Happy Monday, Friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
Feeling a little sleepy today? If so, I hear ya! Little Miss will be 7-months-old this week and still is not sleeping through the night whatsoever. She is currently cutting her second tooth, so it seems to be at least momentarily getting more difficult instead of easier in regards to me being sleep deprived. Lately she’s been waking up a minimum of 4 times per night, sometimes up to 10. I also try to wake up before her (usually around 5 or 5:30a) to get an hour or two of work done before she wakes up for the day.
Needless to say, I’m exhausted.
There’s a few tricks I have up my sleeve that I use on a daily basis to help me power through my day and still remain productive even though I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a very, very long time.
Whether you haven’t been getting as much sleep as you really should be due to working, studying, a small child, insomnia, or a fun night out, I hope you’ll find these tips for dealing with sleep deprivation helpful!
Tips for dealing with sleep deprivation:
Drink plenty of water
Drink a full glass of cold water first thing in the morning before you do anything else. It not only helps to wake you up, but jump-starts your metabolism as well. Then continue to stay hydrated throughout the day, as it will really help clear out your brain fog.
Avoid excessive caffeine
I am a coffee fanatic, and absolutely cannot function without my morning brew. That being said, I really do try to limit myself to only 2 cups per day. On somewhat well-rested days I’ll just have that one morning cup, and then on days where I barely got 2-3 hours of sleep I’ll usually need that second cup sometime in the early afternoon. If you continue to drink nothing but coffee or energy drinks all day, you’re going to find yourself seriously crashing after lunchtime.
If you habitually drink cups upon cups of caffeinated beverages throughout the day, try gradually switching out a few of them for water. You’ll be surprised at how staying well-hydrated can actually have a better effect on your energy levels than caffeine. Side note – if you do drink coffee, I highly recommend programming it at night to start brewing at whatever time you wake up at. It makes getting out of bed a little bit easier knowing you already have that liquid gold waiting for you.
Get some natural light
Open up every curtain/blind possible in your home or office to expose yourself to as much sunshine as you can. This is probably the best way to increase not only your energy level, but your mood as well.
Physical Activity
Whether it’s some quick stretches, going for a walk around the block, or a more intense workout, getting your blood flowing is a great way to get some feel-good endorphins going and a wonderful distraction to forget about how tired you actually are.
Don’t focus on how tired you are
If you keep thinking about how exhausted you are, you’ll likely end up making excuses as to why you cannot be productive. Wallowing in self-pity over it is going to end up in a wasted day and makes it too easy to just go through the motions all day without really getting much of anything done. If you have work that needs to be done, I suggest starting with a task that you’re excited about so that once that is complete, you can feed off that productive energy to tackle the rest of your to-dos for the day.
Eat high-nutrient foods
I know that loading up on carbs sounds incredibly appealing when you’re feeling sleepy, but try to avoid simple carbs as much as possible and seek out some high-nutrient foods that will give you energy instead of zapping it out of you. Smoothies have become one of my favorite energy boosters!
What are some of your go-to methods for dealing with sleep deprivation?
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Great tips, Christina. The only one I override personally is the caffeine one. Health-wise for us, it was better to go through the withdrawal. I’d rather have natural energy and not rely on the chemical. For me, it was chocolate. For my hubby, it was energy drinks. A lot of things cleared up for us once we stopped. I hope your baby starts sleeping through the night soon. My son woke up multiple times at night around that age. Other mothers would go on about how their babies slept through the night from day 1. Nice gig, huh?
Thanks Kay! Good for you for giving up caffeine entirely. I’d like to say I could give that a shot, but there’s something so indulgent about my morning cup of coffee that I just don’t think I can do it! Thank you, I hope so too….sorry that you went through this too, but glad to hear I’m not the only one! Haha must be nice! I try to refrain from discussing sleep habits with other new(er) Moms for that very reason, it just irritates me 😉
I’m bookmarking this and will read again in 7.5 months! I’m getting plenty of sleep right now, but I’m guessing that will change in September. 🙂
Oh yes Sara, but it is so worth it! Glad you’re getting plenty of rest now though, you need it to keep you and baby healthy! 🙂 I remember getting 8-10 hours every night while pregnant, and I didn’t get even a sniffle or cold my entire pregnancy. It really helps your weakened immune system. Keep it up!
I love these tips!! I’ve been trying to drink 1 glass of water first thing in the morning lately. I read it has tons of benefits like curing cancer and fighting diseases (probably not true, but nonetheless I am drinking more water!).
Sorry you haven’t been getting much sleep!! If it makes you feel better, I am right there with you!! My 2 1/2 year old still wakes an average of twice per night. My younger one (16 months) usually sleeps through. This is mean but if she wakes I usually ignore her because if I go in her room, I can never get out!! She usually falls back to sleep within 10 minutes which isn’t bad. The older one I still have to get up for. When I first had my youngest, I was up 8-12 times a night for months on end. That was an all time low for me lol, but it does get better, I promise!!
Thanks Sarah! So true, it’s such a relatively easy habit to implement (compared to working out consistently anyway, which I unfortunately don’t do much of these days). I bet it helps fight at least some diseases!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear you’re in the same boat, but it is nice to know someone else is going through it too. That’s not mean at all – I’m discovering the same thing! We are going to need to get better with setting sleep boundaries, because this is getting out of control. My husband travels for work a bit too, so he was gone last week Monday – Friday and I thought I was going to just keel over. Thanks for the reassurance 🙂
Love the idea for water. Despite the bazillion reasons I know it’s good for me, I never seem to drink enough of the good stuff. I don’t tolerate littke sleep well. More than anything, I’m not very nice to those around me. Mr. Maroon would agree there. Guess I’ve been fortunate to have two good sleepers. No nightmare stories to share here…
Thanks Mrs. Maroon! I know, it can be hard to start new habits. I have a huge 32oz water mug I refill several times a day (I’m breastfeeding too though, so it’s probably not necessary to drink that much otherwise) and that seems to really help if I have it out in the open as a reminder.
That’s so great that you have good sleepers on your hands, I have to admit that I’m a bit envious!
This post couldn’t come at a better time! I had my first child in December and I’m certainly feeling the effects of less sleep.
I’ve been relying a lot on extra caffeine, but obviously need to cut back and switch to exercise. I’m thinking that I should simply pop to the gym while Mrs Ikonz is doing a feed. Even 20-30 min at the gym would be better than nothing at all!
Thanks for stopping by Mr. Ikonz! You are certainly in the trenches of sleep deprivation with a newborn, it can be so tough! I hope you are able to catch up on sleep relatively soon. I absolutely agree, 20-30 minutes can make a huge difference. Even if you don’t have time to get to the gym, maybe do a quick 10 minute workout that doesn’t require any equipment at home!