I go to bed at 10, wake up at 7;15. Why is that so hard?!?

[Whysoootired]

I think I go to bed and wake up at quite “normal” times. I get in bed at 10, it maybe takes me half an hour or so to fall asleep. Then I get up at 7:15.

But I am SO TIRED every morning and then really slump around mid afternoon every single day. I WFH and, if I have time, I often take a cat nap on the sofa for 30 mins! (Rarely have time for this though.) I don’t drink caffeine.

I eat well - lots of homemade food with fruit, veg, legumes etc, I take a multivitamin. I’m peri menopausal but take hrt (but, tbf, I’ve been like this most of my life).

Left to my own devices, I’d probably wake up at 9am. I wouldn’t be tired that day at all (this is what I do on the weekends sometimes).

That can’t be healthy, right?! (YABU - that’s normal, YANBU - that’s not right!)

Please help - why am I so tired?!

Some people do need more sleep than others. Have you tried going to bed at 9 and getting an extra hour sleep?

Do you exercise at all?

Do you get enough exercise? Have you had your iron levels checked?

How much time are you spending outside each day?

I do a proper workout about twice a week, and swim about twice a week. I have a dog so definitely get my 10,000 steps in every day. I love being outside so I definitely get enough light too.

I haven’t had my iron levels checked though - I will do that!

I will also try getting in bed at 9. There always feels like there’s too much to do in the evening! (But I probably don’t need to get the last load of washing on before bed etc!)

I have found that WFH means my body never really wakes up.

I'm trialling working in the office next week to see if that helps but I'm exactly the same OP. It's a struggle. I suffer from SAD and it's catching up with me.

I’m probably spending about 3 hours outside? An hour total being the school run (there and back twice), an hour to walk the dog, and another hour pottering - going to the shop, picking up a kid from a friend’s house, doing a bit of gardening.

Funny - I thought it would be more until I worked that out!

I wonder if that’s it? I never get properly into “work mode” although I do get my work done!

Try taking some vit d, magnesium, b12 and iron. Also get your thyroid levels checked (you can use an online provider like Medichecks if your GP isnt interested)

You need a full blood test including ferritin (that's the iron number you need to know, the B vitamins esp B12, and thyroid. You also need to rule out more serious possible causes so let them know if you have any other symptoms.

Are you getting enough protein? And I presume you're not vegan or vegetarian?

You may need to review the HRT and either change dose or type.

Do you drink enough water? I find when I get dehydrated I get very sluggish

Have you gone to doctors for a check? I was tired constantly, had some bloods done and turns out I was low on folate and iron. They gave me supplements, energy levels I am hoping will return (only just started the tablets).

Get some bloods done, that’s a lot of sleep, so you shouldn’t be so tired on this amount. I get about 6hrs if I’m lucky. I’m anaemic and get tired and will have a nap on weekend but in the week I’m either in the office or got back to back meetings which keep me awake!

I needed more sleep when I was a bit depressed.

Get things checked like others say. Different people do need different amounts of sleep though. Normal variance between humans is 6 to 10 hours ( so some only need 6, and some need 10). Some people are genetically programmmed to need a nap too. So if you are one of those that could explain the tiredness if you aren’t getting a nap.

This is all very interesting! I will definitely get to the doctor and get my bloods done. We’ve moved and the new doctor is a little rubbish, but good tip about an online provider like Medichecks!

I am vegetarian, I think I get enough protein? I eat a lot of tofu, cheese, chickpea, nuts, etc etc. But maybe not? I love to cook, but never pay much attention to protein to be honest! Just know there’s always “one” in every meal but that’s it!

Also struck by someone saying they’re tired more when they’re depressed. We have just moved, I’m not feeling “part” of where I live. And work is fine but not amazing! So maybe there’s that too? I’m not depressed but definitely not in my best place?!

Given the amount of exercise and sleep you're getting every night you should feel great! If I had the self discipline to go to bed at 10 I'd definitely feel a lot better. Definitely see if you're iron deficient - that can make you feel really tired - and ask your doctor what else they think it could be.

I asked my GP once why I was so tired (I was angling for a blood test) and she told may be I was tired because I was tired.

I'm still tired but the fizzy vitamins B that I wash multivitamin+iron down with in the morning helps a bit.

Maybe you're just tired from the move too? Moving is one of the three most stressful things you can do in life and it definitely takes a lot out of you.

Definitely check vitamins etc, but if you have the option to get up past 9, does it fix itself? I only ask because it is possible to have a disorder where your circadian rhythm is a little bit out so you're basically jet lagged all the time. Delayed sleep phase disorder. I think I have this as I'm totally useless for the day if I have to get up before 8am. Doesn't matter if I go to bed at 7pm. It's the time of getting up that makes the biggest difference.

Too much sleep can be as bad as too little. I usually get 6/7 hours. On the odd occasion I sleep longer I wake tired. My DS was actually saying the same thing to me yesterday.

According to my garmin watch I log more sleep than 32% of other users! I guess if 8hrs is an average there are people either side. I am looking forward to needing less sleep at I get older maybe?? Or is it just that you still need it but can't get it 😑

Could you try vitamin D? Also might be worth getting a SAD lamp for winter, have it on in the morning and daytime while working, see if that helps.

Just reading Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: humans need 8 hours sleep on average so OP is not far off that.

@Whysoootired i could have written your post. Truly, word for word.

I ended up going to the GP and requesting iron levels AND ferritin (ask for ferritin by name as sometimes they don’t test it) and I was deficient. 2 months down the line on high dose iron tablets I’m like a new woman. I can’t believe this is what normal feels like.

I had a full blood test done last year and discovered my iron wasn’t technically low but wasn’t optimum. My fab GP said I needed to improve levels, and that many people having periods still would be slightly less than optimum too.

I had always worried about iron supplements so looked to improving my diet, but as a vegetarian it was hard to get enough iron. I now take supplements and I’ve managed to find ones which are gentle on my stomach. Even if you think you’re getting enough iron some sources don’t actually have that much in it. Tofu is good as are fortified cereals. look at the amounts per portion for various foods if you want to use diet rather than supplements.

Another GP told me that it’s not possible to get enough vitamin D in Britain during the winter months because we just don’t have enough sun. It is impossible to get enough by diet so really everyone should be taking vitamin D.