So rested, I need LESS time in bed. Bored. What to do?

I'm really starting to wonder just how long I've had Apnea. While I guessed it started about 7 years ago, I'm thinking much before that now.

I've always considered myself one that NEEDS at least 10 hours of sleep to barely feel good. That makes since if you're holding your breath, and gagging in your sleep more than half the night, Right?

So, here I am, It's 3:15 AM. I'm just not tired. I'll go lay down again in 10 minutes and see if I can drift off. And then try to get up at a normal hour.

But what's NORMAL now????

I imagine this a good problem to have. I'm feeling SO good on this therapy. I just really had no idea how bad I was.

So first, I guess I have to figure out just how much sleep I need at night? And then figure out how to manage my day around that so I can sleep AT NIGHT!

Not complaining. Well, rambling a bit. Suggestions? I see actual workouts in my future! Maybe a new hobby. Or heck just reading more?

This is a "problem", I never expected to have. Maybe it's just temporary?

So very interesting.

Have a great week everyone!

I don't think any particular amount of hours is considered "normal". If you feel like you're getting enough sleep, are not sleepy during the day and can stay up until a decent time of night you must be getting enough asleep. I recommend more participation on the forum and the trilogy that starts with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson to use some of that extra awake time.
Great news.

cdcm71 wrote:Suggestions?

You need 7 to 8 hours per sleep each night. Anyone who says they only need 3 to 5 hours is just flat wrong. Body and brain need more time to recover each day. People with insufficient sleep will pay for it dearly in longterm health problems.

Google "sleep hygiene". Read several sources. Practice good sleep hygiene every day. Once you are doing this you will begin to figure out how much sleep you need. It may take a few weeks.

By all means take up an exercise program. Do something you enjoy. I love weightlifting and when I go to the gym during morning business hours I meet a lot of people who started it in their sixties after they retired. So this point is you can start it at any age. Best to use a trainer when starting. They are not expensive if you do it in a class.

Walking at a brisk pace is also good exercise. I am in the gym three times per week and try to walk outside once every week. I can leave my condo and take a wonderful eight-mile loop mostly on city streets. For two hours I am seeing people, activity, commerce, beautiful homes and gardens, and women with great gluteus maximi in running or biking tights.

And of course eat a good diet.

Need something more to do during the day...VOLUNTEER, your hospital, library, local school, meals on wheels, museum....the list goes on. If you tire yourself out during the day, perhaps you would sleep at night.
Cheers..from a volunteer Nan

Probably impossible to force yourself to sleep if you're not sleepy.
This may change with time.
Avoid caffeine after lunchtime, get some exercise, read something calming when you can't sleep.
Also, big meals late in the day, or tobacco use can mess up your sleep.
Or course, there is one thing that always makes hubby sleepy. . .
Oh, yeah, that, too,
--but I was thinking about late night TV and a warm dog in his lap.

NightMonkey wrote: You need 7 to 8 hours per sleep each night. Anyone who says they only need 3 to 5 hours is just flat wrong. Body and brain need more time to recover each day. People with insufficient sleep will pay for it dearly in longterm health problems.

No there are some people who are genetically disposed to needing less sleep. They are rare but they do exist.

Also older people, especially women, need less sleep. I do fine on 6-7 hours. Trying to stay in bed longer is boring and if I do fall asleep again I wake up with a stuffed head feeling and I can't get to sleep at night.

BlackSpinner wrote: No there are some people who are genetically disposed to needing less sleep. They are rare but they do exist.

There are some people who are genetically disposed to pancreatic cancer.

Being "genetically disposed" does not mean something is healthy.

I used to sleep around 10 hours when I could. I wasn't sleepy if I had less sleep, but when I got the chance to sleep 10 hours (or 12), I would.
When I started CPAP, I found that I would wake up fully refreshed after 5 or 6 hours of sleep. Probably because my body felt that 5 or 6 hours of really good sleep without apneas was equal or better than the 10 hours I needed before.
Now I sleep 7h30 to 8h per night, and even on weekends I don't have a lie-in because I am fully awake and full of energy!
It's true that less time in bed means more time out of bed so there is a need to find things to do, I'm sure you will find something!

cdcm71 wrote: I've always considered myself one that NEEDS at least 10 hours of sleep to barely feel good. That makes since if you're holding your breath, and gagging in your sleep more than half the night, Right?

So, here I am, It's 3:15 AM. I'm just not tired. I'll go lay down again in 10 minutes and see if I can drift off. And then try to get up at a normal hour.

When's bedtime? When's wake up time?

It's quite possible that you no longer need "at least 10 hours of sleep" to feel good any more.

The amount of sleep needed by a healthy person does vary. But for most people, it is in the 7-9 hour range. A few rare souls function well on less sleep for years; a few consistently find they need more even if they are 100% healthy. So if you have no idea how much sleep you really need to feel at your best, then here's what I'd recommend:

Set your wake up time first. It's preferable if you can get up at or near this time seven days a week. Then count backwards by about 8 hours to determine an approximate bedtime. Go to bed at bedtime ONLY if you are sleepy. Otherwise, go to bed as soon as you get sleepy AFTER your designated bedtime.

For example: Let's suppose you want to wake up at 6:30 every morning. Eight hours earlier is 10:30. So go to bed at 10:30 ONLY if you are sleepy. If you are NOT sleepy at 10:30, wait until you get sleepy to go to bed. Some nights it might be 11:30 by the time you are in bed and on other nights you'll be happy to hit the sack at 10:30. If an average of eight hours of sleep is what you need, long term you should have little or no trouble waking up at 6:30 on this schedule and most nights you'll be in bed by 10:30 or a little bit later. If you need a bit more sleep time than 8 hours, you'll find that you're always sleepy by 10:30 and that you want to go to bed earlier on a frequent basis. And when you get sleepy night after night will give you great insight into when bedtime should be. If you need a bit less than 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis, you should find that the actual time you go to bed should stabilize with time to give you an appropriate length sleep window.

And while it sounds as though getting too much sleep should not be a problem, oversleeping can leave you feeling less rested than getting the appropriate amount of sleep each night. The "extra sleep" is often fragmented and not very high in quality. Or, if the sleep window is too long, the body can have real problems with sleep continuity in the middle of the night.

So pay attention to your body: If you've got a consistent wake up time, your body will eventually start to get sleepy at the appropriate time for obtaining enough sleep if you pay attention!