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?!

Extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest can be an early sign of cancer. Cancer uses your body's nutrients to grow and advance, so those nutrients are no longer replenishing your body. This “nutrient theft” can make you feel extremely tired.

I think not everyone is supposed to wake up early

Vitamin d was my issue and I was out a lot with small child, in all seasons. Definitely has made a difference. And getting happy tired, so seeing friends or going out and doing something specific that you love so you are happy tired in your brain and body.

OP have you got or can you borrow a smart watch ? I am in bed for a similar amount of time , also vegetarian also peri though not on HRT . The reason why I mention it is that my Garmin shows just how broken my sleep is and how variable the quality . Might be worth wearing one for a few nights

You're at higher risk of being B12 deficient if you're vegetarian so definitely get that checked

Cut back on sugar.

Also get your thyroid checked. If my TSH is above 2 I’m exhausted. NHS say “normal” is under 4.

What happens on days where you can't nap? Are you exhausted and lethargic or do you just sort of get through cause you're distracted?

In general, is it sleepiness you feel or fatigue?

I am like this. I have ADHD though so put it down to overwhelm and my brain needing lots of time to process everything during the night.

I think I need around 9/10 hours on average but, as a previous poster said, it’s the waking up naturally part that really makes a difference. If I am able to naturally then I might actually wake at 7am anyway and will feel fine, but if I am woken by an alarm then that knock on tiredness might be there all day long.

Definitely check your iron levels. How is your overall diet? Can you say you eat healthily enough?

Do you get some sunlight first thing in be morning (before caffeine)? I find this makes a big difference alongside drinking a litre of water with electrolytes.

I exercise early most days, but find if I don’t do the above on my rest day I feel horrendous all day.

To me, that is loads of sleep. I average 5-6 hours a night. If I ever have a few hours longer I feel sluggish and groggy in the morning. How do you feel if you ever get less sleep?

Before having a child I would always go to bed around 9pm as otherwise I was too tired in the mornings.

How do you feel if you go to bed later and wake up later? 10-7 might not be a good circadian rhythm for you.

Also, perimenopause has badly affected my ability to cope on less sleep.

100% what everyone else says - my iron level wasn’t technically insufficient but noticed a MASSIVE difference when I started supplementing it!

This is interesting! Yes I feel completely fine if I can get up later. Not tired at all. Jet lagged is right!

Oh wow ok! I need to book an appointment in the morning (they only release them that day). It’s so encouraging to know you feel good again!

Oestrogel - I take four pumps. This is very useful to know. I’ve no idea if I need four pumps, I just sort of found myself there. I might give three a go for the next week? Would that be a long enough experiment?

OP have you had your eyes checked recently? (I'm assuming WFH is on a computer?)
I had exactly the problem you describe (and mostly same diet, outside time etc) and it turns out I needed a very small prescription and anti-glare coating glasses!!!!

It's made a huge difference and no longer needing to nap at random times during the day.

I'm on ferrous fumarate, prescribed but they are also available OTC. The information leaflet has all sort of warnings about stomach upsets and it being worse if you take them on an empty stomach (which you're supposed to, and especially no tea or coffee for an hour before or after), but I've never felt even the slightest twinge in the stomach. They're absolutely fine. Either that or I have the constitution of a hyena, which is also possible.

In terms of other things, OP, the most helpful thing you can do for sleep (if there's no underlying medical cause) is make sure you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Weekend lie ins destroy your sleep patterns. Try going to bed earlier, unless you absolutely can't, since I assume your waking time is dictated by the school run/work. Or, if you can fit it in, try having a nap at the same time every day. All this alongside a full blood test and so on to look for other causes.

I think if you feel fine at the weekend then either you need more sleep during the week or you need to do less on the days you feel tired.

I don’t know what it is but honestly my tiredness levels are more to do with when I get up than how much overall sleep I get.

If I slept solidly from 10pm-6am, eight hours, I’d be tired getting up at 6am.

If I slept 2am-10am, eight hours, I’d feel much better.

Idk it’s weird.

Working always makes me and has made me very tired even with enough sleep. It’s sickening to say this but the only things that have helped are a) getting up early to exercise and b) watching my diet. I was always deeply reluctant to give up an hour of sleep to work out but it definitely makes a huge difference to my energy levels (as well as helping control my weight and making me fitter!). I’ve also reduced UPFs, sugar and caffeine and do intermittent fasting so I don’t eat until mid afternoon. This massively helps with the afternoon energy slumps - I was reading those as “need food! Need sugar!” but the work my body was doing to digest the food was making me more tired.

I would never ever have thought getting up an hour earlier, doing 45mins of exercise and not eating all day would make me feel less tired but it’s like day and night. Honestly I feel like I’ve found the secret to life!

One of my friends has to sleep ten hours a day but she also makes good use of the time she is awake

Second getting a blood test.
I am like this at the moment. Had blood test recently and it the only thing that was off was vitamin D - severe vitamin D deficiency. It's to do with where I live as there is little sunlight for large parts of the year.
I am on high-strength vitamin D drops and it is starting to make a difference.

So definitely do get a blood test and see what it throws up.

I’m the same as you OP, I have always needed more sleep than other people. I need at least 9 hours to function and not need a nap after lunch. I have an autistic son so get his breakfast when he wakes up, usually around 7am. If I haven’t had my 9 hours I go back to bed. I have just accepted as I have always needed a lot of sleep it’s just a biological thing. Apparently I was an angel as a baby because I slept a lot!