How do you lift your mood and manage constant tiredness?

[Dutifu]

I'm chronically tired from disrupted sleep.
I'm stretched too thinly at work.
I haven't been away - holiday, weekend away - for ten years.

I feel kind of trapped, albeit in a very comfortable and fortunate life.

I have a wonderful, funny, loving DH.
I go to the gym.
I walk every day.
I eat well.
I use naice stuff to perk up everyday experiences.

But I feel flat in two ways.
In one way, I'm really really fucking tired.
In another, I just feel a bit flat in my life.

I can't change anything at the moment.
I'm just interested in how people perk themselves up each day. I mean, how do you get your mood up in general? But, also what do you use to combat day-to-day tiredness? I've genuinely considered buying speed 😫

30 minute nap. Works well.

I've always struggled with napping. I end up more tired than when I started and a bit sluggish. Maybe I need to give it a try.

Music and dogs always help me.

I have a dog. She's the light of my life.

But also the reason I haven't been on holiday for a decade 😂

Early morning, pretty intense exercise, has always given me an energy boost. In fact I’ve just given up the gym and got a treadmill for home to make it even easier. 30 minutes brisk walk, steep incline, very sweaty, will really set you up for the day.

(Also do reformer Pilates, which I love, but that doesn’t give me that energy boost I crave.)

Why is your sleep disrupted ?

I love a nap but you do have to get the timing right for you, I find that if I am very tired and feel I could fall asleep easily and I am short on time, I set a timer for 20 minutes, prob takes me about 10 to fall asleep and 10 asleep and I feel refreshed and can carry on.
if I have more time, I don’t set a timer but usually wake after 45 minutes and do feel a bit groggy and need a drink, snack and some time to come round but it does keep me going quite well. If you fall into a deep sleep but then get woken you feel worse so I think you need a whole sleep cycle or a quick rem sleep.
i have also tried something called yogic sleep which is a guided meditation, i am sure you could find something on you tube, this meant I didn’t fall asleep but felt totally refreshed afterwards.
I also find a short burst of fresh air or a walk with a coffee at the end help if I can’t get a nap.

A combination of things.

> Elderly dog who likes a bit of a wander round the room in the middle of the night. She has to be in the bedroom because she has seizures

> Husband with a weak bladder getting up for a wee in the night. We don't sleep in the same room but I can still hear him 😠

> Occasional nocturnal panic attacks and night terrors. More frequent nocturnal auditory hallucinations which wake me up

> General slowness at getting off to sleep which I've had since childhood

> Terrace house with neighbours up at 5am. They're not 'noisy' at all but I can hear doors opening and closing.

Sounds maybe like some emotional exhaustion going on, have you done any work on feeling emotionally safe? Have any reason to say you might have some symptoms of PTSD? X

I’d be mindful of heading towards burnout feeling like this. Getting a blood test may be a place to start as things like vitamin deficiencies can make you feel exhausted and impact your mood.

Can you think of anything you enjoy doing?

Headphones and dance party in my room before bed ( husband in different room to snoring ) … reminds me of being a teen and makes me happy to be silly and carefree…. No one needs me I can be silly

It's the no holidays in ten years that would finish me off. Could that be addressed?

I don't have any reason for PTSD.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'feeling emotionally safe'. I would say I'm emotionally safe and happy.

the primary initial goal has to be improving the quality of your sleep. If you have the budget to try supplements, I’d start with Magtein. It’s a form of magnesium that crosses the bbb, so it could decrease your night terrors and put you in a deeper sleep that allows you to be less aware of disturbances. On a more budget level, take an antihistamine at bedtime in case it’s a histamine dump at night causing your issues.
with regard to the auditory hallucinations, you have some neuro inflammation there, I have it too, and I find lithium Orotate 5mg at bedtime quietens the noise. It’s ok to go 10 mg. It’s good for the brain, it’s protective.
my sleep got more restorative when I started taking L.Reuteri, a probiotic that upgrades us to an astonishing degree.
I had years of terrible sleep with sweats and auditory hallucinations as well as a hyper sensitive bladder, now I’m sleeping all night, well, I feel so different.
( my husband had a peeing at night issue and saw palmetto helped him, btw. )

Burnout did cross my mind but there's not too much I can do about it. I can't let plates drop at work.

A blood test is a great idea.

There's loads of stuff I enjoy doing and I do it - reading, gym, PT sessions, cooking. I love craft but don't have time for it these days, unfortunately.

Not while the dog's still alive 😂😩

Edited to add context:
She's elderly with health issues including seizures. She's nervous so couldn't come with us.

It sounds like you’re too busy- I don’t know what to suggest, am kinda there myself with everyone suggesting remedies and vitamins and magnesium but to be honest I just need less responsibilities (4kids, ft job that takes up weekends, dog, house). Hope you figure it out op

I agree. I don’t think you need anything very energetic but something to help you rest. Restorative yoga before bed can work wonders.

As most of us can’t drop our responsibilities, we do what works to improve our health. Dropping responsibilities and stepping into a spacious life, carefree and well fed with nutritious food… ain’t gonna happen.

I'd recommend earplugs for better sleep. Also audiobooks to drop off with and if I wake up in the night - I stress less about not sleeping which helps me drop off.
That helps energy levels during the day.
Otherwise a quiet sit down for 10 mins if I'm knackered, and then get going again!

Unfortunately ear plugs irritate my ears and block them up with wax. I do also need to hear in case the dog has a seizure in the night.

I actually tried a quiet 10-minute sit down this morning just after breakfast but before I started my day. I ended up just crying 😂

Lahsania

but it is more sleep we need ultimately that’s all I mean, I don’t mean ditch the kids or quit(!)

"stepping into a spacious life, carefree and well fed with nutritious food"

This is what I'm planning for my early retirement in 9.5 years (2,127 working days to go)

😂

As someone who has gone from feeling like this to full nervous system disregulation, please catch this early and do something about this.

Get your vitamins and hormones checked, be gentle with yourself in terms of changes, by which I mean dont jump into a radical lifestyle change or diet while you are at this point, and aim to make gentle, nourishing and self prioritising decisions.

I am still waiting for treatment but I sincerely wish I had caught my spiral earlier as it is a struggle to get back to feeling normal.

Stuff I am checking with the doctor to help:
Ferritin
B12
Other Bs
Vit D
Thyroid
Hormones

Sleep disruption is so pernicious and I am very sure my disruption has contributed massively to how I have ended up where I am. I know I will get through this but why fight depression and anxiety when you could prevent it by looking after yourself well!

OP I can relate and for me half a can to a can of sugar free monster helps me - usually half a can is enough- sometimes I allow myself a full can / not every day though - I know it’s bad for me, but it gives me a lovely energy boost and for some reason helps my mood too. I’m sure it’s doing awful things to my insides but the days I’m really struggling it helps me a lot to push through. It’s the way it lifts my mood as well though/ not sure why it does that.