6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
NoVaMAG
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2021 1:08 pm

6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

Post by NoVaMAG » Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:27 am

I'm a 55 year old guy who after a few months of struggling and then improving, is finally in the groove with my CPAP!

It's taken a few months but it's working. I used to try to go to sleep at 10pm... be up and down a bunch all night. Finally get out of bed around 7am, but yawning and tired. Now I'm putting my mask on around 11-11:30 and waking up between 6 and 7am. My app says my average sleep time is going up from 2-3-4 hours of mask time and is now around 6.5 hours with some days above 7. I'm waking up rested, my numbers are awesome (events down from 55 in my sleep test to 1-3 now).

My questions for the group are...

1. Once you've gotten in the groove, have you seen the time you spend in bed decrease as your sleep quality increases? Seems reasonable to me. And at my age, 6.5-7 hours seems low buy reasonable if I'm not "tired"....
2. Other than stats captured by your device, do you have other ways to evaluate if you're getting enough sleep?

Thanks!

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zonker
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Re: 6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

Post by zonker » Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:40 am

NoVaMAG wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:27 am

1. Once you've gotten in the groove, have you seen the time you spend in bed decrease as your sleep quality increases? Seems reasonable to me. And at my age, 6.5-7 hours seems low buy reasonable if I'm not "tired"....
2. Other than stats captured by your device, do you have other ways to evaluate if you're getting enough sleep?

Thanks!
welcome to the zoo! and congrats on getting used to cpap and adapting so quickly.

to the first question, that's rather common and folk find themselves startled by it. and who can blame them? years of poor sleep train one to think has to have 8 or more hours sleep. but it ain't so.

now, me? i still sleep nine hours. and my therapy is optimized. but i seem to be the exception. and i have no trouble with that. i'm retired and can sleep as long as i please!

to the second question, not really. i just go by how i feel when i wake up. now, the last few nights i haven't slept well, with many awakenings in the night. this could be related to diet as i've been eating some spicy dinners of late.

anyway, let's see what others have to say.
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
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Miss Emerita
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Re: 6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

Post by Miss Emerita » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:17 pm

Great question! As Zonker suggests, we really need to go by how we feel during the day. For me, I know I didn't get enough unbroken sleep when my head aches, I feel stupid and grumpy, and I crave a nap. (And for me, total sleep time matters, but so does good-quality sleep. If I'm waking up every half hour, it doesn't matter how long I sleep; I'll be a mess during the day.)

Most of the reputable online sources say that most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. Some need less; some need more. Try jotting down each day how long you slept and how you felt during the day. I bet you'll figure out what's best for you.

Oh, and regular times for going to bed and getting up apparently help a lot in feeling rested.
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zonker
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Re: 6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

Post by zonker » Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:33 pm

Miss Emerita wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:17 pm

Oh, and regular times for going to bed and getting up apparently help a lot in feeling rested.
i can certainly attest to this. and i do so naturally, not by a clock.

last week, i had a colonoscopy. (the joys of getting older!) for some reason, i thought it would be better if i had the procedure at 8 am. this is particularly puzzling because this isn't my first procedure.

but i made that appointment at 8am. and then, besides the horribleness of the prep kit and it's impact, i then got to lay awake most of the night because I KNEW THAT DAMNED ALARM was going to go off. :evil:

so i guess what i'm saying is different strokes for different folks.

that and i hate alarm clocks!!
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
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Sheriff Buford
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Re: 6-7 Hours of sleep enough??

Post by Sheriff Buford » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:57 am

As was said, all people are different. When I started cpap therapy. And I found that even with less sleep, I felt better. I eventually knew what time to hit the hay to function adequately. Still, I know that I can manage less sleep better when using cpap therapy. Once proper cpap therapy sets in, see what you need. During the day, see how you feel. Are you more grumpy with less?

Course, I am ole retired geezer. But I was using cpap chasing rascals, so I needed to know how much sleep I needed to be on top of my game.

Sheriff