Anyone else sleep deprived and yet not sleeping

[IAmLordVoldemort]

I have two kids under four and a job that’s probably going to kill me. Neither child sleeps well and I work pretty much every night from 8-12 to keep afloat at work.

Children are up half the night and then smallest DD gets up for the day at the back of six.

I am fucking knackered. I haven’t slept properly since DD1 was born. And yet. Yet here o am. At 12.23. Posting on Mumsnet.

Because I’m wired. Because I don’t want to go to sleep because this little window is the only little bit of time I can grab for myself these days. Because if I go to sleep I will be woken several times because the girls waken up and can’t bear to see me resting apparently.

So I feel rather trapped in a cycle of no sleep. Hm.

Me too

I work full time in a really stressful job , i cant afford to reduce my hours or change my job , i have 2 DC and fibromyalgia.

My sleep is severely affected and i am running on empty with about 3 hours sleep every night.

Am so tired my eyes are stinging and my head hurts but my brain just wont let me sleep.

OP you are literally me.

I work in a high pressure managerial role, 4 days compressed hours, and am single mum to a 2 year old. Permanently exhausted. Average day is:

6.30 - get up: shower, dress, sort baby for nursery, quick tidy/ chores
8am- leave for nursery drop off and work
8.45- arrive at work - work solidly with no break until 5
5.30- arrive home. Put on laundry. Make dinner.
6.15- dinner.
7pm- bath baby. Put to bed. Will probably go to sleep 7.45.
8pm- 9pm- chores / cook for next day
9pm-11.30pm- work emails or report drafting
11.30-12.30- read/ mumsnet/ Netflix

Sleep for less than two thirds of the time
I actually need. Wake up. Start again.

It’s fucking relentless and horrific that I live for this hour at night.

Can’t last forever though, right?

Same here. DS is very alert and naps rarely happen, and I’m not allowed to ignore him or put him down because he screams. When I get five minutes to myself I’m reluctant to squander it on sleep. Otherwise I basically won’t exist as a person any more. Plus he wakes up regularly so I constantly feel like how you feel when you can’t sleep because your alarm is on.

I'm having problems sleeping at the moment due to anxiety. I have aspergic traits (ASD runs in my family) and I find it very difficult to cope with uncertainty.

My eldest child leaves for university soon; he is scatty and also prone to anxiety & depression and I worry about how he will cope.

I'm going back to work next week to a new role with more responsibility; it includes some tasks I have never done before. They haven't yet recruited my job-share partner, and I don't even know what days I'll be working.

Getting 3-4 hours sleep a night, but struggling to function well.

Yes. So tired of it. Can’t even think of the last time I slept through without waking. Often have stinging eyes, push myself through the last couple of hours at work while feeling like a zombie sometimes. Why am I still up now??

Snap.
Work full time. Juggle two younger dc and an adult dc (more work than younger ones)
House dogs holidays etc.
My jobs quite stressful and involves online marketing etc at home once kids r in bed some evenings.

Add that to micro managing everyone in this house inc mil at times and I'm exhausted however am currently sat on front doorstep wide awake with hot milk

Oh I do feel better that it’s not just me. It winds DH right up. He can’t understand why j don’t spend all my spare time sleeping

That’s stress and anxiety for you! White noise helped me relax enough to fall asleep at a reasonable time if that’s any help. It becomes a viscous cycle unfortunately unless something changes.

And the staying up late thing to try and claw back some ‘you time’ is something so many of us do! You kind of have to stop doing that ...but I know it’s hard. Have you tried a really early night I.e. 8.30pm, just once, to see if you can get more sleep? That’s worked for me in the past, I also sleep really deeply after two paracetamol. Obviously that’s not a habit thing I do, I’ve just noticed it when I’ve had restless legs or a headache and have taken two paracetamol before going to bed.

If I fall asleep early I’m wide awake by 2am