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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Making it through the day without a nap

55 replies

DaveDave · 27/05/2021 18:10

I am constantly tired all the time. Generally get 8 hours sleep a night. However I still can't get through the day without having a nap (when I can). Bloods back from the doctors and all ok. I am overweight a bit abs don't have the best diet. 2 young kids 6 and 8 and am 45. Have a Berocca daily. Work full time.

Aibu to think I should be able to get through the day without napping? Any top tips for increasing my energy?

OP posts:
megletthesecond · 27/05/2021 18:54

Can you go for a walk in your lunch break. I'm bored with walks but I still get outside for a quick walk around the block, or at least potter in the garden for fresh air.

Kakiweewee · 27/05/2021 18:55

I take vitamin D year round or I'm super tired all the time.

Eloisedublin123 · 27/05/2021 18:57

Ask for a ferritin test as well as a haemoglobin test as low ferritin can wipe you out

CasaBonita · 27/05/2021 18:57

Yeah definitely avoid carbs at lunch time. I find if I have a sandwich and crisps then I really struggle to stay awake.

ThinWomansBrain · 27/05/2021 18:59

Have you had Covid?

I definitely need a nap late afternoon or early evening since having covid in January/February.
I have to be careful not to nap for too long, because that means I don't have a proper sleep through the night - becomes a vicious circle.

cupsofcoffee · 27/05/2021 19:04

How much exercise do you get?

Original poster
DaveDave · 27/05/2021 19:09

No Covid, Also no exercise. Prone to anaemia so on iron tablets, ferritin and haemogloblin now normal but very much the lower end

OP posts:
gingganggooleywotsit · 27/05/2021 19:09

Like you I had my youngest in my late 30s, it’s hard work once you get near mid 40s. Could it just be that combined with peri menopause? Also working from home every day made me feel exhausted during the last lockdown. More tired than physically doing onsite/travelling etc. It’s strange!

KikiniBamalam · 27/05/2021 19:15

I can highly recommend a cocktail of; vit d, magnesium, vit b complex and zinc. It really helps with tiredness.

BramStoker · 27/05/2021 19:17

It doesn't sound normal unless you have always been like this

Quornflakegirl · 27/05/2021 19:19

I was like this last year and took myself off to the GP. I was going to bed at 7pm and sleeping through until 7am and still feeling exhausted. Had bloods done and my iron was very low. She put me on a a course of B12 jabs, prescribed vitamin D, Folic acid and iron. I also started eating more heathly and exercising 5 times week. I feel like a different person now and it is totally worth it. I cut out alcohol and sugar and eat nothing after 6pm.

SilverGoblin · 27/05/2021 19:20

Do you get, what I like to call, scrolling hypnosis.

That puts me to sleep.

Comfy seat, warm, staring at one spot on the monitor, scrolling at a steady hypnotic speed, task slightly boring and tedious.

I used to have to nap too. Never got past it myself, still happens at times.

MsAnnFrope · 27/05/2021 19:23

I’ve been feeling like this for a few weeks and while I also enjoyed a luxury holiday nap now I’m
Exhausted constantly. I’m trying to up my exercise, I’ve cut out alcohol for last 3 weeks, cutting down sugar and taking vit d, complex B vitamins and magnesium.
DH is worried and wants me to go to gp but I’m giving it a month of improved diet and exercise use first. I’m 42 so I’m worried I’m peri menopausal. Oh joy

galliton · 27/05/2021 19:23

If still low iron, then that could be the cause.

cupsofcoffee · 27/05/2021 19:26

Low iron won't be helping, but I also think it sounds like you need to up the exercise and sort your diet too.

AtLeastThreeDrinks · 27/05/2021 19:37

Are you having a heavy lunch? I get bad crashes after bread, so a lunchtime sandwich always leads to a nap for me! I’d try to sort your diet and up your exercise, but also know that it’s normal to have a dip in energy in the afternoons. Highly recommend Matthew walker’s “why we sleep” that covers this.

romany4 · 27/05/2021 19:38

It's peri menopause.

Mine started at 44. I'm 49 now and still knackered

actiongirl1978 · 27/05/2021 19:42

I struggle through the day without a nap.

I've always napped. At 6th form I slept every afternoom when I got home from college. In my 20s I sat in the loos at work and napped with my alarm on my ph. When I had small children I napped while they napped. I now work pt and nap after work - I feed the dogs so I can sleep in peace.

I sleep the moment my head hits the pillow at night.

Re not lying down in pp, I can be sitting up and my body temp falls and I can't keep my eyes open.

My children joke that all mummy wants for a treat is a nice cup of tea and some peace and quiet to nap on the sofa.

actiongirl1978 · 27/05/2021 19:43

I should add - I exercise loads, dog walk/run/hiit, I have an excellent diet and I don't eat carbs at lunchtime..

Original poster
DaveDave · 27/05/2021 19:57

If it is peri-menopause how depressing. I will never break through the glass ceiling if I need a nap every afternoon.

OP posts:
ChristmasFluff · 27/05/2021 20:00

Did your bloods include thyroxine?

Hypothyroidism came on so slowly for me that I didn't notice how unwell I was until I got my medication and it relieved all my symptoms. I kind of had the notion that every mother napped when their child did every day - even though son slept through, and had been doing for 2 years.

If your thyroid is fine, then high-strength B vitamins are good for energy. I also take a multiitamin/minerals, high strength vit c, and 3000mcg evening primrose oil daily. I'm post menopausal and bursting with energy now.

Christmasfairy2020 · 27/05/2021 20:05

Sleep apnoea

DrManhattan · 27/05/2021 20:12

Who doesn't love a nanna-nap

Jennyfromtheculdesac · 27/05/2021 20:14

@DaveDave

And no I don't exercise at all. Really I should use that hour to go for a run
This. Try it. It sounds like lethargy from inactivity. The more active you are the better you will feel.
Whitegrenache · 27/05/2021 20:22

@sonjadog

I have napped from my teens, now in my forties. I love a nap. I think I was made for napping.
Me too- always napped since uni days. Working from home now is lush as I have a 40 min nap! I exercise regularly and eat an ok diet. On anti depressants for low level anxiety and had every blood test under the sun to check why I feel Tired. I also take vitamin D and get 8 hours plus sleep!

I think I'm Like Sonja I just love sleep 😴