A few months ago, I was listening to an episode of the Girl Next Door podcast and they were talking about a topic that I thought would make for a really fun blog post: sleep! So, I dutifully copied down all the different categories they talked about throughout their discussion on sleep and I’m excited to share my thoughts on what sleep looks like in my life. However, when I started writing this post, I realized I have a lot to say and I’m a bit wordy so I’m going to break this post into two parts, publishing the second part next week.
How Much I Sleep
I have always felt that I need more sleep than the average person. I’m a Highly Sensitive Person, which means my nervous system is wired differently than most people and I get overstimulated much more easily. So, I think the fact that I need more sleep isn’t just in my head. I think it’s a real thing because the world is just a lot for me and exhausts me easily. I’d love to get 9-10 hours a night, but I regularly get around 7-8. I’m happy with that, though. Anything less than 7 hours and I can’t function. (And yes, I realize what that sounds like to parents of young children. Everything is relative! Also, my need for sleep is one of the reasons I’m still on the fence about kids, haha.)
What I Sleep In
I love long pajama pants. They’re just so cozy for lounging! However, those pajama pants get shucked off the minute it’s time for bed. My typical sleeping uniform is a tank top or large t-shirt and underwear. I buy women’s lingerie from https://www.bedroomscene.co.uk. I need my legs free of any constricting material. (And don’t even get me started on socks. No to socks when sleeping.)
How I Sleep
I am trying to train my body to become a side sleeper, mostly because my favorite sleeping position (on my stomach with my arms splayed over my head) has resulted in awful lower back pain. Seeking advice from professionals at Chiropractic Baltimore MD can offer personalized strategies and treatments to address lower back pain and promote better spinal alignment for improved sleep quality and overall well-being. I’ve also seen a chiropractor from Illumin8 Chiropractic about it and had multiple massages to ease the pain, but the only thing that has actually helped is to stop sleeping on my stomach. But I love sleeping on my stomach! It’s the most comfortable position for me. Additionally, the neuropathy numbness experienced by individuals can significantly impact their daily activities and quality of life, emphasizing the importance of effective management strategies tailored to their specific needs with the help of a reliable chiropractor.
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Pillows, Blankets, & Sheets
I have a lot to say about this topic. I’ll start by listing out what is on my bed when I sleep:
- A fitted sheet – I recently bought new sheets for my bed that cost a pretty penny but they are so soft and comfortable and make me feel oh-so-cozy.
- A quilt – I always use a quilt. Yes, even in the summertime in Florida.
- Medium-firm pillows – My pillows need to be soft but not too soft, firm but not too firm. So, medium-firm. And I need a lot of them. Currently, I have six. I would be okay with more.
- A body pillow – This is what I snuggle with at night. It’s way better than a boyfriend because it doesn’t snore or move or talk in its sleep.
I do not use a top sheet when I sleep because I think they’re useless. I will die on this hill. I also cannot understand people who sleep with one pillow. ONE PILLOW. How is that comfortable?! Then again, most people can’t understand why I need half a dozen pillows to sleep, so poh-tay-toe, poh-tah-toe.
How I Fall Asleep
I am admittedly blessed in this department as falling asleep is usually not a problem for me, especially when I’m getting regular exercise and cutting down on my caffeine consumption. Sometimes, I toss and turn and when that happens, I just take melatonin and fall asleep not too long afterward. For the most part, though, I’m asleep within 15 minutes of turning out the light.
When I was in sixth grade, I had insomnia for an entire year. My parents had separated and the huge shift in my family environment must have altered something in my brain because sleep was elusive for me. I was probably getting 3-4 hours of sleep every night for an entire year. So, basically, I feel like I have earned my good sleep behaviors after losing out on an entire year’s worth of good sleep.
Napping
Napping is one of my superpowers. I try to take at least two naps every weekend and it honestly disappoints me if I can’t make it happen. (This is another reason I’m hesitant to have kids. What happens to my naps? It’s possible I am way too selfish to be a mother, haha.) My naps are sacred to me.
