Can you die from no sleep?

[Ineedsleephelp]

I have a 3 week old and a 3 year old. Last night the 3 week old did a long stretch of sleep during which I was kept up by a poorly 3y old. This seems to have triggered massive anxiety around sleep and since then I have not been able to sleep. I lay awake all night. Its happening tonight again. They are both peacefully asleep now and I just can't sleep. I'm hot, sweaty and dizzy, starting to feel ill from lack of sleep after 3 weeks of limited sleep already. I'm so scared, if I become unwell what will happen to my DC? I feel like I won't survive unless I sleep soon but I just can't. I know I only have a couple of hours till baby needs a feed but I just can't freaking sleep. It's a horrible feeling and I'm freaking out.

Tech yes you can die from a lack of sleep but realistically your body will make you sleep long before that happens.

Just make sure you don't drive when you're sleep deprived

Write down how you feel and write down all the reasons you need to sleep. Maybe take a hot shower or just wash your face, read a couple of pages of a book or have a herbal tea. Listen to something quietly on the radio or a meditation app maybe. Tell yourself you need sleep and try to relax by breathing slowly and in a focused way. Write down something positive from today, however small it may seem x

Oh and I highly reccomend listening to some YouTube videos or podcasts to make your mind focus on one thing rather than the million places it is.

Weird but if does work in helping you sleep

You will sleep eventually. You won't die.

Try a warm shower followed by going into a cool bedroom - the heat drop can make you sleepy. Stay away from phones and back-lit screens.

Some people are helped by stopping trying to sleep - just accepting they are going to rest their body by lying down without feeling pressured to sleep.

Talk to your health visitor about how you are feeling. Having a newborn is really tough.

Are you parenting alone or is there someone who can take the dc for a bit?

Maybe speak to your go about your anxiety if it's becoming worse? Lack of sleep is horrendous.

Have you tried sleep rituals, like keeping a notebook by the bed and writing your concerns down before you sleep, unburdening yourself. Having a warm bath or shower, lavender on the pillows etc?

How is your 3 year old feeling today?

Yes lack of sleep can kill a person but that won't happen to you. That's because your body will only let you go so far before it physically makes you sleep. Really only people being tortured die from sleep deprivation because they literally have someone stopping them from naturally falling asleep.

Phenergan tablet, good for anxiety too, will hopefully help you drop off or melatonin.

@Ineedsleephelp
It is impossible to die from lack of sleep,please disregard the previous poster. I am an advanced nurse practitioner and I can tell you that in my thirty years im various professional positions,some of which included studies on sleep apnea,I have never come across anyone who dies from lack of sleep.
This is a normal anxiety that arises from postnatal sleep deprivation. Do not worry op,just closing your eyes is enough,your body is resting,your bodily functions have all slowed down and this is enough.
Mother Nature is designed so that new mothers will cope with very little sleep to ensure their newborn thrives, and believe me,.your body will make you sleep,even if it's for 20 minutes here and there during baby and toddler nap time..it's normal to feel this way when over exhausted.

Thank you that's reassuring. I'm gutted as I'd mentally been in such a good place since DD was born, I could fall back asleep within seconds after settling her. It just took one bad night and now my mind is my own worst enemy and it scares me.

I fell asleep earlier listening to hypnosis but the baby woke 30 mins later and as I was drifting back off my 3 y old cried for me so it was a repeat of last night and now my anxiety is through the roof.

There is DH but he can't feed the baby and my 3y old told him to go away when he went to settle him and he only wanted me.

The pressure is immense.

Quite honestly I would advise speaking to your gp.

I assume you've already tried all the "sleep hygiene" stuff?

I'm a chronic insomniac, I don't sleep like "normal" people but between the sleep I do get at night and naps I get maybe 4-6 hours in a 24 hour period.

I mention this because you do not want where you are now to turn into this trust me!

Get a handle on it ASAP

Congratulations by the way and for the moment,put a podcast on,something completely away from anxiety talks and such.
Put on something that you have or had a big interest in before baby arrived whether it's interior design,true crime, fashion, makeup and beauty,celebrity gossip
Etc....whatever it is,put that on and forget all about your worries. It really works as you become so engrossed in what you are listening to,your brain can't think of anything else. I personally recommend true life stories. This will pass Op, I promise you and i promise you that you will be absolutely fine x

Bless you, the lack of sleep will be feeding your anxiety that's totally normal but it's good even if you get very short naps even if it doesn't feel that way. Maybe ask your dp to take both kids for a walk in the pram for an hour and get your head down if possible.

