Question of the Day: How Does Being Tired Affect You?
Monkey Doodle Yawning at 1 Week Old
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how being tired affects me as a mom, as a wife and just in general.
In fact, right around this time last year, I read an article in Focus on the Family’s magazine about how consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night affects you the same way that not sleeping for 24 hours straight does…and obviously those aren’t good effects!
I’ve been paying attention to the signs and symptoms of not getting enough sleep more to motivate myself to make sure I get a full nights sleep each night. Of course, I’m writing this 2-4 weeks before we welcome a new baby girl to our family, and at that point, it won’t really be my choice! LOL!
Today, I’m wondering how not getting enough sleep affects you! I’ll share my answer in the comments, and I hope you will too.
There are MANY signs that I’m not getting enough sleep, besides yawning and falling asleep while reading to the girls! LOL!
:: I get angry. I find myself frustrated and snapping at every little thing.
:: I can’t focus.
:: I crave sugary foods
:: I zone out and actually seem to stay up later when I’m really tired.
How about you?
As the mother of a 4 y.o. and a 10 m.o., sleep is elusive. We walk most places, but I’d be reluctant to drive unless it was first thing in the morning after a strong cup of coffee. And I have trouble with proofreading, especially proofing numbers, including dates. Since this is how I earn a paycheck, it is a huge problem. Whenever possible, I schedule tasks that require focus for the parts of the day when I’m at my most alert. But sometimes, I just have to accept that I cannot responsibly take on one more project - and that’s been hard.
BTW, Monkey Doodle? Is darling! Congratulations.
I am simply just not a nice momma to my girls without enough sleep. I also use being tired as an excuse to eat or drink anything I want (those sugary foods and drinks). We have our third baby coming in 4-6 weeks, and I wonder how life will be then sleepwise. I co-slept with our second to get more sleep since she was an around-the-clock nurser, and that sleep factor makes me think I’ll probably need to do it again…
I get crabby…really.really.crabby. #3 still wakes up for a 2am feeding…she’s 13 months now! I think it’s more of a comfort thing, and since she’s my last, I tend to give in. I never did that with the first two! But, when I get out of bed…it takes me a good hour to fall back asleep…grrr…lol.
I have three sons: 6yo, almost 3yo and 9mo old. My youngest still wakes up two-three times per night…
These days:
I drink coffee in the morning to help me wake up, before I have a cup in the morning I am pretty much non-functional
so I try to get to it fast.
I crave sugary foods, especially right around 3pm.
I have less patience.
I get forgetful.
I find that two things help me get through times like this-
Taking a multi-vitamin/vit B stress formula.
Going for a short jog in the evening.
I’m definitely not a nice mommy when I’m overtired. I find I have no patience and I yell or snap at the kids for things that I shouldn’t. Then I feel bad because I know I should have handled the situation better. I also eat poorly. Sleep is definitely a good thing!
Congratulations! I’ve been out of it for a while and didn’t know you had your new girl!! She’s precious!!
Sorry, I guess that was kind of misleading. Monkey Doodle was Baby Girl #2. We’re still waiting on the newest Doodle, and she is yet to be christened with a nickname of her own!