My naps are also… lengthy. For me, a good nap is at least three hours. That’s when I feel like I have a full sleep cycle and can wake up feeling refreshed. It’s the times when I only take a 1-2 hour nap that I wake up feeling super groggy and out of it.
I’m also blessed in that my naps typically don’t interfere with my sleep at night. On the days I nap, I will typically go to bed an hour or so later than my normal bedtime.
I firmly believe that my naps are part of my self-care. As mentioned earlier, I need more sleep than the average person because I’m an HSP and taking naps ensures I get that necessary downtime and silence that I need to recharge my batteries.
I know it’s a charged topic – what are your thoughts on pillows, blankets, and sheets? Are you on Team No Top Sheet like me?
I can’t sleep on my stomach anymore either because of lower back pain. It started in my late 20s/early 30s. You’ll adjust and find a new favorite position. Regarding the body pillow, don’t get rid of it when you find a sleeping partner. I used to love snuggling and cuddling with hubby when we first started dating, but that soon ended and now, 14 years later, the only ones that are allowed to breathe on me in bed and snore in my ear are the pups. And finally, the top sheet – a hot topic I was introduced to sometime last year. I had no idea it was so divisive. Personally, I use a top sheet out of habit and also because they come with the set. I wouldn’t spend money on it otherwise. And I don’t buy the argument that it keeps the quilt clean. In our case, with 4 dogs and two humans shifting around, I often find the top sheet halfway off the bed anyway. I also wash the quilt once a week along with our sheets.
You and I have some very similar sleep habits, to the choice of sleepwear, to the need for lots of sleep, to the necessity of three-hour naps (I don’t take them often, but anything shorter and I get a headache and feel cranky and bleary).
I do like me a top sheet, I think mainly because I often get way too hot when I sleep, and the top sheet helps me feel covered without making me sweat.
Like you I am trying to change my sleep position. I am a side sleeper, but it’s been giving me severe neck pain so I am trying to train myself to sleep on my back. Not so easy.
I’m team top sheet! I always had one growing up so I can’t imagine now having one now. Plus when it’s really hot and humid in the summer, we often sleep with just a sheet on us (our bedroom is upstairs and just doesn’t cool down as much as the lower level when it’s really warm). I just use one pillow! I became a side sleeper after years of being a stomach sleeper. Being a stomach sleeper messed up my neck so at the chiro’s recommendation, I transitioned to sleeping on my side. I used to need a body pillow to sleep on my side but now I don’t.
Ideally, I need about 8 hours of sleep. Anything below 7 is just not enough for me. I was struggling to get 7 hours of sleep/night when Paul was waking up a lot and when I was getting up to pump. But now that I’m done pumping I get to ‘sleep in’ until 6. 😉 That extra 30 minutes feels AMAZING. I was never a napper until we had Paul. Now I will often nap in the morning on the weekend when he goes down for his first nap. I always get up with him, though, and he’s awake around 6 or so, so it’s nice to get a bit extra sleep!
Team No Top Sheet here! I’m a side sleeper. I can sleep on my stomach but don’t do it often. I sleep with 5 pillows, most of which are medium-firm, but I have one which I call my “grabber” that is super soft and I wrap my arms around it when I sleep.
I am with you on naps. SOOOO with you. And props to parents who lose sleep and get less naps cause of their kids – I wouldn’t want to do it either!
I think it’s interesting when people like a top sheet and when they don’t! I don’t actually care in the winter. Although, in the summer, I sometimes I only use that. Speaking of seasons, I wonder if you’d be team socks if you slept somewhere cold. I put them on every now and then. But I am in a tank and shorts PJs all year now that I have three cats sleeping on me. They keep me WARM.
Yes to all the GOOD pillows.
Will the next post be about shit mattresses? LOL, I am super opinionated in that department 😉
I can’t believe you had insomnia for a year as a kid. Man. I’m sorry. That must have been brutal.
This is a fun and interesting post!
