Did you find that you started sleeping a lot better after retiring?

[swampwiz]

I was reading this:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/09/anxiety-insomnia-sleeplessness-treatment-cures-recovery.html

The following year, about seven years after my two weeks of sleeplessness, I quit litigation and I spent most of my time writing fiction. Perhaps not coincidentally, I started to sleep again. Big long sleep, big luxurious sleep, the kind where you slide into your bed, and snuggle into the clean sheets, and drift away into colorful dreams and your secret life.

[Trirod]

Not retired yet so can’t really comment but it’s one of the things I am really, really looking forward to once I do retire in 4 long months, so I certainly hope it’s true.

[Cranky]

No.

[Blackbeard]

I FIRED about two weeks ago.  I absolutely noticed a difference in my sleep pattern.  I hadn’t had a dream in about three years during a very stressful job.  Now I’m dreaming like I was a little kid.  Sleeping 9 hours no problem.

[Dicey]

No. In fact, I started snoring after a lifetime of being a non-snorer. WTF? I was recently tested for sleep apnea and sure enough, the results were awful: severe sleep apnea. I'm getting used to a c-pap and sleeping much better now. Weird.

[swampwiz]

It's 07:45 (in the morning, local time), and I'm still here reading this.  Mr. Money Moustache is interfering with my sleep!

[Exflyboy]

Yes and no..

When I first quit I spent several months with worse sleep because I was fretting about the fact the firehose of income had been shut off and you can't possibly live without income now can you?

After 2 years (plus the three before being semi retired) I sleep much better.

[use2betrix]

I FIRED about two weeks ago.  I absolutely noticed a difference in my sleep pattern.  I hadn’t had a dream in about three years during a very stressful job.  Now I’m dreaming like I was a little kid.  Sleeping 9 hours no problem.

I’m hoping for the opposite. I have nightmares easily 4-5 nights a week. Very scary jacked up dreams that seem to last the whole night. Occasionally recurring ones. I’ve had this most my life.

I hope when I FIRE or partial FIRE long before, that these somewhat subside.

I’ve had a pretty decent chunk of surgeries in my life, and anesthesia to me is like the worlds greatest thing. I’m fortunate I work in an industry that gets drug tested, because it keeps me from dabbling into some kind of sedative/tranquilizer.

[Slow2FIRE]

Not retired ....

However, since I work from home and log into my computer when I am good and ready (not on anyone else's schedule), I sleep pretty well when there are no ridiculous deadlines pressing.  Haven't used an alarm clock more than 5 or 6 times in the past 5 years with this work arrangement.

[RedmondStash]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

[EnjoyIt]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

@RedmondStash,
Can you please share what is stressing you?  Maybe we can all learn or maybe we can all help.

[rosarugosa]

I was sleeping much better initially, but there have been some recent unrelated stressful events in my life that are having an impact.  I'm hoping this turns around soon.

[RedmondStash]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

@RedmondStash,
Can you please share what is stressing you?  Maybe we can all learn or maybe we can all help.

@EnjoyIt, I can do you one better; here's an entire thread about it. :)

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/difficult-fire-decompressiontransition-anyone/

TL;DR: I *think* I'm dealing with all the toxic crap I compartmentalized away while I had to work, and now that I don't have to work anymore, it's coming to the surface. Plus not working is a big change, which requires some adjustment.

There are a lot of other interesting comments and thoughts in that thread from other folks that might prove useful.

[Gyosho]

I retired in May and my sleep has improved by leaps and bounds.

My job required me to be on call one week out of every 3, and my sleep was often interrupted by my phone going off at 3 am. Nights when it didn't go off, I stayed in a state of heightened alertness listening for it.

Now I can actually turn off my phone at night! What a luxury! (When I was working, I turned off my phone one night when I was not on call. Major emergency happened. My boss freaked out because he couldn't contact me. I pointed out to him that I was not on call. Made no difference. This incident greatly increased my desire to retire ASAP.)

I also am free of those daily worries - did I say the right thing in the meeting? Is co-worker X getting ahead of me in his career? What about that email?

Blissfully, I sleep all night now, until 7 in the morning!

