2 hours sleep and big day at work, so cross with myself

[EezyOozy]

Oh god

i suffer from insomnia from time to time, usually before an important event

ive been in my new job 2 weeks and it’s quite full on learning everything new. I also have some non work related worries but have generally been sleeping okay.

on Saturday night I didn’t sleep great (maybe 5 hours) and last night I got 2! Lay awake for hours, nodded off for a bit, woke up at 4.30 for a wee and stayed awake despite doing all the right thing

today is a big day at work, I have to do something important and complicated . I’m so annoyed with myself. I’m exhausted ! Why does my brain sabotage me like this :-(

I’ve got two young kids to get ready and do the delightful school run first , then rush to work.

Any advice ?!!!!

I’m the opposite to everyone above, I say don’t go the caffeine route- my best days are a good breakfast and eating fruit and drinking water. Get a bit of fresh air too. Might trick your brain into thinking you’re doing better than you are (it’s worked for me!)

Don't eat sugar it will make you feel awful. Coffee should help and a walk after lunch.

Ps you can do this!!!!

Try not to worry about it as this adds to your stresses in a sort of cyclical way.

Agree: coffee, fresh air, carbs for energy (I would not go for only sugar because of the crashes but a mix of slow release carbs, sugars and protein and fats too), disclose to supportive friend or colleague.

This happens to me not irregularly, I accept it and try not to let it worry me. But if necessary/relevant/feasible get your supportive colleague to check your work for any silly errors.

Adrenalin will carry you through so don’t worry.

Eat little and often, lots of water, a moderated about of caffeine (something like apples works as a pick me up if you’ve had too much)

Get out regularly in the light and get up and stretch

Use the pomodoro technique 25 mins work / 5 mins break / repeat 3 times - then a longer break

I was the same age, and I'm also over-organised. I found my mind would race through all the things I needed to do, and all scenarios that might occur.

One way to see if it might be hormone based is to track whether the insomnia is happening during the same part of your monthly cycle each time.

Eat protein too, it should help you stay feeling alert. You'll be ok once you've had a hot shower and coffee.

I’d agree with this - not so much because she’ll think badly of you, but because loads of people struggle with sleep and it gives a childlike impression to bring it up - what is she supposed to do about it?

What would be fine is to mention later you had a rough nights sleep and you’d appreciate someone checking over your work - that comes over as conscientious and honest rather than whiney.

Longer term work out a sleep routine - there’s lots of info that could probably help

Lots of sympathy here. I have poor sleep sometimes caused by being anxious and worrying, and other times seemingly nothing at all is keeping me awake (which is actually more infuriating, although the result of minimal sleep is the same)
If its any consolation (although it's a completely different thing) I ran my best time at the London marathon on 0 sleep the night before!

That is impressive @Fizbosshoes , and reassuring. Kids ready, I’m ready (lots of blusher) , had a coffee …. Will report back at lunch. Really needed the support today so thank you

This happens to me all the time. Insomniac since I was 17 but especially bad if I have anything stressful to do the next day. Is your thing this morning at least? I find even with no sleep I'm ok til about 3 then I become a bit delirious! Good luck .

Yeah I think the hard thing is this morning 🤞

The longer term insomniacs / people to whom my scenarios happens regularly - have you found anything that helped ? Other than hrt which has been kindly suggested upthread

or do you just accept that this is just the way you are and try not to stress about it?

I normally sleep like a log. Last night though, my brain wouldn't shut up, I had catarrh at the back of my nose and throat which got worse the more I thought about it, so in total, I got about 3 hours. I'll manage then crash later when I finish.

Coffee, fresh air and mediation work for me.

On my break I'll do a quick 5 mintue focus mediation and for some amazing reason it works. Also blasts of fresh air.

Magnesium helps to regulate your sleep pattern as well.

On return from nights shift - I used to drive with windows open and KiSS FM on loud to keep me awake on the drive home.

I accept it. I don’t worry at all if it is one night of <4 hours sleep. If it is two or more night like that in a row, I make a more concerted effort to address it. At the moment I have some medication that makes me sleepy so the situation arises less but I would do things like eat a lot of carbs to make me sleepy(!) and watch old TV shows until I fell asleep, sometimes cancelling plans or whatever to get this done.

The GP can prescribe stuff for sleep or you can buy promethazine PMO (speak to the pharmacist) but I’d be wary of doing this if you have dependent small children in your care especially if there isn’t another adult in the house overnight personally (but you could discuss this risk with a GP).

To help with sleep issues I don't drink caffeine after 12pm, no alcohol or special occasions only (sorry if that's your thing but drinking really disrupts my sleep ). I take a magnesium tablet with a sleep tea about 40mins before bed. Switch off phone to airplane mode about 2 hours before bed.

All the above seems to help me.

Red Bull and flapjack have got me through a few similar situations!

Fresh orange juice. Gives a great boost. Do not mention to your boss, if anyone asks just say you didn't get much sleep but hey ho.

Drink plenty of water op and get fresh air, if you’ve got it put a citrussy or minty aroma oil on your sleeve. All those will pep you up a bit. Good luck.

I get the same as you and suffer terrible insomnia if I have something important happening the next day.

I have a trick that sometimes helps me sleep but it also helps me get through the next day.

I read somewhere a long time ago (I can’t give the source so it may not be true at all) that if you lay peacefully with your eyes closed in a dark room in bed, then even without actually falling off to sleep, you still receive 80% of the benefit of sleep.

That little “fact” helps me feel calm and not panic in the middle of the next when I’m still awake. It also helps me believe that I can power through the next day because I’ve had the 80% benefit.

@Pookerrod yes I've heard that too. The brain does benefit from the act of resting the body by lying in bed.

I'm back from maternity leave and have had quite a few days on limited sleep (3 hours broken was the worst). It's not fun but you can get through it!

I think it is common annoyance! You'll probably sleep very well tonight OP!

It is maddening. You could try taking an antihistamine next time just before you go to bed if you have a feeling it's going to be one of those nights. And take a hot water bottle to bed too to snuggle up with (unless it's mid summer!).

I get this a lot. I have earbuds next to my bed and set up a playlist of podcasts. If I can't get to sleep or if I wake in the middle of the night I start listening to them.

They really need to be quite subdued. Theres an interiors podcast I love but the constant laughing and shouting doesn't induce sleep! I like gardening so I often stick on an RHS podcast. The tone is very soft and there are subtle nature sounds in the background. They have a huge back catalogue so I choose a few that fit my current garden interest and then either pass out or occasionally spend a few hours listening to something interesting. Either way, it's better than lying there begging my brain to sleep.

My other tip is to get up if there's less than 90 minutes until your alarm. Apparently that's how long you need for a sleep cycle and if you wake in the middle you end up feeling more tired.