Is it possible to ever wake refreshed in the morning?! Tips please!

[millionaireshortie]

My youngest has never slept well so I've endured 3+ yrs of sleep deprivation but he now reliably sleeps through until 5.45-6.45am (regardless of his bedtime - even if he stays up late he's up that early). Even when I go to bed early i still feel like I've been hit by a bus and I takes me hours to get going in the morning.

Any tips for resolving this? Things that have worked for you? I'm only 40 and don't think I should feel this wrecked! Is it diet related?

I’m very interested in this too. I think I do feel rested sometimes, because I’m using that to gauge my tiredness. But mostly I’m just dragging myself through the motions 😕

No help here im afraid, ive been up 3 times with my nearly 4 yr old....oh what fun. I feel horrific all day everyday im 35.

I sort of feel relieved in the solidarity here... I always think somethings wrong with me

Do you snore? Until I (mostly) fixed that, I didn't wake refreshed in the morning. I also heard a really good podcast recently about nose breathing vs mouth breathing which makes a massive difference.

I sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed if I sleep with the windows open and never put the heating on in the bedroom. All year round. It sounds like I’m crazy because the bedroom is freezing in winter but you warm up quickly if you have enough covers/suitable covers for the weather.

I found doing the Fast 800 diet actually helped. I was getting food hangovers in the morning. Once I cut out sugar and carbs from my evening meal it was a lot easier. I found I was much more refreshed in the morning!

Weird but true.

We also leave our phones down stairs and have a no phones before bed rule. I find it so much easier to sleep this way!

No help but I was the same.

I came to the conclusion it's being woken for me. No matter what time of the morning it's the act of actually being woken by something artificial (alarm clock, small annoying child) which makes me groggy.

If I naturally wake at 6 I can be all perky and if the alarm wakes me at 10 I can be grotty.

Avoiding alcohol the night before makes a big difference

Make sure your hydrated and take iron. My son is the same - wakes up at 5am no matter what time he goes to bed. So he goes at 5pm!!

I had a child that didn’t sleep through until he was 3 1/2 so I could have written the book on feeling knackered it honestly took me a few months of catching up and getting a full nights sleep until my body felt ok to get up in the morning. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep I need 7-8 hours every night. You probably need to go to bed at 8.30 to fall asleep for 9pm to catch up in your sleep.

@MadauntofA I do snore a little - how did you fix that?

DD has always slept fine, however I need at least 8 hours every night to feel refreshed. If I get less one night it takes a while for me to catch up. I’m usually in bed for 9.30 every night. Wake up about 6ish. Could usually still do with a nap in the afternoon, but no chance with a 3 year old!

Currently pregnant and a bit worried how I will function with newborn / if baby isn’t a good sleeper!

Things that help me sleep; exercise (being physically tired rather than mentally), no caffeine after 3/4pm, no alcohol, no phone use in the bedroom, sleeping alone (😭) rather than with snoring DH.

SAD light lamps are great too.

Or maybe you're just not a morning person?

@fairyfingers oh no, this is me I think! Definitely see a connection with waking naturally versus not! And there's no solution to that as a parent is there :(

Never felt refreshed in my life, if I sleep 6 hours or 12. Following with interest! Need to get up but so tired.

Good tips @Zampa - I'm definitely not a morning person. I'd stay up until midnight every night if I could and sleep past 9am. Doesn't fit with adult life unfortunately.

@BelleSausage think there's a lot of truth in this. I had wondered if it was my diet which isn't ideal at the moment.

No solution I found. If it helps my dd always slept well but woke early. She grew out of it and/or could stay quietly in her room or go downstairs. I promise it won't be forever

If you snore then try nasal sprays or nose clips to help you.

I'm nearly 40 and although relatively slim I've been eating and drinking badly. The last two weeks I've been following jo wicks - good food, 2 litres of water, hardly any alcohol and regular exercise .
I feel instantly better and brighter!

Early bedtime. No screen time before bed, long bath or shower with nice hair wash and clean sheets. Make your bed nice.

I also don’t have blackout curtains so I tend to wake up naturally. I’ve always had a bit of a body clock though and never usually need to set an alarm.

Also eat well, take vitamins if necessary and drink loads of water. I can only drink decaf tea and coffee as my body just can’t handle it.

Also if you have any anxiety (big problem and worse at night for me). Try to get to grips with that.

That’s so great you’re finally getting more sleep, when my DD started sleeping through it was like a cloud lifted and I felt like a new woman. One of the reasons I’d be scared to ever have another child!

What time do you go to bed? Do you fall asleep quickly?

magnesium tablets massively improved my sleep quality

I could absolutely have written your OP. DS generally sleeps through the night but even so, I feel constantly exhausted. I can't focus on reading a book / watching a film because I just don't have the concentration. I've just started taking iron supplements (was mildly anaemic before Christmas and haven't done anything about it until now) so I'm hoping that helps a bit.

Definitely being woken by an external factor (child, alarm) that's the problem for me when it comes to feeling untested and grumpy. I think being disrupted in the middle of a sleep cycle just leaves me feeling rubbish. Things that help are sleeping with curtains open so the dawn wakes me naturally and also having a sunrise alarm clock that simulates a gradual dawn (I don't have it anymore sadly but it was great).