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How much sleep do you require?


VeJoe
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I've been trying to nail this down for myself for years and I think it's one of those things that I probably worry about WAY too much... I've noticed since becoming vegan 6 months ago, that I don't seem to require as much sleep as my omnivore days...

 

So I would like to know what everybody's sleep requirements are. I seem to be doing good on 7-8 hours / night but I'm wondering if I should try to sleep more since I just recently started lifting.

 

So I guess I would like to know A) how much sleep you require per night? - and - B) do you require less since becoming vegan? - and - C) do you require more when training?

 

TIA!

 

--Joe

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I need about 8 hours a night. I've pretty much always needed this amount, but since becoming vegan I'd say when I wake up in the morning I feel like I had a better rest. Some nights I only get 6 hours of sleep and do fine too, so I guess it just depends on what life throws at you like stress, etc. Sometimes if I've had a real busy day at the gym I need more sleep, but that's because I'm worn out.

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A)

On the weekend I don't set my alarm.

I usually wake up about 6 or 7 hours after I fall asleep.

 

B)

I think that I need less sleep now than my SAD days.

But I slept so poorly back then it's difficult to compare.

 

C)

I don't train nearly as hard as most people here.

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I sleep about 9-9.5 hours but i feel very well and strong only with 10 hours...

If i try to sleep more than 10 hours i can't and the quality of my sleep falls..

 

Before becoming vegan i needed almost the same time of sleep but now when i wake up i feel much better and refreshed...

 

Just sleep as much as you want..Also its important to start your sleep as early as possible..

I sleep from 9 o'clock when possible and wake up at 7 or 7.30...

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I don't use an alarm clock, because I don't have any reason to at the moment, so i've been recieving about 9 hours average and always feel rested up afterwards. Sometimes it can take me up to an hour to get to sleep, so my average could be off a little and may be more closer to 8.

My sleep schedule is also screwed up as I wake up in the afternoons rather than the mornings. I intend to fix this somehow.

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I average around 10-12 hours of sleep a day. Sometimes 14. And I hate it. I hate sleeping so much. And is it just me or do you start to feel sleepier the longer you sleep? And it's harder for me to get up.

 

I used to average 6 hours a night. But nowadays I easily double that.

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I'm sure I need at least 8 like everyone else but I only get 3.5-4.5 hours most of the time. It really sucks but I've been dealing with this for almost 15 years. Anyhow in someways it seems to be enough considering what I do training wise.

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Usually about 8 hours a night. Too much sleep or too little sleep leaves me feeling sluggish. I don't think my sleep needs have changed significantly since becoming vegan, but I do think that my sleep has been more restful.

 

Stress and certain monthly hormonal fluctuations make me need an extra hour or two of sleep to feel really refreshed and alert.

 

If I'm fasting, juicing, or high raw, I tend to need an hour or two less sleep.

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I usually get 7-8, but i also make an effort to nap every day. Can definitely get away with less sleep (overall) by taking a nap or two...gotta be careful to nap 'right' tho. ;)

 

I wish i had more time to sleep tho, i'd love to get 10+hrs a day. Very beneficial if you're training hard.

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Interesting topic, as I have played around with my sleep over the last year. I've found that when training minimally (3x per week for about an hour), I do well on about 8 hrs of sleep. However, I need a good 9-10 when increasing my training. Also, I noticed that I needed this amount before going vegan...guess my body needed more recovery time to digest animal protein.

 

Overall, I have found that the best method that works for me is to get up at the same time every day, and then let my body tell me what time to go to bed. This way, my sleep is never exactly the same, but I get what my body needs.

 

The most interesting sleeping pattern I've come across is polyphasic sleep. You don't do all of your sleeping in one lump of time, but rather take naps throughout the day. Supposedly you will need less sleep overall, and have a lot more free time. If you're interested, check out a few posts by Steve Pavlina and his experiment with this method http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/.

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The most interesting sleeping pattern I've come across is polyphasic sleep. You don't do all of your sleeping in one lump of time, but rather take naps throughout the day. Supposedly you will need less sleep overall, and have a lot more free time. If you're interested, check out a few posts by Steve Pavlina and his experiment with this method http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/.

 

That was interesting to read about, it would be quite a challenge. I would be concerned about the impact such a sleep pattern would have on the heart. I read an article a few days ago that sleeping gives the heart a much needed break. A study among healthy people (assumed monophasic) adding a 30+ minute nap midday reduced the risk of cardiac death by 37% (Psychology Today). I wonder if polyphasic would be enough rest for the heart?

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The most interesting sleeping pattern I've come across is polyphasic sleep. You don't do all of your sleeping in one lump of time, but rather take naps throughout the day. Supposedly you will need less sleep overall, and have a lot more free time. If you're interested, check out a few posts by Steve Pavlina and his experiment with this method http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/.

 

That was interesting to read about, it would be quite a challenge. I would be concerned about the impact such a sleep pattern would have on the heart. I read an article a few days ago that sleeping gives the heart a much needed break. A study among healthy people (assumed monophasic) adding a 30+ minute nap midday reduced the risk of cardiac death by 37% (Psychology Today). I wonder if polyphasic would be enough rest for the heart?

 

I wish I was one of those people that could take a nap midday. I feel like garbage after waking up from them.

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Napping has a science to it..the basic gist is to nap less than 20min, or over an hour.

 

It's typically the 21-59min naps that leave you feeling gross or disoriented. I read an article on this a while back, but i don't recall where it was, but this is what they concluded.

 

Works well for me anyway!

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