Question of the Day, Wednesday, January 4, 2023

[neely]

Happy New Year & Whiskers Wednesday! I hope 2023 is a good one for all our TCS members and their cats.

Normally I sleep pretty well but the last two nights I woke up and had some trouble falling back to sleep. One night I had to use the bathroom and the other it was raining but sounded like hail against the windows. Fortunately Carleton doesn't usually wake me up unless he has a hairball and starts to make hacking sounds. My husband is a light sleeper so it's not unusual for him to wake up especially if he hears a car playing loud music. So how about you?

ARE YOU A LIGHT OR HEAVY SLEEPER? WHAT WAKES YOU UP AND DO YOU HAVE TROUBLE FALLING BACK TO SLEEP?

 

[sivyaleah]

Pretty light. Wasn't that way when younger but the past year or so it's changed.
Once I wake up it usually takes me a while to get back to sleep. And all bets are off on that if it's too warm in the house!

 

[NY cat man]

I would be considered a light sleeper. What wakes me up? Cats getting on and off the bed, old guy's kidneys, most any unusual sound, for that matter. I seldom have trouble getting back to sleep, though.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

On the heavy side but I’ve never been quick to fall asleep. When my kids were little I felt obsessed with sleep because it was so hard to get real rest. The morning doves would sit on the roof cooing and sound like a baby.

I generally fall asleep on the couch with Mooch for half the night and then in bed the other half. I usually sleep through DH getting ready for work. He is good about waking me gently. It will literally hurt to be startled awake. I had this AWFUL alarm clock as a kid that sounded like a food processor with a bell inside. I think that started the trouble. It was horrid.

DH is probably more light of a sleeper. He dislikes light while it only bothers me if it’s directly in my face. He wears earplugs to down out noise. He even tinted our bedroom window at our old place when he was on night shift for a bit.

 

[neely]

I generally fall asleep on the couch with Mooch for half the night and then in bed the other half.

I had to laugh when I read this because I thought I was the only one this happens to - frequently I doze off on the couch with Carleton curled up beside me and when i finally wake up I go upstairs to bed. No trouble falling back to sleep then.

 

[game misconduct]

light sleeper yet i always wake up every few hours to check my surroundings but i can easily fall asleep/doze/nap any place or time as i feel like

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I had to laugh when I read this because I thought I was the only one this happens to - frequently I doze off on the couch with Carleton curled up beside me and when i finally wake up I go upstairs to bed. No trouble falling back to sleep then.

I think I've been doing this since she was just out of kittenhood. DH used to come get me at our old house. Now; I'm on my own! And it probably gives him a mostly peaceful night not listening to me snore.

 

[denice]

I am now a light sleeper, I wasn't when I was younger. It usually takes me awhile to fall back asleep.

 

[Jem]

I'm all over the place when it comes to falling asleep, staying asleep and how easily I get awakened....my only consistency is regardless of how well or not I slept, or what time I fell asleep, I'm up around 6:00am, but stay in bed and doze on and off until 7 / 7:15am, then I get up.

 

[Lari]

When I was in college I slept through a fire alarm.

Ever since my daughter was born I've been a much lighter sleeper. I'm tuned into whenever she makes a noise. And my weak pregnancy bladder.

 

[strider rose]

i guess that i am a light sleeper ... here lately i cant seem to settle down to sleep due certain noises that are going on around me

 

[lizzie]

I wish I could sleep the whole night thru!I take lasix....lol...need I say moreGetting back to sleep is a problem sometimes.

 

[misty8723]

It can be either way. One thing that makes it hard for me to go back to sleep is if I'm sleeping or dozing and hubby comes to bed, makes racket, wants to yak, basically I get past the point of sleepy and have a hard time getting back to sleep. When that happens, I'll sometimes go downstairs and watch TV or read until I get sleepy. Sometimes if I have to get up to go to the bathroom, Cricket will be waiting for me and lead me into the "cat's room" (aka guest room) and I will get in bed there with her. She loves it, and purrs and purrs. If I can't sleep at that point, I'll get my kindle and read or play a game until I get sleepy. Sometimes I'll just sleep there, other times go back to my own bed if she has gone off somewhere.

The only thing that can really wake me up out of a sound sleep is a cat barfing or hacking. I leap out of bed when I hear that.

 

[Tobermory]

I would be considered a light sleeper. What wakes me up? Cats getting on and off the bed, old guy's kidneys, most any unusual sound, for that matter. I seldom have trouble getting back to sleep, though.

This pretty much describes me…except for the “old guy’s kidneys” part. That describes my husband who gets up four times a night. It was waking me up every time so I gave up and now sleep in another room.

Although he gets up multiple times a night, my husband could sleep through a herd of elephants rumbling through the room. Even when he gets up, he’s not really awake. Like when the earthquake warning started screaming on our cell phones a few weeks ago. I shot out of bed in a split second and ran to the living room. He just sat slowly up in bed and stared into space. (We didn’t have an earthquake here. It was on the coast, but we’re in the zone.)

 

[neely]

I think I've been doing this since she was just out of kittenhood.

I started doing it about a year after we adopted Neely so about 16 years ago. She would literally sit and stare at me until I laid down on the couch with a pillow that we both shared.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I'm a fairly heavy sleeper. I don't wake up to noise easily. What usually wakes me up is the fact that I sleep with two dogs and at least one cat in my bed. I can usually fall asleep easily, although I often do things like shut off my alarm when I'm not quite awake and I end up not remembering I did it.

 

[game misconduct]

I'm all over the place when it comes to falling asleep, staying asleep and how easily I get awakened....my only consistency is regardless of how well or not I slept, or what time I fell asleep, I'm up around 6:00am, but stay in bed and doze on and off until 7 / 7:15am, then I get up.

i am up before 4 am every morning then graycie and i watch gf do that snooze thing to

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Hmmm … both, I’d say! I’ve had to use earplugs at night for years, and only recently been able to sleep without them. Getting to sleep while there’s noise is impossible. I wake up when my bladder is full (or being stood on ) and sometimes will get back to sleep easily, sometimes not for hours.

 

[silent meowlook]

I have trouble shutting my brain off at night. When I do fall asleep, on the couch most of the time I often wake up with Cheetah doing my hair, and panic when I can’t move my legs. It takes a few seconds before I realize it’s because Omypaw is asleep on them. I try not to disturb the cats.

If I am extremely tired, or sick, I can sleep straight through like a rock for 18 hours. Times like this are the cats favorite times.

If Cheetah gets hungry when I am sleeping and I have woke up before to my hair matted, and her chewing on my fingers. Then she starts the massive purring and trying to crawl under my head. Usually at this point, Omypaw is sitting there with a knife and fork in his paws, asking if Cheetah if they are going to cook me first? He is such a team player.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Once I fall asleep I sleep pretty deeply. Falling asleep is harder. If there's a disturbing noise, I can't fall asleep. I also tend to have trouble shutting off my brain.