Hi all:

How many of you all have sleeping problems? My personal theory is that more night owls have weight problems than early birds, simply because we're forced by this morning-centric world to be up and doing before we are fully rested, and then we are up later at night as a matter of course.

I've always been a night owl, as well as a poor sleeper. When I worked for myself I would often work until 3 or 4am, then sleep until noon. However, my mother (117lbs) is the same, although she doesn't give into it. She just tosses and turns and tries to nap in the afternoon.

Well, I have sleep apnea and have a machine that I hate to wear, so I know what makes me not sleep! Tiny little detail like not breathing.. lol

Luv,
Ratkitten

For the past month or two, I have been getting up early -- 5:30, 6:00 am, etc., and I've noticed that I have an extremely productive day. I have a little routine that I go through which ensures that I have a decent (and usually wonderful) day.

Getting up early is NOT my normal clock.

When I hit Spring Break, I decided that I deserved to stay up later and sleep in, and I've found that I just don't sleep as well which in turn means I feel hungover in the morning, which in turn means I don't have half as good a day.

It's only been two days, but I'm tired of it. I think I'll be going to bed early tonight. Vacation or not, I hate feeling like this.

I think we underestimate the need for sleep (and high quality sleep) in this country. There's been some research that shows that sleep deprivation may cause weight gain, and may contribute to disorders such as autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. Sleep apnea can cause heart damage. Sleeping in a room with even a small amount of light (like a night light or bright alarm clock, or the tv on) may reduce sleep quality.

I've become very interested in sleep research since I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and sleep apnea several years ago. Many doctors believe that at least a portion of fibromyalgia may be caused by disturbed sleep. Rats deprived of sleep, quickly die of immune disfunction (dying from infection or autoimmune problems). I have autoimmune disease. Makes you wonder.

Losing 40 lbs, I no longer have apnea, but I still have sleep problems, and they do contribute to the flares of the fibromyalgia. My neurologist says he has noticed that many fibromyalgia patients have a history of poor sleep or work habits of "burning the candle at both ends," for years before symptoms develop. This was true for me. All of my adult life I have worked at least 60 hours a week, usually with at least one full time and one half time job (or the equivalent during college), and often very strange, unpredictable work hours (like shift work with no predictable shift pattern, literally I could be assigned three different shifts in one week - it was at a juvenile detention center, and if the female assigned the next shift called in sick, I pretty much had to stay for the next shift. I once worked 23 hours in a row, while sick. I had actually called in sick for the morning shift, but my boss guilted me into coming in anyway (because night shift female had called in sick, so the woman working it had already put in two shifts). Then afternoon shift and night shift female workers called in sick, and they finally got the woman due for the next morning shift to come in an hour early.

My last job before I had to go on disability required only about 50 hours a week, and I no longer could handle a second job, but it had 24/7 responsibilities, so I could get off work at 5 or 6 in the evening, but then get a 2am phone call (or a couple calls during the night) and still be expected to be at my desk by 7:30 (In theory, I had "flexible" hours, but since mandatory meetings were often scheduled for 8am, it was more likely I could leave early than come in late). The last year was insane. I was so fatigued that I would sleep 14 hours a day, and still feel exhausted. Hubby was driving me to work, because I couldn't stay awake for the 10 minute drive to work. That's when I had my first sleep study which found the sleep apnea, and that I spent little or no time in deep, restful sleep. The apnea was able to be treated with the CPAP and later resolved with weight loss, but there really isn't any way to force my brain into restful sleep.

I do wonder where I would be healthwise, if I had chosen to work (and sleep) a more reasonable schedule for those 20 years, instead of trying to prove that I might be fat, but I wasn't lazy.

