Can you ever catch up on sleep?
By Fleur
@Fleura (29125)
United Kingdom
November 13, 2017 4:15am CST
I’ve always been one of those unlucky people who needs a decent amount of sleep and since having children I never seem to get it. When Big One was a baby I once worked out that I’d need to sleep 24 hours a day for 4 months to catch up on the amount of sleep I’d missed. I was so desperate I almost thought I’d die of exhaustion. Some days I could barely speak I was so tired, I don’t know how I didn’t crash the car and I’m still amazed I didn’t kill someone. And since then lots of research has come out showing links between insufficient sleep and heart disease, obesity and dementia, among other things, which is worrying.
Things are better now, thankfully, but I still find it so easy to miss sleep and so hard to regain any. If I consider 11 pm to 7 am as the standard 8 hours, it’s very easy to work late and find myself going to bed at 1 am, or to wake at 5 or 6 am, or even both, and then I’ve missed out on 3 or 4 hours’ sleep in just one night. To make up for just that one night I’d have to go to bed at 7 pm which is obviously just not possible for anyone living an ordinary family life.
Does anyone else have a sensible answer to this? Obviously ‘don’t ever stay up late’ and ‘never accidentally wake up early’ have been considered!
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2017.
13 people like this
18 responses
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
13 Nov 17
Sleep can not be store....it can not be borrowed, or repaid. The best we can do is try to live a routine life and get enough sleep on a regular basis.
5 people like this
@Fleura (29125)
• United Kingdom
13 Nov 17
@Kandae11 @Morleyhunt Looks like I'm doomed then : (
2 people like this
@WorDazza (15833)
• Manchester, England
13 Nov 17
Everything I've read on the subject suggests that you need to get into a routine which you stick to every night, including weekends. No laptops/phones for a couple of hours before bedtime and get up at the same time everyday even weekends.
Needless to say I take absolutely no notice of this whatsoever as I get up at 5:15am every weekday so there's no way that's happening at weekends.
I've been no help at all have I??
5 people like this
@Fleura (29125)
• United Kingdom
13 Nov 17
That does seem to be the standard advice but how can anyone do that? It would mean never working late or having any sort of social event that went on past about 10pm (as you have to allow time to go home and get ready for bed afterwards). The getting up at the same time part I find easy because I'm in the habit of waking up at the same time or even before, so I wake up early at weekends too.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
13 Nov 17
A sound sleep can improve immunity.However most of the people my age are light sleepers.I seldom burn the midnight oil and usually go to bed at 10 pm ,but wake up at 4 am or 5 am,so I catch up on some sleep at noon.
3 people like this
@Fleura (29125)
• United Kingdom
13 Nov 17
Unfortunately the time I am most likely to feel sleepy and fancy an afternoon nap is between 2 and 3 pm - exactly the time when I need to fetch Little One from school! And in any case I'm usually rushing to try and get some work completed before they come home.
2 people like this
@ourlot (982)
•
13 Nov 17
Not having a full night of sleep affects your hormones, mental stability and health in general. You can't catch up just sleeping more in the weekend.
In the same way, you can't compensate hours of sun by staying some hours in the shadow. The harm is already done.
2 people like this
@m_audrey6788 (58485)
• Germany
13 Nov 17
Nothing much to say about sleeping because I also find myself hard to sleep in times especially when I needed to finish something late night 
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
13 Nov 17
I still have babies so I don't get enough sleep most of the time. Maybe one day I will catch up on it-but not anytime soon.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
14 Nov 17
@Fleura Thank you. Well, I chose to have children and knew what it entailed so...I knew I wouldn't be sleeping much once I did. Lol.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (29125)
• United Kingdom
14 Nov 17
@LovingMyBabies I guess we thought we'd be tired, we didn't realise it would kill us!
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36431)
• Toccoa, Georgia
30 Nov 17
I try to. I will go to bed earlier one night to make up for not getting enough the previous night.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Nov 17
I can never catch up on sleep. I wake up at the same time every morning regardless of what time I go to bed.
2 people like this
@ilocosboy (45157)
• Philippines
13 Nov 17
I think I'm not following the 8 hours of sleep, I sleep at 11 and wake by 6 am. I think I have adopted this sleeping pattern anymore and its just okay with my body.
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45157)
• Philippines
14 Nov 17
I think this is important to me now, to have 7 hours of sleep consistently. If I can't make it 8 hours, so be it.
1 person likes this
@Iam_jauntyjen (4951)
•
18 Nov 17
I have sleeping disorder and I cannot remember the last time I had slept for eight hours.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129418)
• Israel
16 Nov 17
I wish I could come up with a smart answer but can't. I need to get sleep so I do not get sick so I try to get at least 9 hours sleep a night or even 8. Sometimes I am just caught up in something and need to finish it so do not get the sleep I need. I have to set a schedule and follow it.
1 person likes this
