sleep deficit and catching up

[kenmoremmm]

started a family 3+ years ago. coupled with a complete DIY home remodel and heavy workload at my actual job and i've been short on sleep for a good 4 years by at least an hour+/day. in the past year, i had a pretty intense project at work that resulted in dozens of nights of <5 hours of sleep. work has backed off a bit, lately, and i think i have an opportunity to "catch up" - even though i realize that isn't truly doable and i've suffered permanent health damage from not enough zzzz's each night.

i've also developed a little bit of insomnia, so that kind of sucks. i've long been a night owl and once i cross 10pm, i'm normally good for 2am until i have to force myself to sleep.

i'm curious if others have had a similar tale and how long it took for sleep to get back to "normal" and feel rested again. i've noticed that as i've been getting a bit more sleep than i had been (like >6hrs/night), i've felt even more tired in the mornings. but, i have been dreaming more, so i take that as a good sign.

[Travis]

Story of my life.  Uncle Sam insists that I wake up at 5am every day for the last 21 years. I hate it. I'm a night person. Unless I'm utterly exhausted I can stay up well past midnight even on a work day. My favorite video games these days require a lot of planning and concentration and keep my mind buzzing well past bed time so I'm awake from 5-midnight frequently.  I'll sleep in for a couple hours on the weekends and sometimes "sleeping in" means I'm sleeping as much as I should be in the first place.  The last couple years I've supplemented my morning issues with coffee which gives me headaches on days I don't drink it.  My wife is pretty strict about her daily routine and also wakes up between 5-6am, but she's in bed by 10pm consistently.  With the years I've been away from the family, she's been good about enforcing consistent wake up and bed times with our son.  Even on the weekends and now with us in the off-school season she insists he keep the same schedule.

[Buffaloski Boris]

You might want to check into seeing a sleep doctor. I'm another person who doesn't sleep.  It's not good for you.

[GuitarStv]

My son regularly woke everyone in the house up 6 or 7 nights a week from the time he was born until about three and a half or four.  Then there was a year of waking everyone up 2-3 nights a week.  Before having him, I'd regularly sleep 8 hrs a night.  Since, I average probably 5-6 hours a night and am exhausted all the time.  Even though my son no longer wakes us up, my elderly beagle now needs to go out after five or six hours at night.

I have never been able to get back to normal.  At this point I believe that my sleep schedule is permenantly damaged.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

[Morning Glory]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

Agreed. Last night I was just drifting off and someone started setting off fireworks and got my dog going. I also have coyotes nesting near the train tracks this year so when the train goes by they start yipping and my dog barks at them (the dog is not usually bothered by trains).

My kids are good sleepers at least. The first 6 months or so were pretty miserable with each one but after that they slept fine. At age 3 my oldest started waking up early and going downstairs by himself to watch TV until everyone woke up.

I've had years of working rotating shifts and all kinds of craziness, so I've learned to prioritize sleep. If you know when you need to wake up, make sure to go to bed 8 hours before that. Add 30 minutes for each expected disturbance.  I don't care if it's seven pm or 7 am. Read a book if you can't sleep yet. Take the beagle out right before you turn in so you at least get a 4 hour stretch. Getting enough sleep is a higher priority than video games.

[Hula Hoop]

I have the same issue.  Also a night owl although thankfully I don't need to get up at 5 am.  That would kill me.  Anyway I agree about catching the sleep train.  Last night I was tired at around midnight and my husband went to bed then but I somehow started worrying about something and ended up staying up until 3 am. 

[better late]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

This is exactly right and awesomely said. Thank you.

[MasterStache]

Haha, I always kind of laugh when the phrase "catching up on my sleep" pops up. Technically you cannot catch up on sleep. It's time lost. It did it's damage. I realize I am being technical but I do agree with others. Don't ignore the "sleep train" when it hits you. Your body is telling you it's time to snooze! Easier said than done I know. I tend to ignore the sleep train but I average roughly 8-8.5 hours every night.

[Hotstreak]

started a family 3+ years ago. coupled with a complete DIY home remodel and heavy workload at my actual job and i've been short on sleep for a good 4 years by at least an hour+/day. in the past year, i had a pretty intense project at work that resulted in dozens of nights of <5 hours of sleep. work has backed off a bit, lately, and i think i have an opportunity to "catch up" - even though i realize that isn't truly doable and i've suffered permanent health damage from not enough zzzz's each night.

i've also developed a little bit of insomnia, so that kind of sucks. i've long been a night owl and once i cross 10pm, i'm normally good for 2am until i have to force myself to sleep.

i'm curious if others have had a similar tale and how long it took for sleep to get back to "normal" and feel rested again. i've noticed that as i've been getting a bit more sleep than i had been (like >6hrs/night), i've felt even more tired in the mornings. but, i have been dreaming more, so i take that as a good sign.

