How many hours of sleep a night do you need? - Now with Poll

PEM doesn't affect the numbers of hours I sleep, however, I do find that when my PEM is at its worst, it takes me much longer to fall asleep at night.

 

If I do too much during the day, particularly going out (grocery shopping, hair cut etc) I am guaranteed that it will take a long time to fall asleep and I will sleep less (3-4hrs max).

But when I have PEM I can fall asleep with no problems and sleep quite well.

 

8-9 hours usually. 9-11 hours in a crash.

 

maybe try the slow release melatonin - they work really well at giving a longer nights sleep

 

I've needed at least 9 hrs sleep since I got ME just to function at all. I do take sleep meds though, without them I wake up after 3-4hrs.

PEM causes insomnia initially,followed by several days of sleeping for over 10 hrs.

My sleep is now messed up by thyroid issues and I can now sleep for up to 15 hrs.

 

I sleep 9-11 hours per night. Less than 9 and I'm barely functional. If I don't set an alarm, which is most of the time, I sleep 10-11 hours.

I used to have terrible "tired but wired" problems (up til 3 or 4 am), but that has come to a screeching halt since I started taking N-acetyl cysteine at the dose recommended on the bottle (Jarrow N-A-C). I've been doing this for about 5 months.

I can't take melatonin; I get hallucinations.

Since concluding that I'm in constant PEM, I've started resting in bed most afternoons, usually with an audiobook. I often fall asleep for an hour or so.

 

It really is. I wondered if we need more sleep then non patients but the consensus is not clear but troubles with sleep seem to be quite common among thread posters (and myself)

I used to be this way but these days not so much, though when i can sleep more then i need i do still feel stunted mentally though usually i wake up when i have had enough and can't fall asleep again.

I am surprised that PEM affects some peoeple's sleep patterns but not others, it seems to be an individual thing.

Indeed, same here

I can't do alarms anymore, the lost sleep and jarring wake up really burns me for that day

 

You take this 3 times per day, so i don't think you can just take one before bed when you think you need it and expect any results. @NelliePledge It's not like melatonin in that regard, or a sleeping pill.

 

I need an average of 12 hours sleep a night. Although I've just spent more or less the whole of last 7 days in bed asleep, 4 days fighting the flu, then another 3 days with the most painful headache ever. Lost half a stone, relieved to have come out the other side and back to just the ME poorly feeling.

 

Can you tell us more about this, what dose, how often, why you started it, does it help other ME/CFS symptoms?

 

9-10 hours. I used to sleep closer to 12 hours. But when I use a Fitbit, it actually shows I'm only sleeping for 8-9 of these with frequent stirrings, and if I don't take drugs I don't get any REM or deep sleep (it's all light).

 

Sure, @Alvin . For a long time, maybe 15 to 20 years (my onset was 1990), I'd go to bed exhausted, but then would just lie there with my mind buzzing around, unable to sleep. So I'd finally get up, go into my computer, and play Freecell for hours--at least until 3 or 4 a.m. and sometimes until 5:00.

I'd then usually sleep until 10 a.m. when I'd awaken without an alarm. I was constantly tired and short of sleep. But no matter how tired I was, I couldn't sleep when I went to bed around !0:30 or 11:00 p.m.

So, at the other place, I searched for info on "tired but wired," and came across this post by Hip: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/ind...d-hyperaroused-brain-state.44269/#post-719669

In solution #5, Hip mentioned Jarrow N.A.C. I checked with my doctor to see if it was okay for me to take this, and she said okay, so I started. I don't think I've had more than 5 episodes of being unable to sleep since then.

I take Jarrow N.A.C. (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) at higher than the recommended dose. I take 1 tablet 3 times per day--around 10 a. m., 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. I actually thought I was taking the recommended dose until I checked the label to answer your question, so I'm going to have to follow up on where I got the dosage I'm taking, and maybe modify.

I also go to sleep with an audiobook, usually set for 30 minutes. That works best if it's something I've already read, so that I'm a little bored by it. I find David Sedaris particularly soporific, and have plans to someday write a book called, "Sleeping with David Sedaris." I expect Hugh won't appreciate it.

 

Thats incredible!
I may try it sometime, though i saw this article and became concerned
https://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/09/05/29493.aspx

 

If you are taking the 600mg tablets (the ones I have here) then that's exactly the dose that Shungu did a small study on, maybe that's where you got it from

Presented at the IACFS/ME conference in 2016:

See page 34:
http://iacfsme.org/ME-CFS-Primer-Education/News/IACFSME-2016-Program.aspx

 

I think that just demonstrated an ill-effect on lab-bred mice. Extremely preliminary, and far from certain that the same occurs in humans.

 

I agree but we have no confirmation of yea or nea.

 

The vast majority of results in animals do not occur in humans. Believe me, I have studied it extensively.

 

So we dismiss what we don't want to hear because we can convince ourselves it does not apply based on unrelated associations and non associations
I take things more cautiously, i don't conveniently dismiss out of hand, i am not claiming this does apply to humans but i am saying i'd like to find out if it does or does not.