Do you guys sleep?

You? Both .
I was referencing our lifestyles, even our sleep patterns.
We're some kind of hybrid beings that exist on the fringe of North American society.

 

That sounds about right. My grandma, who is an insomniac from working as a nurse and raising a family for more than 30 years, doesn't understand how I can go on such little sleep. Driving for hours at a time without food or sleep is something she'll leave to me, too.

 

My mom doesn't understand how I can work for 10 hours on 3 of sleep. Deadline adrenaline is one hell of a drug.

 

I often choose to take a 6 a.m. flight rather than leave the day before a business trip. Even that 2-3 hours in my own bed is better than a good night's sleep in a hotel, to me.

I do some brutal things to myself with travel and sleep. I sleep fairly well on airplanes, but I know it's not the same. It's not uncommon for me to go three or four nights in a row with less than four hours of sleep. I just keep telling myself "at least I'm young ... " even though I'm not.

 

I had a couple of 4-hour nights this week and today I'm just worthless. Which is fine since I shouldn't have to do any work. All I've done so far is get my paper off my front porch, order Bonnaroo tickets, screw around here a little and I'm watching UNC-Virginia Tech.

 

It depends on the job. If I'm working a 8-to-5 gig, then I don't get but 5-6 hours of sleep because I just can't go to bed before midnight. But, if I'm working 2nd-shift hours, then I almost always get 8-10 hours, easy. Sleep = Good.

Oddly though, I can still function on very little sleep for about a week and then I crash and burn. I'm one of those can-go-3-straight-days-without-sleeping kinda people.

My family members? If they don't get 8+ hours, you just don't go near them. That simple.

 

That sounds about right on this front...

5-6 1/2 hours during weekdays, 7 1/2-8 on weekends.

 

No amount of sleep refreshes me, but if I get less than 8 hours, I am useless. I've seen lots of doctors, been through a sleep study and thousands of dollars later, the best they can tell me is that I need a lot of sleep. My friends and family are great about it, but it's hard. I usually have to leave parties or nights out before anyone else because I'm so tired. I can't nap either, because I feel really groggy after. I'm definitely not a morning person and I'm not a night person either. For me, it's early to bed and late to rise. It sucks.

 

Some people just need a lot of sleep. I've accepted this fact about myself, even though I've been labeled as lazy in the past. That part pisses me off. I'm fine and productive and motivated when I wake up, I just need 8-9 hours before that.

 

You're not lazy. Everyone's body is different.

 

Obviously, I'm listening to The Musical Box.

 

Put me in the night owl camp, as well. When I was growing up, it'd take me less than a week during summer vacation before I'd be staying up until 6 or 7 a.m. and sleeping until noon or 1 p.m. I wouldn't even be doing anything special at night, just watching TV or playing video games in my room.
Somehow, my older sister never understood this concept, though. She'd always fuss at me for "sleeping the day away" when I'd be in bed until mid-afternoon. She couldn't grasp that I was sleeping 8 or 9 hours, just a different 8 or 9 hours than she was. She'd REALLY piss me off when she decided it was her mission to wake me up at noon. Bitch.
That sleep pattern continues to this day, though. Out of necessity, I've started going to bed a little earlier (usually asleep by midnight or 12:30 during the week). But occasionally I'll stay up until 3 or 4 playing XBox, or just watching TV. If I fall asleep before 11 or 11:30, I feel like I've gone to bed early.
Of course, our paper's schedule doesn't help. PM during the week, so I have to be up to be in around 8. Then it switches to an AM cycle on the weekend, so I have to be ready to stay up until 1 or 2 a.m. Everything my body adjusted to during the week gets undone.