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AIBU?

How long do you sleep at night?

185 replies

missbluex · 15/10/2022 19:45

Posting for traffic, how long do you sleep at night?

I’m studying full time for a degree and managing a part time job whilst often caring for my elderly father. I need around 10 hours each night but my DP complains it’s too much?!

Baffles me how some manage on 6 hours of less!

OP posts:
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Calandor · 15/10/2022 23:10

6-8 usually. On my insomnia nights 0-3hrs but I feel unwell all day. At the weekend 10 hours sometimes 😂

I don't really get your husbands issue - if you need the sleep you need the sleep. Unless it's because he never sees you or you fall asleep at 8pm.

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Calandor · 15/10/2022 23:11

Oh and when I'm unwell I need sleep. Lots of it. It literally cures me. I've multiple times gone to bed, slept for 15-18 hours and woken up heathy. It used to freak my nana out when I was younger.

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maddiemookins16mum · 15/10/2022 23:14

6-7 hrs. I won’t be asleep for at least another hour, I’ll be wide awake at 6am.

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surreygirl1987 · 15/10/2022 23:17

7ish. I'm usually on the tired side though so I could probably do with 7.5-8. I'm amazed you have 10 hours sleep!!! How do you have the time for that much?! I have little kids though and use my evenings to get stuff done that I can't when they're around. Then they wake me up at the crack of dawn 🙈

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surreygirl1987 · 15/10/2022 23:18

That said, if you have the time to sleep that much, and it's not affecting anything else in your life negatively, why not! Enjoy!

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RoseMartha · 15/10/2022 23:23

Ideally 7-7.5

Usually abt 6

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Numbat2022 · 15/10/2022 23:23

6.5 usually (go to bed around midnight, wake up around 6.30/7), I should get more and do better on more like 7.5 but am rubbish at making myself go to bed - it feels like such a waste of time. I should be going to bed now but it's the first time I've had to myself all day.

Less than 6 hours and I feel a bit weird and my brain doesn't work properly. Less than 5 and I'm basically useless, though I can still get myself through the day with coffee.

My partner needs a LOT of sleep, far more than me. He usually sleeps 12-8.30 on non-nursery run days and easily 12-10 if he's having a lie in.

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NameChange232 · 15/10/2022 23:25

Usually 6 during the week and 13 hours on Friday and Saturday

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3WildOnes · 16/10/2022 08:28

Coyoacan · 15/10/2022 21:29

I hace a friend like you, OP. She needs to sleep ten hours a night but hardly stops during her waking hours

This has made me think. I need a good nine hours a night but I am a pretty active person. I usually walk between 15k and 20k steps a day, sometimes more. I run a few times a week.

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Charcy · 16/10/2022 08:40

AhmenGwendolyn · 15/10/2022 20:04

I aim for 9 during the week and 12-14 when I don’t have plans

Naahhh u dont

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Funkyslippers · 16/10/2022 08:51

Around 7 hours in total. I go to sleep around 10.45, wake around 7.15 but I'm always awake for at least an hour in the night. Slightly more at weekends. I get by fine most of the time

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ShovellyJoe · 16/10/2022 09:19

People who say "how can you find time to sleep for that long" seem to be focusing solely on free evenings being the holy grail. I'm not too keen on evenings in the way other people cherish them ie for TV watching (I don't) or drinking wine (teetotal).

I don't know if people are imagining that those of us who need a lot of sleep are lethargic. Quite the opposite. Yesterday, I ran 12k in the morning and went swimming for an hour in the afternoon. Between those times, I pruned three trees, loaded rubble into a skip, shifted things into the loft, took DS on a bike ride and stripped levelling compound off the dining room floor with a chisel.

I also work (teaching), cycle a 20 mile round trip to do that work, run or lift weights daily, hike, walk, climb, swim etc. I think I need 9hrs sleep because apart from meal times, I almost never sit down.

