Sleep Poll: How much do you get?

[Account Closed]

My colleagues and family think I'm crazy because of the lack of sleep I get, which is about three hours a night. For me, this is more then enough, however; I often see others on BP in the middle of the night, and was wondering how much sleep do you all get?

[Linda Weygant]

I'm sure this was intended to be a light-hearted discussion and I apologize in advance for bringing it down.

I had/have an anxiety disorder for several years.  I say "had" because I seem to have kicked it.

What I had was officially named Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizures.  Essentially, I was carrying so much stress around, my brain and body would sort of short circuit and I'd end up with a full on seizure - the whole enchilada with a crash to the floor and muscular spasms and contractions for anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes.  I went years with no diagnosis until I finally found a talented neurologist who correctly diagnosed it and sent me off to a psychiatrist for treatment.

I got a cocktail of meds which kept the seizures at bay effectively and included sleeping pills.  Because I hadn't really taken care of the stress in my life, I was still having occasional seizures, but nothing close to the the 3-6 per day that I had been having.  The meds were just keeping it all tamped down, under the surface.

One day, I called my psychiatrist for a refill of my sleeping pills and he told me no.  I was going through them much too quickly and he felt that I had developed a dependency on them.  He was probably right as I was supposed to be using them a couple of times per week, but I was actually taking 2-3 per night.  What really needed to be done was cut the stress out of my life.

I didn't though - I just kept right along with the same old stresses.  I had to get cancer before I listened.

About three years ago, it just so happened that my son had just gone off to college, so that was actually one less day to day stressor in my life.  I decided the shrink was right and I made some major changes in my life, including a divorce and - more recently - I parted ways with my employer.  My doctor helped wean me off the sleeping pills through a series of exercise, better diet, a reduction in alcohol and some natural sleep aids which include melatonin and Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time tea, of all things, which includes valerian, chamomile and other herbs that promote sleep.

For the first time in 15-20 years, I'm sleeping a full 7-8 hours a night, with no aid.  I take nothing at night except that I drink a cup of the tea about 10:00 every night.  When I was in my 30s, I felt like I was 80.  I'm now in my mid-40s and I have more energy, more clarity of thought and have more ambitions and more success than I ever have in my life.

Folks - I can't stress this enough.  Get enough sleep.  Fix the stressors in your life that are keeping you from sleeping.  In the long run, they aren't worth it.