to think that adults who claim they "can't cope" on less than 10 hours sleep a night are just bone idle...

[minxofmancunia]

barring medical conditions ofcourse....

thinking of my sister here who starts complaning of tiredness from 10pm onwards, gets up at 10ish the next day and is a narky cow all morning as she's "tired".

however am speaking from the perspective of one who thinks 6 hours is good going....

(cowers expecting flaming)

cheesefarmer, no obviously! Am worried for her when she does as she's in for a bloody great shock! She looks horrified at the amount of sleep/rest I get and I consider myself to have 2 reasonably good sleepers!

anyway am willing to concede iabu and this after a night where 16 weeks ds has done his longeset stretch yet (11pm to 7.30 am, obviously I woke up from 4am to check on him as I was worried and couldn't get back to sleep as I was waiting for him to wake up!).

What solid said. Sleep is as much about quality as quantity.

It changes from person to person. My cousin in law is in the barely-needs-a-minute-sleep camp. He can quite happily get by on 3/4 hours every night and function like a normal adult. 3/4 hours and I'm dosed up to the eyeballs in coffee to even just stay vaguely alert. I need 8 hours sleep, but prefer more. I'm currently getting less and am MISERABLE and grumpy. I'm a total joy to be around right now.

I think your sister might well be ill. 10 hours seems a lot for an adult, it's not like she's staying up till 4am either...

Tell her to eat more salad and cut out sugar, she'll soon feel less tired.

{eats chocolate}

Has she always been like this?

If it's fairly recently maybe you should be encouraging her to see a doc.

Does she have a thyroid or other underlying health problem? My personal opinion is that adults do not need 10 hours a night, and if she did she certainly shouldn't be still tired when she wakes up. I would be urging her to get a full medical screening, frankly.

I normally go to sleep at 11 and wake up at 6 BUT I do feel alot better if I get more sleep if I am honest.

IME lack of exercise makes you feel tired and sluggish, not just lack of sleep.

that came out wrong - I mean that even if you get plenty of hours in bed, if you don't exercise you still end up feeling tired.

I recon you can change how much you need It's just a habit.

I used to think I needed10 hours but after 10 years of night shifts and non sleeping babies I am quite happy if I can get 6 uninterrupted hours.

Needing and wanting are completly different. I think we'd all like 10 hours sleep, sleep is nice after all.

I think that the effects of sleep deprivation are quite cumulative and insideous.

I used to think I functioned well on little sleep. But then I had DD1 4 years ago (she has SN) and she didn't sleep (at all) at night for the first 12 weeks, then very little after that. DD2 came 20 months later, and wasn't a great sleeper from 4months until 11 months, settled quite well until the last few weeks, but is going through an unsettled phase. DD3 came along 9 months ago, and wakes every hour-and-a-half to two hours.

Right now, we have 3 under 4.2, and they are all awake at some (often different) part of the night. We are knackered. I fear for my DH on the road daily (he is a van driver).

I am not the person I was 4 years ago. I am not coping with the daily events of having young children, and I can't think of interesting things to say when talking to people.

I used to be able to do a Suduko puzzle in 2-3 minutes, and now I can easily take 1.5 hours. I am a very intelligent person, but I just can't put a train of thought together in the same way because I am so tired.

So, I think YABU, but can see that until you experience tiredness and it's effects, you wouldn't know that. (See that was me keeping control of my stroppiness )

I need alot of sleep, always have.

I go to bed early and wake early, I get about 9 hours a night I guess.

I do work 2 night shifts a week though and manage on only about 4 hours during the day those days so it balances out.

I think you should just leave well alone OP. If your sister is worried about it surely she is able to get herself to the GP.

She is probably so tired BECAUSE she sleeps 10 hours a night and if she is up at 10am I am assuming she does not have a demanding/interesting job or anything?

I think she is lethargic, possibly depressed and that does make you very tired and like you have no energy to do even the smallest of tasks.

Less than 8 hours and I'm useless and I'm also not a morning person, if I have to get up before 8am I'm a total wreck.

We now go to bed around midnight and get up at 9am-ish due to hubby working permanent lates and that is perfect - but that is probably going to change if he goes onto rotating earlies and nights . Him rolling into bed , freezing cold at 7am will not please me! Plus I don't sleep well when he's not here and I'll be alone in the house too, I haven't been on my own at night for 20 years. Pass the kalms sleep someone.

Whilst I accept that the amount of sleep each person needs is individual, I sort of pity those who needs lots (like 10 hours) sleep to feel rested.

You lose so much time day after day by needing so much sleep and then being less than functional if you fail to get it. 3 extra hours a day of active time is massive.

I think it is a significant liability that will permeate into all areas of life, including what sort of job you can do, whether you can return to work after a baby and how good a parent you are, at least in early years.

It would actually really annoy me too, but I acept that I am a totally unreasonable and intolerant person! It would grate somehow.
But yes, I guess yabu.
PS The sunscreen thing would annoy me too, yes, I am irrational!

It's not an advantage to need a lot of sleep, I agree, blueshoes. But, given that it is a fact of life for a lot of people, better to recognise the fact and to live in self-acceptance of the (slight) limitations that needing sleep impose upon life.

Not many humans are superhumans with nothing but perfect traits...

I suppose there are a lot of people who are "not morning people", but as they are grown-ups and have a job of work to go to, they have to be morning people whether they like it or not. And catch up at the weekend.

Some people do need a lot of sleep whereas others seem to cope on less.

Some people think they need ten hours when in fact they are getting broken sleep all night and could cope on less but better quality sleep. Does your sister sleep well? There maybe other reasons she needs ten hours that aren't being addressed. Bad diet, iron deficiency, poor quality sleep and so on. It maybe more than just being 'bone idle'.

UQD that is exactly what I am like.

I could sleep for 12 hours a night, no problem. However, real life intrudes, so I get up at 5.15 weekdays, and go to bed at around 11pm. By Friday I feel knackered. At the weekend I lie in til about 10 (thank god dd is a teenager now and lies in as well).

UQD: or us night owls take the other option of doing our best to get jobs that suit our body clocks.
(And then we have DC and suddenly have to deal with Getting Up for School. Which is awful.)

I think she either had a medical/mood problem or she is sleeping too much, which can make you feel headachy and sluggish.

I don't need a huge amounts of sleep, I am quite happy on 6-7 hours a night 5 nights a week and do 2 night shifts together which I sleep for 4 hours afterwards in the day. I have always been the same. However, I can veer towards insomnia which drastically affects my mood. When I was a teenager I existed on 3 hours sleep a night for a good few months, I don't know how I functioned.