Coping with work on no sleep

[sometimesyouwin]

Can anyone give me any tips on how to cope with a days work on no sleep? My 1yr old DS2 has an awful cold. We co-sleep and with his restless nights (he's a rubbish sleeper anyway!) I've only managed to get a couple of hours sleep a night for the last 4 nights in a row. I'm just not sure how I'm going to cope with work today. I have meetings and need to have my brain switched on! I can't drink caffeine due to problems with heart palpitations and don't know what else to do to get me through the day. I feel like im in a thick fog! Any tips from fellow sleep deprived mums would be very welcome!!!

Chewing gum is my top tip. It gives you something to focus on in meetings and has prevented me falling asleep in the past. Plus there's the added bonus of fresh breath!

Sipping water may help a little. I hope you aren't driving though: take a taxi if necessary.

Well I usually mainline diet coke but I see that's not an option for you.

Apparently apple juice has similar perk-you-up properties so that might be worth a go.

I'd heard an apple has more of an effect on tiredness than coffee

Eat some fresh fruit, plenty of fresh air. Drink water as said. Do you have somewhere at work you can shut your eyes for 20 mins and have a power nap?

Ice cold water
fresh air
slightly cold room (but not too cold)
keep moving/active
sweets

building on the nap - do you have a car you could nap in?

Thanks guys! They all sound like great tips. I have 2 apples packed, bottle of water in my bag. I'm going to drive as it's only a very short distance and then try and nap in the car at lunch, hadn't thought of a nap as usually no offices free. I can close my eyes and set my alarm. I think if I have another bad night tonight I'll skip work tomorrow and try and catch up on some sleep whilst the kids aren't around!

I find a real brisk walk to the station really helps me wake up and energise (the actual getting out of bed still sucks though!) and plenty of water, like 1.5 lites.

It's tough!

How did you get on-as bad as you expected or did you survive the day?

Thanks for asking Sibling. I survived! The afternoon was pretty tough going but I made it through. The apples did the job and luckily I sit near a window so I had it wide open all day. Desperately hoping for a better night tonight otherwise I'm taking the day off tomorrow to catch up on some sleep!