I know I need to do either in the morning before work, or at some point during the following day, I'll write a note and put it in my slipper to remind me.

How often can you remember your dreams?
Very rarely, I can't recall the last time I could say I'd had a dream - I believe the thinking is that we dream every night, isn't it? I wonder what I'm missing out on by not remembering!!

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?
On the very rare occasions when I do go to bed a bit early I usually struggle to get to sleep as smoothly and as quickly as usual. And on the very rare occasions I get a lie in I usually feel 'behind' and rather dozy for the rest of the day. So I think the answer is 'I probably do' and 'in theory yes, in practice no!'

Does it get more difficult as you get older?
I'd say not - I've never had any real problem sleeping, other than the occasional night when younger, but I'd say I find it even easier to doze off now than I used to. Even when there's something worrying me, arguably something that maybe SHOULD keep me awake at nights, I rarely if ever have trouble sleeping.

Right, time for a nap!

[Stuart Wallis]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

Depends on the bladder these days. When i was a boy i often slept through wars, and even the storm of '87 I only woke up to go to the loo. Now, if i need to go more often during the night - well, I think I've said enough...

Can you sleep during the day?

With my recent health problems, it's sometimes neccessary to have a bit of a doze in the evening.

What gets you up in the morning?

The fear of wages and a watch alarm. Strangely, I seem to know when it's half-an-hour before I'm due to wake up, and the systems start turning on then anyway.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

When I can.

What hours do you normally keep?

7.30-11.30

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

I like to read before dropping off.

How often can you remember your dreams?

The ones involving Karen Gillan and Jonathan Rhys Myers with very little on I remember in great detail!

Fairly well, all told.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

I think I do need more sleep than I get - it might explain why I'm seeing less of saturday and Sunday mornings these days.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

Only since the bozo who lives upstairs moved in. He was watching TV at 3am in the room above mine a couple of weeks ago, but please don't get me started on him!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

We're talking about implicit steps a lot this weekend in our testing course, so of course for the following question ...

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

I obviously find here that
* lying on the bed
and
* closing your eyes
all help

[Philipnet]

We're talking about implicit steps a lot this weekend in our testing course, so of course for the following question ...

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

I obviously find here that
* lying on the bed
and
* closing your eyes
all help

You've awakened the pedantic nature in me:
* Turn the lights out
* Get into the bed (underneath the covers but over the sheets
* Get into a comfortable position
* Relax your body/muscles

Just a few that spring to mind

[MinaHarker]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

Heavy. Honestly, I'll sleep through anything!

Can you sleep during the day?

Easily.

What gets you up in the morning?

Well the soft "thunk" of a cup of tea being set down next to me wakes me up, but getting up is another matter. Hubby usually has to convince me.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

Yes.

What hours do you normally keep?

Unfortunately there is no "normal" - it depends what I have on each day.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

I go to bed before hubby and always ALWAYS have to read something before sleeping. I usually have a hot milk and honey drink too.

How often can you remember your dreams?

Not very. I used to remember them clearly, as a child though

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

I don't know if I do or not. I usually wake up just as tired as I was when I went to sleep, I've always been like that so I don't know if getting any more sleep would help.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

No, I don't think so.

[Alex]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?

A pretty heavy sleeper. Once a shop exploded near to me (due to a gas leak), I woke up briefly, wondered what it was, before going back to sleep. It's fortunate too, as my house is quite noisy and it'd be a nightmare if I wasn't a heavy sleeper.

Can you sleep during the day?

Oh yes.

What gets you up in the morning?

Very little.

Do you sleep in at weekends?

Very happily.

What hours do you normally keep?

Well I've always been an night owl, and work wise normally worked odd shifts. So it's either going to bed at about 1.30am and waking up at 11.30am, or going to bed at 4am and waking around 2pm. Now that might sound a lot, but I have trouble getting to sleep (despite being on sleeping pills) so it always takes me at least an hour to drop off, if not more.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

I like to read for about 20 minutes before going to bed, and have one last cigarette, but that's about it.

How often can you remember your dreams?

About half the time.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

Most of the time it's fine.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

It's gotten easier for me as I used to suffer from terrible insomnia, but the sleeping pills have definitely helped out on that front.

[Stuart Wallis]

Of course the best way to get over insomnia is to get more sleep.

[Rob McCow]

Excellent stuff everyone! This is satisfying the nosey so-and-so in me

Some comments -

Six hours is about right for me

Sometimes I think I need about ten hours a night!

It helps that I can darken my room with blackout curtains.

It seems odd to me that not all curtains are blackout curtains! Why have a curtain that lets in light?! It's what we put up with anyway.

the sleeping pills have definitely helped out on that front.

Although they can make a huge difference, I'd be very wary of sleeping pills, personally. I'd try to limit their use as much as possible and try to improve my sleep patterns through changing my behaviour, cutting out caffeine etc.

