Scrutinise my day and help me become more energised!

Old age in NOT kicking in! I’m 53 OP, I sit down about 30 mins before bed, run 40km a week, work full time running my own business, have 2DC, Pilates every morning, and 2 classes a week in term time. I cook from scratch every day as no UPF, make my own bread, blah blah etc. I am full of energy. I don’t having caring responsibilities.

Low iron has been suggested up thread and I bet that’s it.

I know this isn't really what your thread is about, but my advice?...QUIT TEACHING!

Life-changer. Best thing I ever did.

I’m a teacher too. I work 4 days which is a godsend. Any option for that? Other things that people have already mentioned- water (this is huge!), more protein, carbs first thing isn’t great, daylight (huge for me - is it worse in the winter?), cleaner?

You are a f/t teacher, with disabled children and no help at home. It’s a lot! Try and buy in some help, lower your standards! Now I’m perimenopausal I need more daylight and can’t be rushing around or I get anxious. Luckily my kids are adults so my home life is less stressful.

Good luck OP.

Have a lie in. Honestly. It will make all the difference. I am similar stats to o you. I get up at 6.45. Coffee and do kids breakfast. Walk kids to school and walk back. Breakfast (Toast with eggs or banana or peanut butter or porridge), Log on and work. Lunch ( soup or sandwich or salad) more work, walk to pick kids and walk back, another hour or so at work, ferry to kids clubs, balanced tea and then unwind. I could fit in exercise in my lunch break or after tea and probably should but I do walk a lot and prefer downtime ( which exercise is for some people but not me!). I don't snack much and eat in a 10 hour window generally and this maintains weight.

Hi OP. Your wake up time and exercise isn't odd at all. I do the same, although this morning had to force myself out of bed at 5.10, my alarm goes off at 4.45 daily and even at the weekends it's off at 5 for me to walk the dogs.

I am a morning person, I can barely make dinner by 6pm let alone exercise. And I've tried the switch too.

I also work in a school, not a teacher, but I appreciate the pace of the day.

I've found I am much more energetic if I don't eat a big evening meal. So I eat something at 5pm when I get home, usually avo toast with salmon. Then I'm done until breakfast when I get to school in the morning.

Instead of coffee I have a square of very very dark chocolate periodically through the day which I find gives me more energy.

Agree with PP who says ditch the caffeine. Buy an aeropress and make proper decaf at school - the jar decaf is shit and full of chemicals.

Ditch the cereal at breakfast, make overnight oats, or cook some boiled eggs and take a tub of egg, avo and salmon and have at school while your coffee is being made.

Or a pot of kefir quark with blueberries and bananas and a small handful of nut, it will keep you full for ages.

Appreciate going to the loo is hard when you are teaching but increase your water. And make sure you are using vaginal oestrogen so your bladder is stronger! Mine is much better these days for Estriol cream.

Also can you catnap in the car at lunchtime? This gives me a lot more energy for the rest of the day. Or a 20min power walk if you are not supervising break time?

What time does your husband go to bed & when do you socialise or see friends? Where is the joy?

Bloody hell, woman. People think I do a lot (work FT, 2 primary DC, just finished a STEM master's, wedge in a social life occasionally) but your day is gruelling. I take my hat off to you.

I know how it feels to get stuck in the coffee crash loop, but I would definitely try and get off that and cut coffee down quite a bit. Perhaps swap some of your later cups for decaf and/or green tea and work from there. And I do wonder if the same schedule might be more manageable if you switched your exercise to the evening and tweaked the timings somewhat. And I would definitely minimise marking, outsource housework and make sure your H is doing his share. But that you manage that at all is a real achievement.

You need to try and carve out some time for yourself (easier said than done, I know) I know, from personal experience, that what you're doing now is unsustainable. I started to make changes a year ago and I feel so much better. Here's what I did -

• Acupuncture

• Supplements

• Meditation

• Diet

• Track your period

There are various other things as well, but these are my main positive influences. I am a different person from a year ago. I am calmer, less irritated, much happier, I have more energy, and I naturally lost weight.

I wish you all the best.

If you can't change your day timings then you need to look at what you are eating and drinking. I would suggest switching your cereal for a protein based breakfast and add in a few snacks where you can in the day. Nuts would be good unless your school bans them due to allergies. You also need to drink a lot more water to keep you hydrated.

