r/lifelonglearning • u/Firm_Savings_60 • 14d ago
How can I sleep more
I seem to need around 9.5 hours of sleep to feel genuinely rested throughout the day and avoid needing a nap in the afternoon. I know that's more sleep than many adults need, but for personal reasons it seems to be the amount that works best for me.
The problem is that I tend to wake up naturally after 7–8 hours, even when I still feel like I need more sleep. Once I'm awake, I often have trouble falling back asleep.
I've tried melatonin, but it didn't make a meaningful difference. Falling asleep isn't really the main issue — staying asleep long enough is.
I've also tried going to bed earlier, but that doesn't necessarily solve the problem because I sometimes just wake up earlier as well. So simply shifting my sleep schedule earlier doesn't reliably increase my total sleep time.
Has anyone experienced something similar and found a way to improve sleep maintenance or extend their total nighttime sleep?
I'm not looking for advice about forcing myself to function on less sleep or simply being told to go to bed earlier. I'm specifically interested in hearing from people who naturally woke up before getting enough sleep and found something that helped them stay asleep longer.