I used to have more sleeping problems when I was 80 lbs heavier. But, I'm a night owl and it's true that I feel more productive later in the evenings (like between 10pm & 2am). Unfortunately I have a job that begins at 7:00am which means I need to be up at 5:30am at the latest. I TRY to get into bed by 10:00pm each night, but (as you can see from this post) that doesn't always happen. It makes me cranky that I can't set my own hours for later on. I'd gladly work a 10:00am shift until whenever just to be able to sleep in longer. It's something I'll have to consider when I quit this job come October... but then again... someone has to bring home the bread so...

LOl I am the acception I guess. I am an Early riser...and I go to bed early..BUT I toss and turn all night. HUbby says it is the mattress...might be but also sleeping with 350lbs of weight is not comfortable. I also like to sleep on my stomach and suffer the consequinces when I get up.

There is ONE time I slept through the night..hubby and I stayed at the Pointe Hilton for our anniversary and all the the "obvious" reason while I was tired lol comes to mind..the Bed was just awesome! I dont remember even waking up til 9 am that is late for me!

I'm an exception to this theory, too. I have been getting up at 4 or 5am for a few years now. We even get up at 5am on the weekends now that we have puppies so we can keep them in their normal routine (breakfast and potty run at 5am). We generally go to bed around 10pm, and I'm asleep by 10:30-10:45ish. Going to bed at 10 and getting up at 5 sounds reasonable enough, but it's still not enough time to get the recommended 8 hours of sleep every night.

I don't get up early because I enjoy it or because I'm an "early bird" by nature. I do it so I can work earlier hours and be done with work by 3pm, leaving me time in the afternoon to run errands, do chores, etc. I worked 8:30am-5:30pm at my frist full-time job after college and vowed NEVER to do it again because by the time I left work, went to the gym, went home, and made and ate dinner, it was already closing in on 8pm, so I had NO time during the day to get anything accomplished outside of work. Now, I can leave work around 3, stop at the grocery store, stop and get gas, stop at the pet store, stop at the bank, and still be home by 5 to prepare and cook dinner. I can get SO much more done during the week, which really leaves my weekends more open for visiting family and relaxing.

All of that said, I did used to be a night owl, but that was in high school and college, which I really think is more of a lifestyle thing than an actual choice. Then again, there were semesters in college when I would try to schedule all of my classes in the morning so I could work in the afternoons on weekdays. I guess the amount of sleep I get is really more directly related to the fact that I'm a workaholic, not that I'm obese

I love sleeping. I had gotten where i was having alot of heartburn and not sleeping well at all. After dieting one day I slept great and havnet had heart burn since. I was really eating tums and they didnt phase it. Now I never need them.
I go to bed between 9-10 and get up at 5. I sleep sound usually. I have always required alot of sleep. When my kids come home from college they make fun of me for going to bed so early.
I do all my housework in the morning..if its not done by noon its not getting done. I would love to be able to exercise in the morning but with the little ones i keep its impossible.
My hubby(bipolar) and has lots of sleep issues. I can tell what kind of day he is going to have by how much sleep he got the night before. He has to take something daily to help him sleep and then sleep isnt always good.

My sister in laws are up at 2 and 3 am still and sleep till noon. Guess its what works for them. I would feel awful if i did that. Im doing good on the weekends to sleep till 7.

I'm an early bird too. Up by 5 during the week and by 6 on the weekend. Bedtimes after 10 are unusual for me. I need to be productive in the morning - all my errands and chores have to be done then I can relax a bit in the afternoon. Once I stop I'm usually done - or need a nap. All this sleep talk is making me nod off.

zzzzzzzzzz

I am a night owl by nature, but over the years I have trained myself out of it in order to function. If I had my druthers I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning, but I can't do that and get to work at a reasonable hour (and not feel horrible).

I have read a lot of information on how important sleep is for weight loss. This is both from a repair perspective (especially if you are lifting weights), but also from a hormonal perspective. There is a hormone called ghrelin that is produced by the body if one doesn't get enough sleep that stimulates the appetite and makes you hungrier throughout the day. So if you don't get enough sleep, your body tries to compensate with food and you can end up overeating.