If you have 4 or 5 hours sleep regularly, how well do you function the next day?

[IComeLastInAllTheRaces]

I'm wondering this and trying to work out what is simple tiredness, and what is caused by my chronic illnesses or other stuff. I mean, in one way they are entangled completely but to see what other people are like.

After sleeping from 1am to 6am last night, I did my volunteer shift at a food bank and I've honestly been so wiped out for the rest of the day. It is just 2.5 hours long and making sandwiches, so standing up which I do find difficult so I get that but it feels COMPLETELY pathetic. I stayed an extra 15 mins to finish what I was doing.

My brain is completely blank. I cannot think properly in terms of organising or problem solving or tackling tasks - it's just a stream of consciousness of thoughts floating by. So, it's kind of easy to write this post because it's not mentally taxing, but I can't do anything productive that requires thinking through steps. I know I need to do stuff but it's so overwhelming. I l did lie down for half an hour but didn't sleep, as trying to get to bed at 10.30pm after I take last medication. Hoping to get a longer block of sleep tonight.

How do you feel energy wise if say half your week you are on 4 or 5 hours sleep? I shouldn't be this useless should I?

My ferritin and folate are really low and wondering if this is partly why.

Due to a 12month old who isn’t sleeping well, I’ve lived on 4-5 hours sleep for the past few months while working full time. I find I’m okay as long as I get regular IV’s I meant cups of coffee until about 3pm then I’m quite dead and I feel sorry for the clients I see after 3pm as I’m not as enthusiastic or tbh even able to speak sometimes let alone think of how to solve their complex problems. All in all, I’m okay though and surviving.

@Summerishereagain madness.
I'd so love to have 8 hours.

When my son was born and up until about a year ago (he is now 4.5!)..I was getting awful broken sleep and felt horrific every single day! Now he’s more settled I feel better.

4-5 hours is normal for me. I find if I have more I'm like a zombie the next day. No idea why, I've always been like that. DD is the same.

I had very little sleep during my 30s as dc were little and I have chronic insomnia. Been prescribed sleeping tablets on occasion which help a bit. I felt I lived in a kind of fog, a blur it affected my personality. I've recently been diagnosed with ADHD and am likely on the autistic spectrum as well, am having to save up for that assessment. That explains the shitty sleep. I spent hours awake as a child but never let my parents know as I'd have been shouted at.

I now sleep separately to H as very noise sensitive and his snoring is unbearable. That's helped a fair bit even though it takes me 1 hour plus to drop off and I still experience early morning wakening. My brain is just stupidly over active.

I couldn’t function on that many hours sleep, I need between 7-8 to feel okay.

I’m menopausal now and try to prioritise getting that amount as I really notice the difference in my functioning if I don’t get enough. I take vitamin d and magnesium glycinate daily which makes a big difference. I also take Vit B for energy levels. Was fine when my kids were young!

No way could i function on that. I have underactive thyroid but that is reasonably well medicated and even so i need 10 hours. I could survive on 7/8 on a couple of non consecutive days

I slept for three hours last night,anyone who saw me stumbling down the road with our dog this morning probably thought i was pissed out of my mind.

I get about four possibly five hours sleep most nights these days, quite broken up too. I operate in what I will call a normal fashion most days, I guess my body has got used to it. When I was younger I slept more, I am in my 50s now.

Dreadful. Irritable, can't string sentences together or perform well at all, get headaches.

Have always needed lots of sleep. 9, 10 or 11 hours is ideal. If I have a few nights of 7 or 8 hrs I am shot. I do have chronic fatigue as well so it hits that, or migraine.

I had my ds 15 days ago, I'm ebf and as a newborn is he's up at all hours feeding. I have fibromyalgia and need a lot of sleep. Prior to having him I was sleeping 10hrs at night and still feeling tired.
I'm now on 2-3hr stretches of sleep and it's addled me so much I ended up in hospital with a suspected stroke due to sheer burn out. My speech was slurred and everything it was so scary.

Hope you are feeling better and congratulations on your baby

@SapphireStar77 thank you ❤️ I'm feeling a bit better I think I'm getting kind of used to being tired now lol

Glad you are ok, be kind to yourself xx

Awful. Nauseous and unable to think. I get it once or twice a week. I bump into things and make mistakes.
When my dc's were little I changed my job so I could walk in, much safer than driving.

I literall cannot function without 7-8 hours of sleep.
To the point that I need to take a nap (2-3hrs) if I don’t get at least 7 hrs overnight

I'd be a complete non functioning mess, I can't belive thay most people would be at their best on so little sleep long term.

I find if I sleep badly I'm okay the next day, in fact weirdly energised. But, the day after the day after, I feel horrific and a walking zombie.

I need at least 6 hours.

Are you napping during the day?

My sleep has been 5 hrs or so for ages and I've really struggled at work to focus (I have a job that demands intellectual engagement and it's been hard). I'm 59.

However, recently, I've started to reduce my carb load and what a difference it's made! For the past week and a half, my sleep has extended to 7-8 hours and I feel so much better. It's been a real eye opener for me. I think that, before, the processing of carbs generating greater heat and exacerbated the hot flushes at night and now without that extra heat, my body can cope with the normal level of night sweats and I just don't wake up as much.

I often have nearer 9! I often have an afternoon siesta on holiday.

To an extent you adapt to survive. I don't remember the last time I slept for 8 hours, probably when I was a teenager. I always wake at least a couple of times in the night and some nights I sleep for less than an hour. Every now and then I'll get 6 hours sleep without waking and I feel like a different person the next day, it's wonderful!

I wouldn't function well at all. 4-5 hours might be okay on a rare occasion but not for any kind of extended duration. I like to get 9 hours in bed, minimum of 7 hours.

I've been getting similar over the last 2 weeks and my mood is very low and I feel constantly angry, I'm binge eating a disgusting amount of sugar and crappy food, cant concentrate at work at all. Caffeine has stopped working. Hopefully gets better soon.

Four hours is ridiculous. Can't do anything. Five I can function.