For all the "under 5 hours of sleep crowd", be aware the sleep apnea could very well be the cause of your problems, especially if you're not feeling as perky in workouts as you did when you were younger.
I used to sleep 8 hrs a day until age 18, and then it gradually worsened to 7,6,5, then in my 30s, I rarely slept more than 4 continuous hours in a time. I'd still be tired but I had to wake up, do something else for about 60 mins before going back to sleep or trying (and usually failing) to go back to sleep again.
I happen to be a very high energy person at baseline, so my 'tired' = 'normal' for most people, so I didn't assume it was so abnormal despite the overall dragging feelings. Then a kid came along and I assumed the kid was messing up my sleep cycle, but it remained totally messed up after the kid started sleeping. I was functioning well at work, but always felt like I could fall asleep quickly if I closed my eyes, and my hard workouts were deteriorating more and more.
It got really bad after age 35 to the point I ended up getting a sleep study. Turns out that I have severe sleep apnea with onset in deep REM sleep. Like 70 wakeups an hour according to the somnogram. I don't fit the risk profile at all - not overweight, no thick neck, in shape, not known to be a big snorer. But the tests were unequivocal - the doctor showed me graph after graph documenting it since I couldn't believe it. I was waking up after 4 hours because that's when big REM kicks in, and then since I'm not breathing enough, my body refuses to let me sleep until I 'reset' my REM. Even with drugs like ambien or others, I'll just get more fatigued and sleepy-feeling, but my body will not let me sleep with breathing rates that low.
I ended up getting a CPAP machine. It has significantly improved things, but is far from normal. The main thing is that now when I hit the REM sleep (after 4-5 hours, which is when the apnea kicks in and why my body would keep me awake after 4-5 hrs), I can crank up the CPAP settings, and magically, I can usually go back to sleep, albeit fitfully, for 7-8 total hours. After that, I actually feel pretty normal, and not fatigued, adn workouts are MUCH better.
So if you feel like your sleep is deteriorating, consider getting a sleep apnea study. It's made a big improvement in my life - turns out it's probably genetic in my case as my entire family has the same 'no sleep after REM' pattern, but I'm the only one who has gotten it back to near-normal with a CPAP machine.
I used to sleep 8 hrs a day until age 18, and then it gradually worsened to 7,6,5, then in my 30s, I rarely slept more than 4 continuous hours in a time. I'd still be tired but I had to wake up, do something else for about 60 mins before going back to sleep or trying (and usually failing) to go back to sleep again.
I happen to be a very high energy person at baseline, so my 'tired' = 'normal' for most people, so I didn't assume it was so abnormal despite the overall dragging feelings. Then a kid came along and I assumed the kid was messing up my sleep cycle, but it remained totally messed up after the kid started sleeping. I was functioning well at work, but always felt like I could fall asleep quickly if I closed my eyes, and my hard workouts were deteriorating more and more.
It got really bad after age 35 to the point I ended up getting a sleep study. Turns out that I have severe sleep apnea with onset in deep REM sleep. Like 70 wakeups an hour according to the somnogram. I don't fit the risk profile at all - not overweight, no thick neck, in shape, not known to be a big snorer. But the tests were unequivocal - the doctor showed me graph after graph documenting it since I couldn't believe it. I was waking up after 4 hours because that's when big REM kicks in, and then since I'm not breathing enough, my body refuses to let me sleep until I 'reset' my REM. Even with drugs like ambien or others, I'll just get more fatigued and sleepy-feeling, but my body will not let me sleep with breathing rates that low.
I ended up getting a CPAP machine. It has significantly improved things, but is far from normal. The main thing is that now when I hit the REM sleep (after 4-5 hours, which is when the apnea kicks in and why my body would keep me awake after 4-5 hrs), I can crank up the CPAP settings, and magically, I can usually go back to sleep, albeit fitfully, for 7-8 total hours. After that, I actually feel pretty normal, and not fatigued, adn workouts are MUCH better.
So if you feel like your sleep is deteriorating, consider getting a sleep apnea study. It's made a big improvement in my life - turns out it's probably genetic in my case as my entire family has the same 'no sleep after REM' pattern, but I'm the only one who has gotten it back to near-normal with a CPAP machine.