Training & Nutrition - Sleep, how much is too much?

How can you tell if your getting too much sleep, or not enough? Any recomendations on sleep time and recovery?

I know it sounds simplistic, but sleep until you feel rested.

The actual amount of sleep varies from one person to the next and at various times in your life. I feel perfectly rested if I've had about 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That's pretty normal. If you're sleeping 10 hours, you're probably oversleeping; if you're sleeping 6 hours, you're probably not getting enough.

Originally posted by velocipedio
I know it sounds simplistic, but sleep until you feel rested.
That would be a welcome change from 'sleep until the kids start making noise far too early in the morning'.

good question, but i don't think there are any real strict rules. Every person is different...

i need less sleep than most people but i used to get way too little (averaged 3-4hrs a night for a few years)

for me, if i set my alarm before i go to bed (and decide when i want to wake up - usually 6-8 hours of sleep) and i wake up just before the alarm or instantly then i'm getting the right amount.

if you can wake up w/o and alarm then you're probably good (i coul do this 98% of the time until i started sleeping too little)

if i'm hitting snooze for an hour an can't get out of bed then i'm not (unless i'm just being lazy and don't want to go to work or whatever which happens occaisonally)

if i sleep more than about 9.5 hours then i will be tired and sluggish --- of course if i had a really hard ride or was sleep deprived a few days i may need this much and just have to accept that i'll be a little sluggish...

i think most people need between 6 and 10 hours a night, with most between 7.5 and 8.5 hours

i've also read so many studies that talk about how important it is to sleep on a regular cycle - i.e. to go to bed and wake up the same time every day - i used to sleep 5 or more hours later on the weekends (at the university) and think it was bogus... but i think if you can, it's a good idea (plus Saturday/Sunday morning is a good time to ride!) --- i try, most days to wake up within 1-2 hours of the same time (6:15-8:00) and go to bed about the same time (11:30-1:00) --- maybe sleep in a little on the weekend but it's more relaxing than real sleep b/c i wake up at 8:00 or 9:00 anyway...

as far as getting too much --- i set my alarm every night with maximum 8:00 of sleep - if the goes off and i'm still tired i might stay in bed another hours or so on the weekend, but not longer -- otherwise i'll oversleep... but if you were to plan nothing for the next day, not pick a time to wake up (this mentally is important for me), and just sleep - i would probably sleep too much and be sluggish

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
How can you tell if your getting too much sleep, or not enough? Any recomendations on sleep time and recovery?

I sleep until I wake up. How in the world can you control how long and how much you sleep?

I mean, if I wanted to sleep longer, there is no way I could do it. When I wake up, voila, I am instantly wide awake, ready to go. No way could I get back to sleep.

I go to bed when I am tired. If I went to bed earlier I would not sleep.

So, the answer is - go to bed when you are tired, get up when you awake. What else can you do?

For me, that is bed at about 10:30 pm, awake at 5:00 am. I NEVER, ever use an alarm.