I don't mean to be nosy, but I've now read quite a few references to Ambien CR and insomnia. Is it a big problem among posters? How do you combat insomina or sleep deprivation during meets and training and life? I'm not a big sleeper myself in terms of # hours, but I seem to know a lot of folks suffering from insomnia. Some are resigned to their fate; others are unhappy. What gives?
Parents
Former Member
I don't believe the theory that older people need less sleep. My feeling is that you don't get as tired when you don't train very hard and the older you get the more motivation you MAY need to summon up for the long and tough workouts. That's not a problem in my house.
My wife (trains over 700 hours per year: swimming, xc skiing, running, weightlifting and biking) and I (trains about 600 hours per year: swimming, xc skiing, walking, weightlifting and biking) need at least 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis. One day last week, after particularly hard swimming, we slept 11 hours. This probably happens once every two weeks or so. We are both 65 and don't take sleep-inducing drugs just sometimes ibuprofen if the muscles are really sore or tense.
That's on a regular basis and we each average less than one cold per year (compared to the national average of 5) largely, I believe, due to good sleep and exercise habits. We also consume 4000-5000 calories per day (even my 120 pound wife!) of all manner of food.
At a meet, everything goes out the window. We both party hard and swim sleep deprived. Four to five hours a night is pretty good for us but adrenaline carries us through a few days with no problem.
-- mel
I don't believe the theory that older people need less sleep. My feeling is that you don't get as tired when you don't train very hard and the older you get the more motivation you MAY need to summon up for the long and tough workouts. That's not a problem in my house.
My wife (trains over 700 hours per year: swimming, xc skiing, running, weightlifting and biking) and I (trains about 600 hours per year: swimming, xc skiing, walking, weightlifting and biking) need at least 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis. One day last week, after particularly hard swimming, we slept 11 hours. This probably happens once every two weeks or so. We are both 65 and don't take sleep-inducing drugs just sometimes ibuprofen if the muscles are really sore or tense.
That's on a regular basis and we each average less than one cold per year (compared to the national average of 5) largely, I believe, due to good sleep and exercise habits. We also consume 4000-5000 calories per day (even my 120 pound wife!) of all manner of food.
At a meet, everything goes out the window. We both party hard and swim sleep deprived. Four to five hours a night is pretty good for us but adrenaline carries us through a few days with no problem.
-- mel