[Jon Masters]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
Heavy in that once I am asleep I can sleep thorugh quite a lot, but if something isn't quite right (temperature, light level, unusual noises) I find it very difficult to get to sleep.
Can you sleep during the day?
Very easily, and its getting worse. I have a bad habit of falling asleep during meetings and courses. More disturbingly, I appear to have perfected the art of falling asleep upright in a chair at the drop of a hat.
What gets you up in the morning?
usually toilet needs, or back ache, or the dawn chorus at this time of year. I've never needed to use an alarm clock.
Do you sleep in at weekends?
I usually wake up at the usual time, but just keep going back to sleep in 30 minute spells until I get up
What hours do you normally keep?
Extremely irregular, based on what work needs to be done, energy levels and how knackered I am. I have sometimes gone to bed at 5pm to get up again at 10 to work for a few hours, or can stay up until 2am if necessary.
Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?
See the above - but I do always have a bedside fan on, and usually take a drink to sip at through the night
How often can you remember your dreams?
Very frequently, since from about 4am I'm waking up regularly and breaking into them.
Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?
No, and yes - but I'd hate the regimentation I'd need to achieve it
Does it get more difficult as you get older?
Definitely - I can't remember the last time I slept through the night, but then old people seem to be allowed a nap at a moment's notice

[SiHart]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
Somewhere inbetween I think. I can sleep heavily and soundly, but more often than night I'm quite a light sleeper and I'll wake up easily with noise at night. If its not quiet at bedtime it can take me hours to drop off.

Can you sleep during the day?

No. It's one of the signs that I'm ill if I fall asleep during the day.

What gets you up in the morning?

Usually Steve coming out of the bath!

Do you sleep in at weekends?

2/3 saturdays I'm up for work and the two of us very rarely sleep in on a Sunday- mostly because Steve is up and around earlyish I think. I do tend to sleep in on my day off on Mondays if I get the chance, but even then I'm generally up and around by 9.

What hours do you normally keep?

Around 6.50am to 10.30ish.

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?

Wash, brush teeth, go to loo, read for a bit, cuddle, unlock from cuddle and roll over.

How often can you remember your dreams?

More often than not I'm left with an impression of what I've been dreaming about, sometimes it's the whole thing filtering back in the morning.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?

I'd like a bit more. I used to be a about right when i was getting a good 8 hours a night.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?

It's about the same- it's always taken me a long while to get to sleep and that's still the same now. I've very rarely been able to get my head down and fall asleep straight away.

[Alex]

Although they can make a huge difference, I'd be very wary of sleeping pills, personally. I'd try to limit their use as much as possible and try to improve my sleep patterns through changing my behaviour, cutting out caffeine etc.

Oh I do completely agree, and have had specific therapy for the insomnia, but despite following the many different rules and suggestions it didn't really help. I've been on the sleeping pills for 5 years now so I know I'm definitely addicted, but I'm planning on trying to cut down soon. The summer's the worst time though, as I always find it difficult to sleep in the heat - though obviously this year it's been not so bad so far.

[Jon Masters]

The summer's the worst time though, as I always find it difficult to sleep in the heat - though obviously this year it's been not so bad so far.

Amen to that, brother. I have resorted to

• never having a duvet, just an empty duvet cover all year round
• a bedside fan on all year round
• sleeping just inside the open back door
• sleeping in the car
• putting a tent in the garden !!
• having a cold bath just before bed

So we'll have no more complaints about how rubbishly cold this summer has been so far please !

[SiHart]

Oh yes, same problem here. I can't sleep if I'm too hot. I'm not one for huge duvets- we only change to a medium one in the winter under sufference!

[Jon Masters]

The key is two seperate single duvets on one double bed. Why would you expect someone else to have the same tog requirements as yourself ?

It saved my marriage at a very early stage !

[Anthony Williams]

And this is why I'm glad that I live in a part of the world where every house has air conditioning!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Are you a heavy sleeper, or a light sleeper?
Medium - heavy, like a log if I'm exhausted and won't wake for anything.

Can you sleep during the day?
With worrying ease which suggests I don't sleep enough at night.

What gets you up in the morning?
Persistent alarm calls and a lot of will-power especially getting Mon-Fri when I'm really struggling atm. Once I'm physically out of bed I'm fine and unless I've overslept I always make a beeline for the kettle and that all important morning cuppa!

Do you sleep in at weekends?
Only till 8.30ish on Saturdays and not on Sundays as I'm up at 7.30ish to get myself out of the house by 8.30. I could leave slightly later but I like to catch the bus to church otherwise it's a long walk up the hill.

What hours do you normally keep?
I aspire to sleep from 11pm until 6.30, in practice I usually end up doing 11.30 until almost 7 once the last of my alarms has gone off at 6.55

Do you have a going-to-bed-routine?
Currently: switch lap top off, plug phone in to charge having checked alarm set correctly, switch on bedside lamp, switch off main light on the way to loo, rinse mouth out with corsodyl (having already brushed my teeth earlier), get into bed, switch off lamp.

How often can you remember your dreams?
Sometimes quite vividly especially if they involve people I haven't seen for a while for example last night I had someone I haven't spoken to since last year round for dinner for no apparent reason.

Do you get enough sleep - and would you like to get more?
As suggested above I would like to get more.

Does it get more difficult as you get older?
Not really, I can comfortably sleep for 9-10 hours if I allow myself but I tend to burn the candle at both ends which isn't getting any easier as I've said the result being that I really struggle to get up some mornings although there are probably motivational reasons behind that.

[Stuart Wallis]

[B]but then old people seem to be allowed a nap at a moment's notice

Thankyou - if only more people were as understanding as you...ZZZZZ