Recent Posts
Some things you might try:
Don't feed the cat right when you wake up. Wait a half hour. You want to break the association in the cat's mind between you waking up and the cat getting food.
When the cat wants attention at night, pull it close and wrap your arms around it. You can do this without really waking up. The cat probably wants to play, not to be held closely like this, so they will learn that bothering you at night doesn't get the desired result. But also, you're not rejecting your cat, so you can go back to sleep without feeling guilty.
All of this behaviour will probably settle down over time as your cat feels more confident in their new home.
Typically, 4 to 6 hours. I think it's less important how much sleep I get vs when I get that sleep. If it's 10 to 2, great...if it's midnight to 4, not so great. I typically wake up at the same time every day, without an alarm clock, so this seems to be the right sleep approach for me -- everyone is different though.
There's been some interesting research into REM sleep, into changes in sleep pattens as we moved to more modern times. I've read that the 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is just something made up and historically people would sleep for shorter periods of time, sleep for a few hours, then do things for a few hours, then sleep again. That makes sense if you think about agrarian households and the need for things like keeping a fire going overnight, etc.
If I feel like I'm tired because I'm not getting enough sleep, I'll use an sleep timer website to determine when I should go to bed so that I wake up at the right spot in the REM cycle, which can be useful. (I'll use the most when I'm trying to pre-shift my sleep cycle if I'm going to have a big timezone change). I'd also lock the cat in another room (if I had a cat that was disturbing my sleep that much (I do not have a cat)).
Good luck!
HW: 306 SW: 282 GW: 145 (reached 2/6/19) CW:150
Jen
Wow 12 hours on the weekend, that would be nice but I have 2 teens that wouldn't let me sleep. A 20 minute nap doesn't seem like much. Thanks for responding.
That's not much sleep. I sure would be grumpy 24/7 if I were you. Thanks for responding.
I seldom get a decent nights sleep anymore, maybe a few hours at a time. I often feel a need to nap during the day and it's a huge help if I can get even 20 nap minutes.
They say you can't catch up on sleep but occasionally I do by sleeping 12 hours on a weekend. It makes the world of difference
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for understanding, sharing and for responding. Ive been down this road before with counselors and medications but I am going to give it another try, with a different team. I have been thinking that I need to exercise and move more. Staying in bed does nothing for me that's for sure. I appreciate hearing from you!
Hi Jessica,
Thank you so very much for sharing your experiences and insights. I appreciate it very much. I tend to stay to myself and not reach out to my friends and family and then the depression just hits me so hard that I cannot function at times. I can tell you understand. I appreciate your good advice and you really hit the nail on the head!
Thank you for responding. You are right that I need to own my depression and go back and get help again. I gave up a little bit after a bad experience with medications and also I had a therapist that I felt I could not work well with. I didn't feel like it was helping me at all but I won't give up until I get it right.
I have done the same with food. Always been an emotional eater. Hope you are feeling better!
Thank you very much for your words of encouragement and support.
