Family & Relationships9 mins ago
Owls And Larks
13 Answers
Are our sleep patterns set in stone?
Ive had jobs in the past where I had to get up at 5 in the morning. I always felt cr p while doing these jobs despite getting enough sleep the night before (going to bed at 9pm).
If I go to bed at around midnight and arise around 7am (thats 1 hour less sleep than the above) I feel much more refreshed and able to face the day.
Why is this? Is it possible to change our sleep patterns and feel just as refreshed?
Thanks.
Ive had jobs in the past where I had to get up at 5 in the morning. I always felt cr p while doing these jobs despite getting enough sleep the night before (going to bed at 9pm).
If I go to bed at around midnight and arise around 7am (thats 1 hour less sleep than the above) I feel much more refreshed and able to face the day.
Why is this? Is it possible to change our sleep patterns and feel just as refreshed?
Thanks.
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.The body's wakefulness and sleepiness depend on body temperature. This is part of circadian rhythm (daily pattern). Body is at high temperature around 6 to 7 in evening so hard to sleep at that time. It is lowest around 4 to 5 am so hard to stay awake at that time. As your later going to bed and getting up is a better match to what your body wants to do it makes sense that you found it suited you more.
I don't normally go to bed before 01:00, usually up again between 05:00 & 05:30 to sort Dog out and then do coffee and breakfast for OH when we get back if it's one of her work days.
Depending on what's happening I still find I can sleep for any 4 or 5 hours out of 24 probably because of the best part of 20 years spent in The RMs.
I used to work late evenings/nights and hoped to get into more normal patterns when I retired, but it never happened. I am just too old and my body is too set in its ways. Younger people do find it easier to adapt, though. If you have the opportunity to sleep at a time when you wake up feeling more refreshed, do it.
My pattern has largely been dictated by age, responsibilities, stress and work (or a combo of all)
I tend to work 4 or 5 days a week (6 on occasions) 10am - 6/7pm. Therefore my internal "clock" wakes me up, without alarm at 7am daily, whether I am working or not. It doesn't matter if I go to bed at 9pm or 2am, its always up at 7am.
Now, rewind to my early twenties, I could lie in for England! If I didn't have to get up, simply, I wouldn't - sometimes until lunchtime.
During times of stress, my stupid thoughts keep me up and this effects a regular pattern. Luckily this happens a lot less to me these days.
It terms of when I feel most "refreshed". I would say its on the occasions when I get about 7 hours un-broken sleep
I tend to work 4 or 5 days a week (6 on occasions) 10am - 6/7pm. Therefore my internal "clock" wakes me up, without alarm at 7am daily, whether I am working or not. It doesn't matter if I go to bed at 9pm or 2am, its always up at 7am.
Now, rewind to my early twenties, I could lie in for England! If I didn't have to get up, simply, I wouldn't - sometimes until lunchtime.
During times of stress, my stupid thoughts keep me up and this effects a regular pattern. Luckily this happens a lot less to me these days.
It terms of when I feel most "refreshed". I would say its on the occasions when I get about 7 hours un-broken sleep
I am the opposite nailit !.....the earlier I go to sleep say 10pm and wake at 5am the better I feel - than going to bed at midnight and waking at 7am even though it is the same amount of sleep. I never need an alarm clock always awake by 7am any day of the week ....can never "sleep-in" feel worse for it.
I'm very much a night owl...more so as I get older. 1am is the closest to normal for me and easily later. Not good on those work mornings when I need to be up at 5:15. Six hours is about right for me. I'd like to sleep more but when I do,I don't feel all that great.
I read recently that about 1/3 of the population is waking/sleeping against their normal body clocks. So what's normal or right must vary from person to person.
I read recently that about 1/3 of the population is waking/sleeping against their normal body clocks. So what's normal or right must vary from person to person.