[Tom]

I was curious how much sleep we average per day and how we feel after. Do you take naps during the day and if so do they help?

I feel best after 7-8 hours sleep but some days I get around 5 hours or sometimes 10+ hours. When pain wakes me up around 5 hours and I can't get back to sleep, I'm tired but function fairly well during the day. I do end up going to sleep early that night though usually.

After 10 or more hours I am usually groggy most of the day which feels worse than getting only 5 hours sleep. As for naps, I very rarely take one, I just can't seem to sleep during the day and I don't feel much better after them either.

7-8 hours with no naps is where I feel the best. What works best for you?

 

[Sage Hen]

Hi Tom,

Gosh, I feel lazy. I sleep 8 to 10 hours. I take Ambien 10 mgs, to sleep. I wouldn't get a wink, otherwise. I have to lay down, during the day, too.

I don't always sleep, but l get in bed and and lay flat, to take a different position, to help my headache, which is daily for me, but to varying degrees.

I have to admit though, that I do not sleep every night, and when I don't sleep, it makes for a very rough day..following.

Take Care,
Sandy

 

[forever hopeful]

i have to sleep 8 -10 hours. if i sleep less than that, i have to take a 3 hour nap. if i over-exert myself, it's not hard to find myself sleeping 12 hours!

 

[Katharine]

I used to be a six hour a night person. If it was less that was fine too (and this was as recently as when I was in remission in 2005). Now I need a minimum of eight hours. Ten is better. If I only get the eight, then I need a nap (bewteen one and two hours). I can go a day or two on "just" eight but then will spend about a week feeling so exhausted I can't move and end up sleeping even more than usual.

Those eight to ten hours only mean I can function. They don't give me the "rest" that I used to get from sleep even though I do sleep very well now that pain while sleeping is under control.

I can sometimes wake up in the morning and feel OKish for an hour or two and then suddenly fall asleep again or it might be OK until around 4 PM when I suddenly crash. I don't worry about it any more as I'm usually at home alone during the day. If hubby is here working from home, he's very understanding. He knows that I need whatever sleep I feel I need and will often suggest I go for a nap if he can see I'm tired.

When I think that I used to live by the motto that there's enough time to sleep when we're dead! :rotfl:

Katharine

 

[lazylegs]

Hi Tom,

I try for 8 or 9 hours but wake up one or two times during that period and can't go back to sleep for an hour or so. As long as I stay in bed I can eventually drift back to sleep.

The naps depend on disease activity. I usually take one a day. When I have been real active the previous day I find myself taking two. During a big flare I nap every few hours.

Take care,
Lazylegs

 

[Zoi]

I'm generally ok with relatively few hours of sleep; 4-5 hours is all I need to be ok during the day most of the time!

Having said that, that's if one manages to wake me up as I'm a really heavy sleeper (I even slept through a handyman drilling right above my headboard once :lol: ! ) and if left alone I can sleep for 10-12 hours at a time. But I do feel rested and ok after 4-5 hours most of the time.

:flowery:

Zoi

 

[granny weatherwax]

Hi Tom

I definitely need at least 8 hours or I get rather cranky (my husband will testify to this). If my sleep has been disturbed due to pain (or my husbands snoring although he likes to blame it on the cat!) then I usually need a mid day nap. Even if I don't sleep (pain) then at least I have "rested".

I sometimes come home from work (only do half days now) and have a nap in bed - sometimes I don't make it any further than the sofa.

Claire

 

[Joandublin]

Hiya Tom

I usually try and get between six and seven hours each night but I tend to have disturbed sleep and will waken a couple of times during the night.

Indeed some nights I know I just wont get back to sleep so I often get up and log in here for a while. The only trouble with that though is that I am wrecked the next day. If I am in work I am absolutely exhausted by the time I get home and, like Claire, sometimes just make it to the sofa to crash for an hour or so. During those times I will go into a heavy sleep and might not waken for over an hour.

I generally dont nap during the day though (with the exception of the bad days when I have to crash after work). I actually resist going to bed and if Im tired I prefer to chill out on the sofa. Often I just lie down for an hour and not actually sleep and this seems to help to keep me going.

Luv n stuff
Joan:rose:

 

[Jesse88]

I can function with about 6 hours but feel best with more. The funny thing is though, I can feel just fine when I first wake up, then an hour or two later, just crash. If I exert myself during the day, even for just an hour, I need a nap.

 

[Douglas]

I used to get along on rather little sleep *but* when the flares occurred, though I had no idea it was Lupus at the time, I had to get more sleep. Now things have settled down. I absolutely *must* be asleep by 10:30 pm or 11 pm at the latest. I wake up at 7 am so 8 to 8.5 hours a night. Normally I rest/nap for a minimum of one hour and often 1.5 hours in the afternoon (or morning if I am doing something in the afternoon). So the total I need seems to be 9.5 to ten hours a day.
This week I was awakened at five am, so after about six hours. My body did not fit at all that day: joints swollen and painful, spasms, fog, mylar rash, etc. The only difference was missing two hours sleep.
I have learned my lessons about this rest and sleep thing.
And the avoidance of stressful situations.
There is a saying in some circles, "Which would you rather be, right or happy?" As a kid I would have said "right". Now, with SLE, I know that I cannot have arguments and there is very little so important about which I must win an argument.
Peace and quiet, rest and serenity.
Life can still be good.
Pax,
Douglas+

 

[Maia]

I usually get around 7 hours a night, give or take an hour. I absolutely cannot stay in bed much more than 8 hours though - because the longer I am laying down motionless the more pain/stiffness I have when I wake up. So I sound quite different than most of you. Although I do tend to wake up 1-2 times during the night and will sometimes have difficulty falling back asleep as well. Sometimes it's due to pain I think, but other times I have no idea why I wake up so completely only 2 hours after going to sleep or at 4-5 am! I often fall asleep while my daughter naps so I hope she continues to nap during the afternoon until she's off to preschool for the afternoon hours next fall.

I wish I could go back to the days where I got 9 hours of sleep without any problems every night - that used to be what I needed and got in my 20's before lupus came along.

 

[rachna]

Hi Tom,

In my days before lupus kicked in i used to get by on 4hours and still be full of beans!
Now however i need 6-7 hours, any less than that and im useless! N even after that can wake up feeling tired. I do wake up during the 6-7 hours but not full just kinda to turn around (as i wear splints i kinda have to sit up to turn around)!

I dont have a nap in the day as im in work, it is hard as i do get quite sleepy tired in the day. When i get home i head for the couch n just dont move for an hour - need the rest. Sometimes i wish i lived in spain where its custom to have a siesta :lol:

love always
rachna xxx