To think some people deal with lack of sleep better than others?

[FortunesFave]

I'm just TERRIBLE at it! If I'm woken in the middle of the night or if I get much less than 7 hours sleep, I can barely function.

I hear people say things like "Oh I slept terribly...only got about 4 hours" and yet they seem quite alert and capable.

I'm clumsy, grumpy and feel very unwell with lack of sleep.

Or are those other people being brave? DH started a new job today and he woke me up at 5.30 am...he suffers from anxiety so I don't resent him for it...he'd never do it usually but he badly needed company so I got up and spent half an hour with him to boost him up.

Well I didn't go to bed till gone midnight so all day I've been useless! We're in Australia by the way...it's 6.30pm now and all I can think of is bed!

I never have trouble falling asleep....I just can't cope with lack of it!
AIBU to say some people cope better than others?

Sleep/cold/hungry makes a lot of sense, actually! I can't cope with cold at all.

Yanbu

My husband only needs 5 hours. I can't function on less than 7. I find it really hard to sleep at any time other night and also find it hard to get to sleep before 11pm ish as I'm a total night owl. My sons first year was the hardest in my life. I never got used to it. Id go to bed early and not sleep then be woken up at 5am. I genuinely think it's pre programmed. I don't think if I got up at 6am for the rest of my life I'd ever get used to it.

My husband is totally the opposite. He is in bed at 9.30 and up at 5.00. He can easily get by on 5 or 6 hours.

That sounds about right Dolly!

I regularly get between 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night. I go through weeks of not being able to sleep and then I'll have a few weeks of getting 5 or 6 hours every night and I feel amazing.
I've been this way since I was a teenager so I'm guessing it's the norm for me.

I function ok but I find the more it carries on the more depressed I feel

I also have adhd. My brain cant switch off at night

Definitely true. I can get by fine enough in the short-term on four solid hours, although more than two/three days of that in a row and I start to feel a bit peculiar. Neither of my kids are great sleepers but I’ve always been a night owl, so I always go to bed too late out of habit (12:30/1am) then get woken in the night most nights. I think I’m just used to the feeling of mild sleep deprivation! I sat all my uni exams on about three hours sleep because of last-minute cramming and anxiety-induced insomnia and managed a first. That said, my memory and organisational skills are significantly better when I’m well rested... and I’m sure it’s not especially good for me.

I definitely agree. Both DP and myself are quite light sleepers and we have learnt to function quite well after a bad night.

Definitely. I can manage quite well with broken/limited sleep and still function. My DH absolutely can't do it! His whole day can go to pot if he hasn't had enough sleep. He was a bit of a pain when we first had DC!

I've been tracking my sleep on my watch and I get between 4 and 5.30 hours a night. i manage OK although can be a bit irritable if it's closer to 4. My DH is a nightmare if he gets less than 7 hours. He's clumsy, finds it really hard to concentrate and pretty much can't function. We've both always been like this.

All those saying "I can't function on less than X hours of sleep"...what do you actually do if you have a bad night's sleep then? Call in sick to work? Get someone else to look after your DC and go back to bed? I'm not convinced by the idea that some people are inherently better at coping with sleep deprivation. I think some people's circumstances simply dictate that they have to get on with it.

My DS is a terrible sleeper. We've tried everything but nothing works so I haven't had more than 4 hours sleep a night for the last two years. I feel awful, but I "cope" because I have no choice- bills need to be paid, so I have to go to work. The DC still need to be looked after.

Watching this with interest...

If I'm generally sleeping OK, but get one shit night of 3/4 hours now and again, I can function OK on lots of coffee.

But when I had both my kids, I was an absolute wreck for the first couple of years of their lives. My career suffered, I lost friendships because I had no energy and I gained weight because I was bingeing on sugar. I'd love a third kid but couldn't go through it all again.

I find the time of year often has an impact on how I feel waking up/throughout the day as well. This morning, for instance, I'd had just under 7 hours sleep, but I really struggle to wake up properly when it's still pitch black outside. Whereas I feel I wake and function better on brighter mornings, but on the same amount of sleep. Dark winter mornings are a struggle.

All those saying "I can't function on less than X hours of sleep"...what do you actually do if you have a bad night's sleep then? Call in sick to work? Get someone else to look after your DC and go back to bed?

I do just get on with work and childcare but I couldn’t enjoy anything and would cancel my own birthday in favour of a nap if it was possible. I also cry in the toilets sometimes, feel too dazed to drive (like being tipsy) and when it went in for months with babies I was so permanently grumpy and miserable it affected friendships and my marriage.

After a bad week or two I will get a migraine which leaves me unable to see or speak and at that point yes I do have to call in sick.

Very true. I've been a poor sleeper as far back as I can remember. If I hadn't learnt to manage on little sleep I'd have no career and no life. DH crumbles if he gets less than 6 hours and doses off all the time.... Can be a slight bone of contention...

This week i have been functioning on 4-5 hours a night
Generally i function on 6-7

Feeling pretty tired this week but just get on with it as in own with kids one has asd and sleeps badly.

I think if you are used to more it makes more difference when you have less.

I tend to feel more tired if i have 7-8 hours which happens occasionally in school holidays

I can function on about 6 hours regularly. The other night I had severely broken sleep, women every hour or so, and I still managed to function somehow. Couldn't possibly do that every night! But I definitely function more.or less ok on less sleep than the average. It's not something I really think about all that much.

,*woken