Sleep needs?

I also need around 8-9 hours of good solid sleep in order to function the next day. I think rest is especially important to us since we have a constant war going on in our bodies. Just listen to your body - it will tell you what it needs.

Eight hours is an absolute minimum for me. Ten is more ideal.

I made the mistake two weeks ago of getting up earlier - just by an hour - to try to accomlish more and feel like I was more productive. Yes, it was a mistake! I almost had myself thrown into a full blown flare :( It's taken a week of my more regular sleep schedule and some naps to get me back to a more normal feeling. Well, UC normal of tired, but not about to fall over tired.

Lack of sleep, for me, leads to bad poos.

I'm lucky that way, unless I'm flaring really badly I don't have to get up in the night to run to the bathroom. It makes me feel better to know my need for what I consider an excessive amount of sleep seems to be normal for UC'ers. I really hate needing to sleep so much and having so little time for anything else besides work. Especially when my man can run circles around me most of the time and he's 10 years older than I am!

Wow, it's nice to hear I'm not alone in this. I keep trying to get away with 7 or 8 hours and then beat myself up when I'm exhausted. I really need about 9 I think.

I have been having trouble sleeping at all....
I think maybe 1 or 2 hours then awake again. From everything I have read on this site, that can not be good for me.

The doctor I see for anxiety - gave me xanax xr for the anxiety ( I was terrified to leave the house - for fear of having an accident) - anyway she gave me Luenesta 3mg tablets - I have yet to take any of them

I did think about taking a Tylenol PM - but to worried to do that - but dont know why

I need at least 8 but when i can...more like 10. Lately I have been getting terrible lower/mid back pain after about 5 hours of sleep and can't really get back to sleep after that.

Okiemom, if you are nervous about a sleep aid (i have used them at times without a problem) try one on a night when you don't have too much going on the next day in case it makes you drag a bit. I take tylenol pm about once or twice a week on average. My joints are terrible at night! I find that it helps me get to sleep faster and I would be taking a tylenol for the pain anyway.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this, too! I have always needed a lot of sleep to feel rested, even before getting UC. I need at least 9 hours, but 10 is even better and some days I can sleep for much longer than that. I usually only end up getting about 7 hours during the week though, because I have to wake up so early for work and can't seem to go to bed early enough.

My problem is staying asleep. I am usually up 4-5 times a night. I have seen a sleep specialist, read books, I exercise regularly, etc. Ideally I would like to get 8 hours a night...solid.

I usally get 6-7 hrs sleep and that works for me. When I flare, i have to get up like every 2-3hrs, and even during my real bad times, still I only get 6-7 hrs sleep. I wish I could sleep more, but I just can't. Sometimes I make myself stay awake till like 2am, but I'm still up by 7-8am. No matter what time I go to sleep, I nrver can sleep more than 8hrs. I guess my body has it's own clock.

With me I need at least 10 hours of sleep - but I have a really hard time falling asleep at night.  It is no problem to take a nap, I fall right asleep.  At night it is a different story.

I always wake up feeling like I need more sleep - I always chalked it up to UC in its many manifestations.

love to all

bob 

It doesn't matter how much sleep I have , i always feel like crap when i wake up, i tend to wake up at like 8pm/9pm every night which is bad,, I could sleep 10-11 hours, and feel so tired when i wake up, i hate it because it wrekcs the day and makes me moody with the gf etc, and with my work being retail, im to tired for it :(

I think I can get by with 7-8, but like many here I rarely get that much when on anything above 10 mg pred (currently 20) due to pred-insomnia. Once in a while I'll pop an oxocodone left over from a dental procedure years back, and it helps me get a solid night's sleep. The more active my UC is, the more I have a constant level of fatigue and brain fog. I will go and fight my way through it at the gym, and the endorphin release froma good workout will help me nap later, sometimes.

I also notice that if I have waves of fatigue to the point that my eyes want to close, that is a warning sign I am going to start flaring upwards the next day. I'll blast some exra-probiotics or even pro-actively bump up the pred a little sometimes to nbip it in the bud.