How many hours do you sleep?

[Bluebonnet_Gal]

A neighbor who is on C-PAP therapy was telling me how great he feels (after getting used to sleeping with the equipment). He said he wakes up at 3 or 4 in the morning though - just doesn't need as many hours sleep as he used to. I don't know how long he's been on C-PAP, but I'm sure it's a matter of months rather than years.

The tech who did my sleep study said he needs only about 4 hours a day on C-PAP to be well rested. He's been on C-PAP for 8 years.

I thought perhaps less hours of sleep are needed when a person is getting quality sleep. After much browsing on this forum and other websites, I find that the period of waking after a few hours of sleep on C-PAP may just be part of the body getting used to the therapy. The body thinks it has had enough sleep and you awaken feeling rested, but you may become tired later in the day because you have not in fact had enough hours of sleep.

I know the amount of sleep needed varies from one person to another and also varies with age. My neighbor is around 67 or 68 I think. Just a guess at the sleep tech's age - I would put him in his 40s. I'm 43.

Looking for some feedback from some of you experienced "xPAPers" on what your experience has been and how much sleep you need each night.

[sleeplessinaz]

Hello ---I agree that the amount of sleep needed varies from one person to another and also varies with age. Is your neighbor still working or retired? I am still a working stiff and cannot take naps when I want so I need 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night to make me feel rested. I am female with hormones too so maybe that is why I need the sleep--but KUDOS to your neighbor that can function on 4 or 5 hours of sleep--but I bet he does not have a job that requires alot of attention to detail, or any manual labor jobs----
that is just my 2 cents,
Carrie

[CorgiGirl]

I feel best when I sleep 7-8 hours a night. Any less and I start to get sick. I've only been on xPAP for 4 months, but I don't think this will change. My husband needs about 9 hours and he's been on xPAP for 5 years now....

Everyone's different, but most studies say you need at least 7 hours to be truly alert and to stave off chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Based on the research I've done, I think your neighbor and sleep tech may be in denial or they may have the opportunity to nap during the day. Just my

[Hawthorne]

I'm retired and get about 6 1/2 to 7 hours sleep per night most of the time. I have always been an early riser though but this seems to do me fine. I just can't sleep later than 6 am unless I am ill and never could except waaay back when I was a teenager!

[bdp522]

I sleep about 6 hrs a night. I always wake before my alarm goes off. If I go to bed early I just get wake earlier. Before xpap I could sleep much longer and wake unrested. Now I sleep less but have LOTS more energy!

Brenda

[SleepyNoMore]

I sleep anywhere from 7 to 9 hours but feel my best when I sleep for 7 to 7 & 1/2 hours, if I sleep longer from that I feel awful for hours after I wake up not to mention hateful, !

As like lots of others, my sleep needs vary from day to day, I could NEVER survive on (4 hours of sleep a night), I would be a walking and driving ZOMBIE... I don't see how anyone could possibly sleep for 4 hours a night and not feel sleepy all day long!

SleepyNoMore

[biggziff]

When I started CPAP I went about 4 hours and awoke. That lasted a few months. I've been averaging 6.5-7.5 hours now for 3 years. If I get much less than 6 I feel odd in the afternoon.

[Wulfman]

I could almost say "ditto" to what SleepyNoMore wrote.

My nightly "average" is slightly over 7 1/2 hours. It doesn't take too many nights in the 6 1/2 hr. (or less) range for me to feel the negative effects.....but I usually have a couple in that range during the week and then I make up for them on the weekends.

When I started CPAP therapy, I did have shorter nights and had to build up to where I'm at now. In my first year (2005), my nightly average was 6 1/2 hrs.

Den (still making up for the many years of "burning the candle at both ends")

[sleeprite]

Regarding quality sleep meaning you need less, I have been on my machine for only one week. For the last several months, I've gotten to the point where I needed more and more sleep, eight or nine hours. This week I've been getting 7 hours at the most and that's with an least one or two wake ups per night dealing with mask issues. But I've felt fine on less sleep. But it definitely is better sleep, evenwith the wake ups. I'm hoping that this is a permanent benefit.

[goose]

Pre-CPAP I was in around 5-6 hours a night.....could fall asleep at the drop of a hat (my wife couldn't believe I could come in from a class or from work at 10pm and be asleep by 10:15 -- had to be up at 4 to go to work) never set an alarm -- was always up 5 minutes before the 4am schedule, wide awake and ready to rock-n-roll.....I used to say, "Up at 4, brain dead by noon"......

Now with CPAP -- I'm in around 8-10 per night, takes me 15-20 minutes to drop off (some nights more), don't hear the alarm due to earplugs (but it has to be set), wake up groggy until I get that first cup of joe and I'm off to the races.....BUT, now I'm up until midnight or later and sleep until 9 or 9:30 -- Job was sent to India 5 days before I got my machine, so I have no idea how I'm going to deal with working again, and the brain doesn't die half way through the day anymore......

cheers
goose

[Slinky]

66 years old and retired. CPAP for 19 months and now on VPAP bi-level. Averaging 7 1/2 hours sleep and actually feeling human! Seldom need to nap. Sure beats being one of the living dead! Viva xPAP therapy!!!

[roster]

Hello ---I agree that the amount of sleep needed ...... varies with age.

I hear that from time to time but doubt that it is true. Certainly, as a general rule, people are not able to sleep as many hours per night as they did when they were younger. This is likely due to health problems associated with aging including aches and pains and of course SDB. Less activity is also a factor in many cases.

From observation, I believe that people who do not see a change in hours of sleep as they age are, and will continue to be, healthier than the general population. So the message is if you are sleeping less there are things wrong and you should correct them if possible. You still need that restorative sleep!