How big an issue is sleep?

I think sleep is important, and yet if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I have a long-term problem with sleep (check out time; East Coast). At Worlds, I just told myself this is what it is (many races on no sleep), and carried on. It would be better to sleep, but I think it's better not to take drugs because they make (for me anyway) my muscles tired. It sucks not to sleep easily, but it's best I think not to obsess about sleep. There are lots of sleep hygiene adjustments you can research (what I am doing right now is about the worst thing you can do; the light from computers and TVs wakes you up). Mostly don't lie in bed for hours. Anyway, there are lots of good books on sleep hygiene and the most painful treatment is to confine your time in bed to when you are sleeping. And always set your alarm for the same time to get up. So if you are awake at 4 a.m., go to bed at 4 as your starting point, and get up at 7 or 7:30. Then in 15-minute increments go to bed earlier, if you fall asleep. I haven't been able to do this. A very painful way to reprogram your sleep cycle. But I vote against drugs and sleep if you are wanting to race well. Better to be naturally tired, even exhausted, than drugged, for the muscles.

Is it insomnia or is it needing less sleep as we get older. I've never been a great sleeper, and usually wake several times at night. My better half says it's because I'm so mean, I'm waking up to make sure I'm not losing any sleep.:rofl: The older I get, the better I used to be!!

I think sleep is important, and yet if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I have a long-term problem with sleep (check out time; East Coast). At Worlds, I just told myself this is what it is (many races on no sleep), and carried on. It would be better to sleep, but I think it's better not to take drugs because they make (for me anyway) my muscles tired. It sucks not to sleep easily, but it's best I think not to obsess about sleep. There are lots of sleep hygiene adjustments you can research (what I am doing right now is about the worst thing you can do; the light from computers and TVs wakes you up). Mostly don't lie in bed for hours. Anyway, there are lots of good books on sleep hygiene and the most painful treatment is to confine your time in bed to when you are sleeping. And always set your alarm for the same time to get up. So if you are awake at 4 a.m., go to bed at 4 as your starting point, and get up at 7 or 7:30. Then in 15-minute increments go to bed earlier, if you fall asleep. I haven't been able to do this. A very painful way to reprogram your sleep cycle. But I vote against drugs and sleep if you are wanting to race well. Better to be naturally tired, even exhausted, than drugged, for the muscles. I'm a crappy sleeper too. Never get enough. I associate it with being in my 40s. This decade apparently does not agree with me. (I can't breathe either.) If I'm too stressed out or whatever, I have a hard time falling asleep. I've also had trouble with light sleep and waking up early (this usually happens in the spring right before the time change -- I'm combating this by making my bedroom a veritable cave). I've tried that behavioral therapy Isobel describes when a nasty bout of insomnia hit a couple years ago. (There's a Mayo Clinic book on this topic.) It is a tough program, but it works. I go to bed late because I am naturally a night owl and because I just plain need a couple hours without kids at night. But I have found that Isobel is right. I simply cannot get in bed and expect to fall asleep. So I never ever get into bed until I am very sleepy. Tossing and turning in bed just freaks me out and then I have to get out of bed and start over. I never sleep well before meets. Not from nerves, but more from being worried I won't get up in time. I got no sleep during Worlds either. Took a late flight from the east coast that was delayed, arrived about 5:00 am east coast time. That was that. No good sleep the whole meet ... I think a lot of exercise helps me sleep too. I don't seem to have much trouble swimming at practice with very little sleep. I sort of shake it off after warm up. But sometimes after a late night practice, I'll be up later. I will occasionally take an ambien if desperate. It doesn't seem to have any real next day drag effect on me. But generally, I agree, this won't help in the long term much. There is a funny book on this topic called "Desperately Seeking Snoozing." If you ever think you got it bad, read this book and you'll actually feel better.

I envy my wife. She turns out the light and is immediately asleep (or she's snoring just to irritate me). I stare at the clock and watch the numbers change. Did you know that if it's real quiet, you can hear the clock click each time the numbers change? I finally drift off only to wake up 2-3 hours later and then almost hourly through the remainder of the night. I find that after a hard workout I am sometimes too tired, sore, or just too wound up to relax and sleep well. I generally don't take anything but when I do, I take Benadryl.