Obviously I don't mean right now

I'd get up, go downstairs, get a glass of warm milk and a banana if you've got one and fancy it, lie down on the sofa with a blanket, stick the TV on (teleshopping is best) and stop trying to sleep. You'll nod off in no time.

It doesn't mean that your mental health will be all downhill from here. Please do not think that. You can have one,two three bad days/nights and you can completely turn around again. It happens us all.
You must expect tough nights/days but don't think that means that you are heading for a mental crisis,take each night and day as it comes and just put each bad night behind u,it's just part of having two very young children. You are doing great,you are keeping those two little children alive and well every day and you will continue to do that. Tomorrow your big aim should be to get out for an hour,do to a local park,grab a takeaway coffee and sit on a bench while you throw a ball to your toddler to wear out all his energy and then tomo night he will sleep much better

Stare at a spot on the wall.

@Bells3032 and @Graphista
Seriously,could you both not offer some
Proper sound advice to a new mother awake at 1am worrying so
Much about her sleep.
One of you is telling her (inaccurately) that she could die as it's possible
To die from lack of sleep and the other of you is warning her of worse things to come.
Seriously,if you can't offer the advice that the OP needs then maybe stay quiet.
You are both way off in your attempt to provide support, go back and read the op's original post and ask yourself were your anyway helpful to her in your repliesZ

I watch Friends on very low volume when I can't sleep. I'm usually gone within ten minutes.
You won't die op.

[quote douliket]@Ineedsleephelp
It is impossible to die from lack of sleep,please disregard the previous poster. I am an advanced nurse practitioner and I can tell you that in my thirty years im various professional positions,some of which included studies on sleep apnea,I have never come across anyone who dies from lack of sleep.
This is a normal anxiety that arises from postnatal sleep deprivation. Do not worry op,just closing your eyes is enough,your body is resting,your bodily functions have all slowed down and this is enough.
Mother Nature is designed so that new mothers will cope with very little sleep to ensure their newborn thrives, and believe me,.your body will make you sleep,even if it's for 20 minutes here and there during baby and toddler nap time..it's normal to feel this way when over exhausted.[/quote]
That’s not true. It’s extremely rare, but fatal insomnia results in death from lack of sleep.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_insomnia

Oh the anxiety about not sleeping is awful. You will sleep, this is just a blip. I've found apps like calm or headspace work really well, even just to calm my thinking down. I've had some terrible periods of insomnia and I'm still here . Try not to stress about how you will cope the next day... do whatever you need to give yourself a break, easy meals / take away / TV/ get someone to have 3 year old for a couple of hours if you can, but do try and get outside for a walk as the sunlight helps regulate your sleep cycle. It feels awful now but it will get better!

[quote douliket]**@Bells3032* and @Graphista*
Seriously,could you both not offer some
Proper sound advice to a new mother awake at 1am worrying so
Much about her sleep.
One of you is telling her (inaccurately) that she could die as it's possible
To die from lack of sleep and the other of you is warning her of worse things to come.
Seriously,if you can't offer the advice that the OP needs then maybe stay quiet.
You are both way off in your attempt to provide support, go back and read the op's original post and ask yourself were your anyway helpful to her in your repliesZ[/quote]
Totally agree. Douliket you sound like a very soothing, kind and sensible nurse!

Your not going to die from lack of sleep op

My takeaway from your posts tho is that dp needs to take the three year old more often needs to settle three year old at night etc basically take on that mental load and responsibility for you. It's not fair for it all to fall on you and as humans we aren't designed for it either.

@HallowedKitchen thank you,that's very kind of you to say.
@Summerdayshaze is this really the time or place to be sharing that link of some ridiculous nonsense. In no way is this helpful to the Op

I second what Douliket said ..

Also it’s highly unlikely that you are wide awake all night - you might not realise but you will be drifting in and out of sleep and periods of rest during the night that you are totally unaware of.
Try to forget about sleep and just let your body rest. I was always taught that rest was as important as sleep .
I was also taught that an hour of rest was equivalent to 1/2 an hour of sleep.

Yes but you will start having micro sleeps after a while so you won't even if you think you haven't slept you will be having those sleeps without realising it

OP, I feel for you, I remember those day but I have something that will definitely work - there is a podcast called Just Sleep with bedtime stories for adults. Lie down with your phone on quiet volume near your head and rest, maybe with a hot water bottle to soothe you. It's also OK if you just rest and don't drop off.