[MaaS]

Not quite the intent of the thread, but somewhat related:

I surprisingly found that my sleep has improved dramatically since I quit my job and started consulting. I still work the same amount, but have flexibility over when. To me, just knowing that I can sleep in helps me sleep much better.

I suppose retirement could be similar in that way?

[EnjoyIt]

I took 4 weeks of vacation about 1 year ago and during those 4 weeks I had the best sleep in well over a decade. I would never set an alarm clock but wake up naturally.  If I had to be out on the ski slope by 9am, I would have naturally woken up at 7:30 or 8am getting ready. No alarm cock, just my body telling me that fun things are happening today and I should wake up.  I can't wait for that to happen again.

[EnjoyIt]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

@RedmondStash,
Can you please share what is stressing you?  Maybe we can all learn or maybe we can all help.

@EnjoyIt, I can do you one better; here's an entire thread about it. :)

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/difficult-fire-decompressiontransition-anyone/

TL;DR: I *think* I'm dealing with all the toxic crap I compartmentalized away while I had to work, and now that I don't have to work anymore, it's coming to the surface. Plus not working is a big change, which requires some adjustment.

There are a lot of other interesting comments and thoughts in that thread from other folks that might prove useful.

I'm reading it now.  I had no idea there can be so much pent up stress that can take years to unravel.  That is a very informative thread.  Thanks so much for starting it and sharing your experience.

[RedmondStash]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

@RedmondStash,
Can you please share what is stressing you?  Maybe we can all learn or maybe we can all help.

@EnjoyIt, I can do you one better; here's an entire thread about it. :)

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/difficult-fire-decompressiontransition-anyone/

TL;DR: I *think* I'm dealing with all the toxic crap I compartmentalized away while I had to work, and now that I don't have to work anymore, it's coming to the surface. Plus not working is a big change, which requires some adjustment.

There are a lot of other interesting comments and thoughts in that thread from other folks that might prove useful.

I'm reading it now.  I had no idea there can be so much pent up stress that can take years to unravel.  That is a very informative thread.  Thanks so much for starting it and sharing your experience.

Yeah, it came as a surprise to me too. I figured I'd strut out of my job as a happy new FIRE-ee, sleep a lot for 6 months while making delightful plans, travel a lot, and generally feel awesome. When that didn't happen, I kinda felt I was behind the curve, which made me feel bad. So I thought I'd see if anyone else might secretly feel they were behind the curve too and had similar stories to share. As much as I enjoy seeing people excited about their great new FIREd lives -- and I really do -- I also don't want myself or anyone else feeling like they're not "doing" retirement right if they're not marinating in bliss every moment of the day, especially immediately after FIRE. It can be a tricky and even difficult time.

[Dicey]

Damn it, it's almost midnight, I have an early call and a busy day ahead. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. I am almost six years FIRE. I know I'm not doing FIRE wrong...sometimes I just can't sleep. Big deal. Good news is I may be busy tomorrow,  but none of it is work, it's all stuff I choose to do, which is nice, very nice.

[Linea_Norway]

Damn it, it's almost midnight, I have an early call and a busy day ahead. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. I am almost six years FIRE. I know I'm not doing FIRE wrong...sometimes I just can't sleep. Big deal. Good news is I may be busy tomorrow,  but none of it is work, it's all stuff I choose to do, which is nice, very nice.

Isn't that just anxiety about all the things that are going to happen the next day? I have had that so often. I think it is totally normal. What might help in such cases is trying to distract yourself with relaxing things the last couple of hours before bedtime. But that is probably the thing you don't have time for that evening before.

[Cranky]

Damn it, it's almost midnight, I have an early call and a busy day ahead. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. I am almost six years FIRE. I know I'm not doing FIRE wrong...sometimes I just can't sleep. Big deal. Good news is I may be busy tomorrow,  but none of it is work, it's all stuff I choose to do, which is nice, very nice.

I spent all those years getting up with the kids at night, and dreaming about the day that I could sleep through the night again... and then I couldn't.

Sometimes I can't fall asleep easily, but usually I wake up around 3 AM and that's *it*. So annoying, but I'm not especially tired or sleepy, so I guess it's okay.