I am up and down most all night every night and have been doing this for decades. Hate it, feel terrible by noon the next day. Once about every 3 or 4 months I will sleep 5 hours straight and I am thrilled. I am light sensitive and my hubby loves to read in bed so this is a huge problem. Changing rooms is not an option because our bedroom is the only room with a/c. I blew up a month ago and he now only reads in bed about 3 nights a week so I am grateful and told him so. I think he "gets it" now. Tylenol PM works for me and I am not groggy the next day. But have any of you noticed that if you don't sleep enough, you are extra hungry the entire next day? Lack of sleep I believe makes weight control a little more difficult. Donna When I was younger, I could read myself to sleep in bed. Now, forget it. I have a nice loveseat next to the bed and that is where I read. Tylenol PM and benadryl do nothing for me. I must need stronger drugs. Benadryl is only good for allergies like a yucky case of hives. It's also associated, I believe, with grumpiness in children ... Insomnia is definitely associated with weight gain. Maybe there's some metabolic change? I think it's also because you get the late night munchies though and you are just awake more and thus possibly thinking more about food or :drink: . For myself, I cannot be like Oprah and not eat after 7:00 pm. If this were true, I would have missed dinner last night ... Alcohol is likewise a no, no if you toss and turn. Oh well. Poolraat: :hug:

I am on and off with being able to sleep. I can fall asleep pretty easily but have trouble staying asleep and then also can't sleep in. No matter when I go to bed, be it 10 pm or 3 am, I can't sleep in past 7, maybe 7:30. There's been times where I've just given up at 4:30, got showered and gone to work. This made freshman year of college absolute hell. It also made the early years of our marriage tough since my husband can sleep in late no problem and likes to type on his laptop at night (I need a dark quiet room... did I mention that freshman year really sucked?) Seems like the best thing for me is to not stress about losing the sleep and try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day. Oh and to not read in bed. In terms of swim meets, I don't think I've ever gotten a good night's sleep before one. Always keyed up.

Donna, my experience has been that lack of sleep makes me more hungry, and I think I read somewhere that there is a hormonal basis for this phenomenon. I take a half of a Unisom when I need it. It has a different ingredient than Tylenol PM and Benadryl, and I think it works better.

I go through bouts of insommnia myself. Last winter I was lying awake many nights until 5:30 am, when I would finally fall asleep then didn't hear the alarm clock and would wake up at 10:30 feeling like crap. If I tried to just get up at 5:30 and go to work, I was miserable during the day and drowsy on the roads ... then still couldn't get to sleep at night. I am supposed to be at work 8AM - 6PM. Then the horrible sleeplessness just kind of stopped after a few months. I am by nature a night owl and I really do best on 8+ hours. If left to my own, a schedule of staying up to 1:30 AM and getting up at 10:30 AM is where I end up. But that doesn't line up well at all with my job and when my swim team trains. It's pretty unusual for me to sleep straight through the night. Since my teenaged years I've gotten up most nights even though I restrict my fluids after I get home. When I get a cold it's the worst. All the OTC stuff with pseudoephedrine really wired me and I would go 4+ days straight without falling asleep. I would get to a twilight stage where I was having hallucinogenic episodes. If I didn't take the OTC meds, then I would just cough or be so stuffed up I couldn't sleep either. Right now I have a floodlight pointed at my bed. It is on a timer so it pops on early in the morning. That has been somewhat helpful in getting my internal clock reset. I have tried taking melatonin within an hour of bedtime and sometimes that helps. A really hard workout with a bad warmdown makes it very hard to fall asleep. I'll feel dead tired but have the sensation of floating over the bed as my back muscles twitch. Back when I was swimming in meets, I always wanted a 3-hour nap in the afternoon. Those were double whammies since I had to get up early to get to the meet AND I was physically wrecked afterwards when the adrenalin wore off. Beer, wine, and my beloved margaritas ... I do find it easier to fall asleep after one or more. But I better have 8 hours to sleep it off as I won't be getting up any earlier. A friend of mine was having problems with insomnia and was taking Halcion. He threw it out after he pooped his bed in his sleep one night. Another guy I knew was taking Halcion long-term during college and he had sufficient memory loss that he had to drop out of school. Those people who awake feeling fresh and rested on a regular basis ... the ones who can doze off in an instant on planes or hotel rooms ... the people who feel fine on 5 hours of sleep a night ... that's a gift and I hope you folks enjoy it.

I usually sleep like a rock and fall asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow. During the week I usually get about 6.5 hours of sleep per night. That isn't enough because on the weekends if I don't have to get up I'll usually sleep 9-10 hours. I like to nap whenever time allows, too.

I love how that was posted (depending on where you live) late at night ... that's great ... I have NEVER been a good sleeper, I don't take anything because I hate any sort of drug except for Advil ... I wish I could sleep better, but I can't ... it only bothers me when I end up draggint through my day, which reminds me ... I need to try and get some sleep ... at best 6 hours right now ... :woot: