Sleep deprivation and work

[Stairstof]

I usually sleep well but last night I did not. I went to bed about 10.30. Watched tiktok for a while. Likely went to sleep before midnight.

I woke at 3.30. I tried to go back to sleep but I tossed and turned. I likely would have gone back to sleep about 6 but I had to get up at that point. I had to attend an appointment for work. I know need to travel and go to my physical work for about 3 to 9 pm approx. Could be later too. I don't know.

The thing is I feel like I am about to faint. I am also nauseous. Likely due to lack of sleep.

Should I phone in sick for the rest of the day or push through. I am so very very very very tired.

Take a sickie but spend that time not sleeping, but reading up on phone useage right before sleep, especially short dopamine hit tok token videos that are addictive (if they weren't you'd not keep scrolling) and look up some sleep hygiene and act on it so you don't feel so sleepy you're nauseous.

I say this not to he patronising but as someone who has also doom scrolled before bed and slept dreadfully, it's a scourge tbh.

Being so tired today you should get a full night tonight and reset, feel better soon!

It’s one night, you can push through. Millions of parents the country up and down have to push through at work after minimal sleep for nights on end. Eat something nutritious, grab a twenty min cat nap if you can at any point, and prepare to drink a few strong coffees. The best thing is you know you can reset tonight with probably no interruption, a lot of people can’t.

Its only one night, get a strong coffee & power through. 20 min nap can reset your sleep drive. Focus on your sleep hygiene for tonight.

Do you have some other disability that makes it harder for you to cope with sleep deprivation, OP?

I honestly can't imagine taking sick leave for one bad night's sleep.

You had one night of bad sleep and feel sick and faint? That really doesn’t sound normal.

Drink coffee and get on with it.

As a person who is chronically sleep deprived due to I don't know, just have a coffee and a nap. It's one night.

Take a sick leave already. You deserve to take some rest.

Lots of devices emit blue light which can disrupt melatonin receptors in the brain, so a good place to start would be to turn the blue light off or switch the blue light filter on.

I find I can't sleep at all if I'm anxious about something and throughout the night I will get hypnic jerks, ie where I get close to nodding off, but then my nervous system jolts me awake to 'save me'. This can also result in tossing and turning. It's a real bugger and can lead to insomnia.

When I had this, I did not push through. If I'm sleep-deprived, I'm not going to be of sound mind or trustworthy enough to make the right decisions, and the dressing down I'd get at work for that is never going to be worth it to me.

I hope you feel better soon xx

I'm really trying to push on but at this stage I am staggering around as if I am drunk. I really do need a bed.

You must be unwell then, that can’t be the result of one night on a few hours sleep.

You sound unwell - if this is seriously happening because you only had a few hours sleep last night then you need to see a doctor.

OP, you are being very dramatic. I work nights and often wake up on a Friday morning, stay awake all day, work all night and then have to parent all day Saturday. It’s one night. Take it as a lesson that doom scrolling is bad for your sleep and get to bed early tonight.

I appreciate it is hell OP. I’m a terrible sleeper and remember a day last year I had about 3 hours sleep, had to get up at 5 to drive 4 hours to a work conference, spent the day in a classroom type environment, go to a team building exercise and then a meal before heading back to a hotel. I genuinely thought I was going to die. Luckily I was so exhausted I managed to sleep and was ok for the next day and the drive home.

But I’ve had many days similar to this and I have never considered taking a sick day, I’m not sick. It’s horrible, but you just need to crack on.

A top tip is now I have discovered Sominex. Absolutely revolutionary. Lifelong insomnia and I never realised they existed until a few months ago. Genuinely the only thing I have taken (barring prescription meds) that has ever actually worked.

Sounds like you're unwell, OP. This can't possibly be the result of one night of limited sleep.

Is that normal?
with non sleeping child, 3-5 hrs is max sleep we get every night. Sure we tired, but that’s life

I was abused about 16 years ago in a previous relationship where I was tortured with sleep deprivation. You really recover from that easily. I now suffer with sleep deprivation migraines. Sometimes my work would have me work over nights and days and no sleep and I get migraines.

That’s one hell of a drip feed OP. I’m sorry that happened to you but you perhaps should have mentioned in your OP

Right, so a psychosomatic response to previous trauma? Would have been prudent to give a better picture in your opening post really, when it sounded like you’d done a bit of doom scrolling, woken up in the night and now we’re having a freak out over being a bit tired.

Maybe putting that in your OP would have been a good idea 😬

It didn't cross my mind to put it into the op. You don't really recover from chronic sleep deprivation.

Parents of 3yo and 8mo over here. That sounds like a lie in to us! Coffee and get on with it. Or don’t.

Every day feels like a hangover for me most of the time. Today is something else even though I wasn't drinking.

Your OP was like it was a standalone issue though, not that you have chronic sleep deprivation.

How can it not have crossed your mind? It's HUGELY relevant and would have changed the nature of the responses massively.