[EnjoyIt]

Worse, actually. I FIREd about 10 months ago. Still decompressing, I guess. But I would not say my stress level has decreased yet. YMMV.

@RedmondStash,
Can you please share what is stressing you?  Maybe we can all learn or maybe we can all help.

@EnjoyIt, I can do you one better; here's an entire thread about it. :)

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/difficult-fire-decompressiontransition-anyone/

TL;DR: I *think* I'm dealing with all the toxic crap I compartmentalized away while I had to work, and now that I don't have to work anymore, it's coming to the surface. Plus not working is a big change, which requires some adjustment.

There are a lot of other interesting comments and thoughts in that thread from other folks that might prove useful.

I'm reading it now.  I had no idea there can be so much pent up stress that can take years to unravel.  That is a very informative thread.  Thanks so much for starting it and sharing your experience.

Yeah, it came as a surprise to me too. I figured I'd strut out of my job as a happy new FIRE-ee, sleep a lot for 6 months while making delightful plans, travel a lot, and generally feel awesome. When that didn't happen, I kinda felt I was behind the curve, which made me feel bad. So I thought I'd see if anyone else might secretly feel they were behind the curve too and had similar stories to share. As much as I enjoy seeing people excited about their great new FIREd lives -- and I really do -- I also don't want myself or anyone else feeling like they're not "doing" retirement right if they're not marinating in bliss every moment of the day, especially immediately after FIRE. It can be a tricky and even difficult time.

Although I am not FIREd I gave my notice of going part time today. The math is sound, we don't need the money but I am still a bit scared of losing out on all that income.   I wonder how I will sleep tonight?  Fearing the future or enjoying the increase in free time and decrease in responsibility.

[swampwiz]

No alarm cock, just my body telling me that fun things are happening today and I should wake up.

Yes, if I had that type of alarm, I would say that fun things would be happening too. ;)

[HBFIRE]

I sleep much better now than when I worked, as long as I'm exercising.  I find as soon as i get out of my exercise routine, or put on some weight, my sleep goes to crap.

[BikeFanatic]

Not retired yet either,  but hopefully less than 2 years. I found that I sleep much much better quitting drinking.  Also I am using Melatonin when I go to bed too early and have big day. I have tried MJ as well, that knocks me out. Switching to a less stressful job has also helped. I used to we up super early like 300 AM and not be able to go back to sleep.  These days I tend to sleep in a bit later. 

Even melatonin is not for everyone some report night mares.  With the MJ I had to find the right dose so I did not get high just sleepy. I shoot for 9 hours sleep on the weekends and 8 hours sleep during the week. 

[SunnyDays]

Yes, I sleep much better now, mainly because I sleep longer.  No more alarm clocks.  Ironically, I sometimes dream about work.

(By the way, Blackbeard, it's not possible to not dream for 3 years!  You just didn't remember them then, for whatever reason.)

[Firehazard]

It took a couple of months, but eventually I started sleeping like a baby after many years of insomnia.   It's one of my favorite FIRE side effects.

[CheapScholar]

Not retired but I consider myself so lucky that I have a job that almost never requires I be there before 10am.  Only set my alarm on my phone at most 10 times per year when I need to catch a flight or have the very unusual morning meeting.

I can’t imagine going back to a strict 8am start with early morning meetings.  Wouldn’t do it if you doubled my salary.

[Loren Ver]

Retired in April.  I find myself sleeping longer, especially if I am working out hard.  Apparently I like about 10 hours, but it varies from night to night. 

I've always been a pretty good sleeper, but now I have had a few nights were I just can't get to sleep.  When i was working I would just keep pressing the issue.  This past time, at about 1 am, after going to be at around 1030 pm, I just got up and made soup.  My brain was obsessed with it and not letting me sleep.  The important difference now that I am FIRED is I had no where to be so this didn't matter.  The soup came out pretty good. I had a bowl and was back in bed by 215 am.

[MonkeyJenga]

My sleep has actually been terrible during this latest FIREbattical. Long naps have sometimes made up for it. I had a lot of changes and stresses, so I'm hoping things will improve. Might need to get more serious about sleep hygiene instead of relying on melatonin.