It took me a couple of months.  Hang in there and follow your pre-sleep routine, it will get easier.

[Morning Glory]

Room darkening curtains and ear plugs work too. And a sound machine,if you don't have one already. We travel with that thing. We originally got it for the first kid but liked it so much we got another one when we moved him out of our room.

[BNgarden]

https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316

This is a good book covering why sleep is important and how underslept society is overall.  I think he also summarizes how to sleep better, but you'll have to trust online reviewers on that, as I have forgotten that part.

For those who like a deeper dive.

[AccidentialMustache]

Try a short headspace meditation when you want to sleep. It might summon sleepy train for you. You can start free and you don't need to do long meditations to get the ...stop... you may need.

[mspym]

Anna is right - you have to catch the Sleepy Train when it turns up.

My options are catch the sleepy train at 9.30-10pm or be unable to get to sleep till after midnight. I still wake up at 6am (thank you planes + dog) so it's the difference between feeling good or terrible the next day.

Dark cool room, good bed, low soothing music.

[Playing with Fire UK]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

This is exactly right and awesomely said. Thank you.

One tip for this is to have done all of your sleep prep earlier in the evening. So change into sleepwear, close curtains, brush teeth, put out the bins, dogs etc so that when the sleep train pulls into the station all you need to do is go straight to bed.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

This is exactly right and awesomely said. Thank you.

One tip for this is to have done all of your sleep prep earlier in the evening. So change into sleepwear, close curtains, brush teeth, put out the bins, dogs etc so that when the sleep train pulls into the station all you need to do is go straight to bed.

Yeah, you definitely have to be at the station waiting for the Sleepy Train. It will only wait for 10 minutes or so.

[Travis]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

This is exactly right and awesomely said. Thank you.

One tip for this is to have done all of your sleep prep earlier in the evening. So change into sleepwear, close curtains, brush teeth, put out the bins, dogs etc so that when the sleep train pulls into the station all you need to do is go straight to bed.

Yeah, you definitely have to be at the station waiting for the Sleepy Train. It will only wait for 10 minutes or so.

I've found that doing some of my morning prep right before bed helps too. If I have to wake up early I'm going to be worried about having enough time to make breakfast, lunch, shave, and get out the door on time so I'll wake up earlier than I need to. I'll also be restless worrying that I'll miss my alarm or snooze through it. If all I have to do after I wake up is get dressed, pack my bag, and leave I'll sleep a little deeper.

[Morning Glory]

This site might be helpful, and you can get free contact hours if you are a healthcare worker:

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-115/default.html

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/strategies.html

[kenmoremmm]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

is there a scientific term for the sleepy train? i've definitely been paying attention to it more as of late. yawns, ready to go to bed, but then pushing through and staying up for hours more as many of you have said.

[DarkandStormy]

https://coveteur.com/2019/03/22/research-shows-no-way-revive-sleep-deprivation/
There’s No Such Thing as “Paying Back Your Sleep Debt”

Researchers found that, no matter how prolific study participants’ weekend sleep schedule might be, if they were sleep-deprived during the week, they never fully “caught up” on sleep, as we like to say. Though we already knew that slim sleep patterns can lead to weight gain and other issues, the new study found that those who got five hours of sleep per night during the week and slept “ad libitum,” or as much and as often as desired, on the weekend gained about three pounds on average over the course of 13 days at a research lab.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

is there a scientific term for the sleepy train? i've definitely been paying attention to it more as of late. yawns, ready to go to bed, but then pushing through and staying up for hours more as many of you have said.

What makes you think Sleepy Train is not a scientific term?

[Serendip]

The best thing I have ever learned about sleep, as a night owl and regular insomniac, is this: YOU NEED TO CATCH THE SLEEPY TRAIN WHEN IT COMES. If you miss the Sleepy Train, you have to wait until it comes around again. That might not be for hours and hours. Catch the frickin Sleepy Train!

is there a scientific term for the sleepy train? i've definitely been paying attention to it more as of late. yawns, ready to go to bed, but then pushing through and staying up for hours more as many of you have said.

What makes you think Sleepy Train is not a scientific term?

a.k.a  Soporific Locomotivus ??

[Serendip]

There's an excellent book called "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker, he does touch upon the idea that you can't 'catch up' on sleep but the book is great motivation to get sleeping habits in line (as much as possible anyhow).