I am a big fan of sleep for the same reasons as you. The world and its people are exhausting to me, and I look forward to crawling into bed every night. 🙂
I am super mean and function terribly when I don’t get much sleep, which has been hard because I’ve been sleeping poorly lately (even before the kids). Sleep aids are definitely helping though.
6 pillows, how can you?! LOL. I have one pillow and it is super flat. Jerry always tries to steal it. It makes me vicious. I do have one of those husband pillows though which is a necessity because I’m a big in-bed reader. Most of my reading is done in bed before lights out. Do you read a lot in bed?
Top sheet – yes all the way. But my blankets and sheets need to be on the bed correctly or I can’t sleep. I also cannot sleep with pants… too constricting.
Who knew sleeping was a topic that people could talk about so much?! Haha.
I rotate positions! Sometimes its back, sometimes stomach, curled into the fetal position… depends on the night! I have to have a top sheet (when I was younger I didn’t even bother putting them on the bed but now I need it) and I am that person who sleeps with one pillow. And it has to be a smushed, flat pillow and I generally sleep on the corner of it. I don’t know why!! Also HELL NO to socks in bed. People who sleep with socks on are psychopaths.
Right now I seem to be getting about 7.5 each night, which has been feeling really good. But back in the spring I was only getting – and functioning surprisingly well – on 5-6 a night :O How I managed that I truly have no idea. I usually am super tired in the morning but as soon as I get up and get going for the day I feel pretty good.
Oh and I love having a top sheet because I get hot at night and often kick the comforter off and just sleep with the top sheet.
Oh, girl, you know how I feel ’bout sleep! But I am firmly Team Top Sheet.
This is suchhh a good topic, because I <3 sleep. I'm team No Top Sheet, 100%. In the winter, it traps my body heat and makes me wake up in a sweat. In the summer, we keep the AC on so it's never warm enough for just the top sheet. Plus, I always feel like it was too lightweight to sleep with – I need a little more heft to my blankets (even before weighted blankets were a thing!).
I currently get (and need) a LOT of sleep. Weeknights I try to get 8 (and still don't feel well-rested), on the weekend I can easily get 12. I also feel like I'm really sensitive to waking up in between sleep cycles. If I try to wake up mid-cycle, I feel way worse than if I aim for increments of 1.5 hours. However, I manage pretty well with minimal sleep, but it has to be like 6 hours or less. If it's between 6-8 hours, somehow it's worse than if I get less than 6.
I also love naps, but I haven't really needed them in a long time since I sleep late on weekends. But if I get up at a "normal" time (before 9am) and am home in the middle of the day, you better believe I'm taking a nap. Also, my naps have very specific requirements: I *always* have to be on top of the covers, on a fully made bed, under a fleece throw. If I legitimately get into bed, it's just not as good/restful.
Great post, so interesting and random 🙂
I am definitely team NO Top Sheet. We don’t have top sheets in Germany (as far as I know), we have duvets and I always get tangled up in top sheets (I also hate when they’re tucked under the mattress, I need to be able to stick my feet out!
I used to sleep on my stomach when I was younger, but I am a side sleeper (sometimes even back sleeper) now.
Great post, so interesting and random 🙂
I am definitely team NO Top Sheet. We don’t have top sheets in Germany (as far as I know), we have duvets and I always get tangled up in top sheets (I also hate when they’re tucked under the mattress, I need to be able to stick my feet out!
I used to sleep on my stomach when I was younger, but I am a side sleeper (sometimes even back sleeper) now.
I love naps, but I don’t nap very often (unless I am really tired). I feel like I waste precious time when I sleep away an afternoon.
I agree with you completely about no pants or socks for sleeping. I can’t do it. Covered feet are the stuff of nightmares!
I do sleep with a top sheet, but mostly that’s because it’s winter and I have flannel sheets on my bed and it’s SO COZY. I care far less about a top sheet in the summer.
I only need one pillow. Just one. I have other pillows on the bed, but they’re not needed and if I’m lazy and forget that I need to put the sheets pack on the bed after laundry day, I’ll only put the pillowcase on one pillow and just sleep with that.
And I’m also a stomach sleeper with some occasional side sleep thrown in.