You’re a teacher, nuff said!

I’m similar, teaching, two kids, one with ASD. Exhausted.

It's winter, we don't get enough vitamin D or fresh air, life has become excessively complex - lots of us are knackered even without your routine and responsibilities op... There is a lot of pseudo health nonsense on this thread, be careful.

Getting up at 4.30am and going to bed at 8pm as a fully grown adult, as opposed to a 4 month old, would crush my soul to the depths of despair and exhaustion. That is very dull, what do you do on the weekend? You're losing potentially 14 hours a week of good quality adult time to be in bed at a child's bedtime, you could have hobbies, interests, do you have a partner to spend time with?

That's my critique anyway.

Getting up at 4.30 every day is literally punishing yourself

A lot of us in menopause are awake at that time anyway, or doing the nine to five sleep schedule to cope with disturbed sleep.

Any issues with brain fog, pins and needles, waking up and your body still feeling weary? (Compared to 'just' feeling more tired as the day progresses). As it could be b12 related if so- even if you have had it checked, NHS acceptable levels are lower than other recommendations.
Supplements help me when I get exhausted. I dont know which are for what, but I take a liquid ferrous sulphate, b vitamins, vitamin d, magnesium, zinc, vitamin c and a multivitamin. I also have b12 injections every 8 weeks.

I feel so sorry for you reading this. I can't believe you've sustained it for years. It sounds totally exhausting.

You need to get up later for starters. That sounds hideous. Get up at 5:30 (still incredibly early) and do 20 mins physio exercise. Get your morning routine done, go to work etc, when you get home do 20 mins physio exercise before making dinner. Have dinner, sort out kids, give yourself half an hour to mark and keep to it. If you really need another 20 mins exercise do it then but hopefully the previous two batches enough? Then downtime (bath, short outside walk, read etc) for half an hour and in bed for half 9?

This is the second thread I've read today about someone getting up in the middle of the night and wondering why they're tired.

I appreciate you need to exercise/do your physio but going totally against your circadian rhythm and waking up while it's pitch black outside isn't good for you on a long-term basis. Get up later and do you exercises before bed instead.

Honestly your day would wipe me out completely...

This is your problem.

That and waking up at 4:30 😴😴😴😴😴😴

Your circadian rhythm is off. Getting up at 4.30am isn't normal for humans except perhaps in the height of summer - we're meant to be awake when the sun is up.

Obviously with fire/electric light we can stretch that, but go too far away from your natural wake times and you'll suffer. That's why you feel you need to go to bed at 8pm.

Also is there any protein in your salad sandwich? If not you're not actually getting much nutrition except at dinner, which won't help.

Iron/B12/Vit D levels all worth checking.

Too many carbs and starting the day with cereal will cause glucose spikes and affect energy levels. There's a tv series on at the moment by the Glucose Goddess that has lots of tips to help. Try a protein/fat based breakfast (scrambled eggs with butter on toast) and see if you notice a difference.

Is your pain inflammation based?

Split the exercise between morning and evening.

Alternate 25 minutes weight bearing (e.g. Caroline Girvan) and HIIT /cardio (e.g Growingannanas) in the morning, plus 20 minutes with something like Yoga with Kassandra in the evening.

Schedule one nice/rewarding activity for Sunday.

Get a cleaner.

Edited to add:

Reduce coffee. Drink some water and herbal tea 8nstead.

Ensure you get enough protein

More detail on your HRT? Has it resolved other symtoms? I've been "on HRT" for 3 years but staircasing up; and it's only recently that the dose has been enough to help!

@MrsMurphyIWish my routine has always been similar to yours but more like 6.30am to 10.20/11pm.

I think you are at peak responsibility years with a pain related disability thrown in. It does get better as the dc get more independent. FWIW I'm 64 now and still working full-time.

If you are near SW London I can recommend a superb endocrinologist who specialises is helping fatigue and getting everything optimally balanced. It will probably cost you about a grand though.

Just having looked at your diet, it looks a tiny bit light to me. Are you getting enough iron and protein? You could and probably should carry an additional 7lb-10lb and be mindful at this stage of osteoporosis.