The Sleep Results Are In! Are You Rested?
Well hello, sleepyheads, I have just finished tabulating responses to our sleep survey. Here’s what we found:
—On average you are sleeping 7 hours a night. Not too shabby! Though studies have shown that people tend to overestimate how much they sleep…
—About 40% of you go to bed between 10pm and midnight. The exact same number go to bed after midnight. Only 10% go to bed before 10pm (so much for Ayurveda!). The rest of you have more complicated patterns that could not be measured. Many reported a lot of time in bed, with not so much time asleep.
—Congrats to the 54% of you that have zero, zip, no trouble sleeping. Unfortunately that leaves 46% who do. Stress was a big factor in falling asleep, and many of you reported waking up frequently in the night. There were a few nods to dogs, babies, and men (the last both helping and hindering).
A lot of you report waking up to pee as well. If that’s a big problem, try avoiding liquids after 8pm. For other tips on how to get a better night’s sleep check out our recent post about it here.
Overall these results seem okay, though many of us could stand to improve our sleep life a bit, no? One last question then for the poll: Do you feel rested with the hours you get? (A simple yes or no in the comments section would be great!)
Image of beautiful waking woman via
I ALWAYS get up to pee. But…avoiding liquids after 8? How is a girl supposed to stay hydrated on a daily basis if she can’t drink fluids for 4 or 5 of her waking hours? (Although, admittedly, I am in need of a better hydration plan. I always have water near me. It’s drinking it that’s hard.)
alas. no. sigh.
This is strictly my opinion, so do take with a grain of salt. When researching the book we found no “proof” that you need 8 glasses of water a day (someone said that once and it stuck), and a lot of our hydration also comes from fruits and veggies. My feeling is that if you hydrate well during the day, and eat those kinds of foods, you won’t go thirsty at night.
The days where I wake up rested are RARE. And more and more frequently I awake at 3AM and 4AM and have trouble getting back to sleep. Then the alarm sounds at 6AM. Then I hit snooze 3 times…I’m going to work on getting to bed earlier and taking naps!
No. I rarely feel completely rested for the entirety of the day- the worst times are right when i wake up for about an hr, and from 1-4 pm
Yes! Even though I wake up to pee, in the morning I feel really rested.
…On the sleep poll someone mentioned learning about REM cycles and I do notice that if I wake up to my alarm during a dream (which is when we are in REM, right?), then I don’t feel as rested as I normally do.
No
I’ve noticed the same about REM cycles. I think that’s part of the reason why it’s easier for me to wake up at 5:45am rather than say, 7:30am. Which is not to say I do that all the time… But at 7:30 I’m definitely in a dream cycle and it’s hard to pull myself out!
NO : (
It is true, that a study long ago “suggested” eight glasses of water a day and that somehow became the daily recommendation as well as an urban legend.
My physician suggested no beverages after 6:00 p.m. for those of us who need to urinate in the middle of the night. Once is okay, more than once is not normal.
Also, you can over-exert your kidneys by drinking too many fluids. Common sense should take the front seat on this one.
When I have a week where I’m really consistent with everything (sleep schedule, eating well, exercise) I feel pretty well-rested, though I’m always super ready for bed by bed time (and sometimes, ah, 8 PM).
But if any one of those elements is out of whack, I definitely start to drag. I’m super migraine-prone and have learned that consistency is key to keeping them at bay, so this is usually a warning sign that I need to get back on track or that way darkness lies… alas, that is often easier said than done when you’re on a deadline!