To think falling asleep for no reason in 2 seconds flat is not normal?

[Carme1]

I'm 42 with no known health problems, but is this normal?

I do get up quite early at 5.30 ish because the cats start hassling me and I like to have a coffee before dealing with the morning rush - breakfast for all, etc. DD (12) leaves the house at 7.15, DS (14) at 7.40, DH (46) at some point before 8 and I leave with primary-aged DS at 8am.

Get home at about 8.40 and then run / walk dog for an hour. Then pilates every other day or something like food shopping if not. Sometimes I might stay out all day, but (here is the problem) - if I go home between the hours of say 1-3 before the school run, I know that if I sit down on the sofa for even a minute I will fall asleep. One minute I'm awake, 2 seconds later, I'm out of it, just like that. I will sleep sitting up. This happened today and I almost missed the school run

The evenings are very busy for me in our house, but if we do sit down to watch GBBO or something, the same thing will happen. I will doze off about 10 mins into the show, even if I really want to watch it. Then later on, if DH and I are watching a Netflix series or something, I always miss the second half so can't keep track of the general plot.

I never used to be like this - has anyone else experienced similar after they hit 40? Does it get worse? Any advice welcome!

Sleep apnoea?

I would get checked for sleep apnoea, just in case. This sounds similar to a relative of mine who ended up being diagnosed. She had no idea she had it

I would say that that's a definite sign that you aren't getting enough sleep. What sort of time are you going to bed?

what time do you go to bed?

Well I guess We are going to bed quite late now - 11pm ish- as DS doesn't reallly sleep until 10 now he's 14. Also DH is often working in the evenings at home.
The weird thing is I don't actually feel tired so there's no warning as such.
I did wonder if its apnea tbh, but not sure?

11-5.30 is only 6 and a half hours sleep. I suspect your body is telling you it's chronically sleep deprived!!

If you have to be up at 5.30 you need to be trying to sleep by 10 to even get 7.30 hours sleep and many people need 8!

Yes it probably is only about 6 hours or so on average when I think about it, but DH is the same and he's fine (though to be fair he doesnt get up as early as me). I find it really hard to sleep past 6am, for some reason.

You're not getting enough sleep by the sounds of it.
Also what are your iron and vitamin b12 levels like?

I do get up quite early at 5.30 ish because the cats start hassling me

There's your problem, right there.

I think this sounds completely normal. Get up early, busy life, drop off when you relax. I'm like this, quite like it.

There's your answer then!! You're only getting 6 hours sleep so you're tired....

Tiredness affects the body in so many ways.

Yes I should maybe get B12 and iron checked - thankyou.
The cats are a problem but if you lock them downstairs they howl and wake the house. Plus I wake up anyway, maybe out of habit?
I know all this sounds a bit stupid - it's just that the sudden dozing off situation has become a thing in the last year or so. We've had the cat nonsense for years.
On Tue, I was parked outside DS's school because I was there 30 mins early and I dozed off. A friend banged on the window to wake me up!

It's not normal to fall asleep in the middle of the day like that. A lot of people do, because a lot of people are chronically sleep-deprived, but that doesn't mean it's healthy.

It doesn't matter how much sleep your DH needs, everyone is different. You need to work out how much sleep you need.

I would try to go to bed earlier, and practice good sleep hygiene. If you are still falling asleep in the middle of the day after a few weeks of enough sleep then it would be worth going to the GP and getting checked for other problems, but odds are you are just sleep deprived.

Sleep apnoea is where you stop breathing briefly when asleep. So this isn't what's happening here. Sounds like you just need to slow the pace down and catch up on some extra sleep when you can. Life is pretty hectic. Worth getting some bloods done to check you're not anaemic as that can cause tiredness,along with some vitamin deficiencies mentioned here.

Thankyou. You're right 6 hours probably isn't enough for me any more. I need to get more disciplined about getting the kids in bed earlier. The one who is 9 is in by 8.30/9pm, then DD should be asleep by 9.30 but faffs about and then DS is pushing 10pm. It often feels like there aren't enough hours in the evenings, but I think everyone is like that probably. Also DH often wants to offload about work or whatever - or there is some work-related drama from another time zone.
Tonight I aim to be in bed by 9.30! Thankyou.

And if it's any consolation I frequently do this, if I'm early somewhere I will have a doze,I thought everyone did that! And we have given up trying to watch if series of anything as I always fall asleep,I just put it down to doing too much and my body telling me I'm tired!

Hey op. I would get it checked out. I worked with someone who used to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. We would be chatting one minute. Then...gone.

While it made for good office anecdotes he finally went and got checked out. I can't remember what it was (it was nothing serious!! I'm not trying to freak you out!) but he overhauled his (frankly terrible) diet and had some pills and instantly stopped.

Maybe it's not the same thing. I doubt it is. He really wasn't looking after himself like you! But I would still get it checked out as its not normal to snap out of it like that. Take care

Thankyou for the kind advice and glad I'm not the only one. Maybe I've got used to sleep deprivation and this is my body's way of telling me that. I've been a bit worried I may drop off in a traffic jam.
Glad I'm not the only one and I shouod get bloods tested as it's been about 10 years.

I really struggle as once I wake up in wide awake so I know I'm not getting enough sleep! If you Google effects of sleep deprivation it's scary.

Yes had a quick look Pizza - thanks!

Han01uk
Why is this not a sign of sleep apnoea?
I thought daytime sleepiness was a classic sign.

OP I would try bring your bedtime forward a bit and see if you feel any better. If you don't then please see the GP.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause chronic fatigue, I think? Try taking a (very) high strength VitD supplement and see if this helps.

Also, what is your diet like? Is it very carb heavy?

But actually I think you should go and see your GP about this, as I don't think it's normal.

biwi it's not normal to feel tired on regular 6hours a night sleep?

I think I'd go and get it checked out with the GP. I sometimes fall asleep like that but it's after being up all night with a baby/young DC where I reckon I'm getting 2ish hours a night. If you fall asleep that quickly, you haven't had an alcoholic drink or heavy meal and aren't in bed I think it's worth double checking.

Six hours isn't loads of sleep but I think seven/eight is what's recommended so you aren't falling far short of it, I wouldn't have thought enough to fall asleep as fast and frequently anyway.,

my db does this and has sleep apnoea. i used to laugh when we both used to get the bus home from work and when i got on could guarantee he would be sleep. about 10 years later he finally got diagnosed.