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Snarferson · 16/10/2022 09:31

Amazing amount of ignorance on this thread. Sleep is physiological process not a luxury. The lifestyle we live means getting it is a luxury, NOT needing it.

I have long sleeper syndrome (look it up). I am in all other respects a healthy adult.

Do I like needing 10 hours of sleep a night. No.
Do I get 10 hours of sleep a night. Also No.

So I spend my life feeling like crap and tired. I've had loads of medical tests and there is nothing "wrong" with me. I just need more sleep than the average person.

Some very rude and ignorant comments on this thread about people who need more sleep than others.

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ouch321 · 16/10/2022 09:48

AIIyMcBeal · 15/10/2022 22:22

Is this a competitive under sleeping thread? Lol peak Mumsnet

Yep. Someone will be along to say 4 hours is loads and 3 is sufficient soon.

I was thinking it's v reminiscent of the recent thread where people were trying to outdo each other on how many portions of spag bol they could get from 450g of minced beef.
If I recall correctly it got up to 17...

The fact is that if you're getting by on less sleep it simply means you're getting older or are less active or both. Neither are things to boast over...

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Montana1612 · 16/10/2022 09:55

I get around 7.5-8 hours a night but it’s usually a bit broken with me waking up a couple of times throughout the night. I probably function at optimum health when I regularly get 9 hours but that almost never happens these days. If I get less than 7 I feel like crap and my mental health takes a dip

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FiveShelties · 16/10/2022 09:59

Average around 6 hours and this has been the same for around 40 years. 7 hours would be amazing and I cannot imagine sleeping for 10 hours.

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rainbowandglitter · 16/10/2022 11:10

Op started the thread then never came back. Confused

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CuriousCatfish · 16/10/2022 11:12

rainbowandglitter · 16/10/2022 11:10

Op started the thread then never came back. Confused

She's asleep

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pbdr · 16/10/2022 11:14

I have a 1 year old who is not a good sleeper, so I probably get a total of less than 6 hours broken up into about 3 chunks. That being said, I was averaging about 1.5 hours total a night for the first few months of her life so I feel relatively very well rested now!

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89redballoons · 16/10/2022 11:27

Before DC I'd have 7 or 8 hours, maybe with a lie-in at the weekend so perhaps 9 hours then.

Now have a 6 month old and 2 year old, and there have been nights recently when I've only had 3 hours all night. I have adapted but I am definitely short tempered, and not sure how I'd be at work on this little sleep. Mind you I did manage it when DC1 was tiny so maybe again I'd just adapt.

The night before DC2 was born, I'd been in latent labour for days and was really struggling. I was given lovely lovely dihydrocodeine and slept for 9.5 hours - ahhhhh. I woke up and knew that wouldn't happen again possibly for years 😭

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arethereanyleftatall · 16/10/2022 11:56

I wouldn't have time for ten hours.

The reality is op, that if you decide to have children, you can't have 10 hours sleep. Unless your partner does or you pay someone else to do half of the work involved.

Especially if your child is ND, there are lots of threads on here about children who barely sleep.

I would be inclined to investigate if there is an actual problem, or this is just a glorious luxury you're allowing yourself.

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Snarferson · 16/10/2022 13:51

Again sleep is not a luxury. It is a physiological process needed for us to live. Your body needs how much sleep is needs

Getting enough sleep for your body is a luxury due to the society we live in.

They are not the same.

I have a DC and I am a long sleeper. She needs v little sleep. It is the hardest thing ever but I manage. Due to this I stuck to one.

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Snarferson · 16/10/2022 13:51

*it needs

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CrustyFlake · 16/10/2022 13:55

I think 10 hours a night sounds great. It's probably good for your health, OP!

I get about 6, but that's not by choice. I have very young children, a full time job, and a shift worker husband. I look forward to a time when I am older and can get more sleep.

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YukoandHiro · 16/10/2022 14:04

Do you have DC? I never get more than 5 hours. It's not ideal, I think require about 7.
Health wise 10 is considered too much. It's actually as unhealthy to have too much sleep as it is to have too little

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