Sleep Habits or Cycles

[Ken Anderson]

Given that for much of my life, I have either worked two jobs. night shifts, whenever I could as a paramedic, or unscheduled while working from home, my sleep habits have been outside of the norm. With very little of my life on a schedule for the past couple of decades, I go to bed when I'm tired and get up either when I'm no longer tired or when I can't sleep for some other reason.

I rarely get to bed before 2 am, and then I often read for an hour or two before going to sleep. Sometimes, the sun comes up before I go to bed. At other times, such as when I can't sleep, I'll get up and go back to bed in late morning or in the afternoon. Some days, I'll get less than two hours of sleep, and on other days, I'll sleep for twelve hours.

Most of this doesn't concern me, except that, more often in the past couple of years, I find myself unable to sleep. Perhaps because my skin is becoming thinner and more sensitive, I sometimes get hives on the parts of my body that are in contact with the bed, such as the back of my legs or buttocks, or, while sleeping on my side, my arms and legs - usually both sides, since I rotate from one side to the other. More often, when this occurs, the hives don't actually appear until after I get up, which is okay because I can apply a moisturizer and they'll go away within a half hour or hour, but when they occur while I'm in bed, then I can't sleep and they'll only keep getting worse until I finally get up, however tired I might be.

Are any of you experiencing difficulties sleeping, either not getting enough sleep, irregular sleep, or perhaps sleeping longer than you'd like, as you get older? This is my first time getting old, so I don't know what to expect.

 

[Cody Fousnough]

When I was in the Navy, my sleep habits were really "out of place". Standing a Watch (in port) until midnight or from midnight to 4AM and then working all day. In Junior High (7/8th grades) and during high school, I had to get up no later than 6AM to feed/water hogs, no matter what the weather was outside.

After the Navy, when I became an EMT, my sleeping hours would really vary at night. You know exactly what I'm talking about, since you were a Paramedic and owned your own company. The other jobs I had, I had to start at 7AM, so I had to get up by 5 or 5:30AM. However, I definitely slept better then, that I do now.

Today, from being on Flomax, and my wife being on a "urinating med", we can end up being up half of the night going to the bathroom.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

I have had occasional bouts of insomnia over the years and that is a miserable thing. Thankfully, I usually sleep well and usually get 5 to 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. Though I am a night owl, I am usually in bed by 2 a.m. with the TV on. Having something mindless on TV keeps my mind from racing. In less than 30 minutes I am sound asleep.

One thing that I often do these days is to doze off in my recliner after supper. I have never been a napper so this is a new development for me. I sleep anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours in the evening, which I never did in the past.

 

[Krystal Shay]

I have tried everything over the years to help me fall asleep and stay a sleep. I am a very light sleeper, and I suffer from insomnia more than I care too. I have a snoring husband. He started to snore very loud after he retired several years ago. If he wasn’t snoring, he was breathing heavy, which is also annoying too. (He is neither fat, nor over weight). I was constantly telling him to roll his over, and to sleep on his side. I was getting up through the night all the time; moving elsewhere to try and sleep. It seems once I am up and on the move, I’m done for.

My husband felt bad that he snores and keeps me from the little sleep that I can manage to get. Finally, we decided to sleep in different rooms. That was a win, win for both of us! We both discovered we liked sleeping alone. I still don’t always sleep well every night, but I sure feel more rested, which feels pretty darn good!! At first, it felt strange for us to sleep separately, after so many years of sleeping together, but we have gotten over that pretty quick.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

I have tried everything over the years to help me fall asleep and stay a sleep. I am a very light sleeper, and I suffer from insomnia more than I care too. I have a snoring husband. He started to snore very loud after he retired several years ago. If he wasn’t snoring, he was breathing heavy, which is also annoying too. (He is neither fat, nor over weight). I was constantly telling him to roll his over, and to sleep on his side. I was getting up through the night all the time; moving elsewhere to try and sleep. It seems once I am up and on the move, I’m done for.

My husband felt bad that he snores and keeps me from the little sleep that I can manage to get. Finally, we decided to sleep in different rooms. That was a win, win for both of us! We both discovered we liked sleeping alone. I still don’t always sleep well every night, but I sure feel more rested, which feels pretty darn good!! At first, it felt strange for us to sleep separately, after so many years of sleeping together, but we have gotten over that pretty quick.

We kind of inadvertently did the same thing. After buying the adjustable bed for a spare room during cancer treatment, I still sleep in that room most of the time. My husband doesn't like that bed, plus he usually falls asleep on the sofa downstairs in the den. I ended up putting his pillow and a blanket down there since he sleeps there most of the time. He is also a snorer so being downstairs is an added bonus.

I don't know why people clutch their pearls when some couples sleep separately. I think getting restful sleep is the most important thing, so I say do whatever you want. Staying in bed listening to a buzzsaw and being pissed off all night isn't the ideal situation IMO.