How do people even function without sleep?!

[BlsdMama]

Sleep really has been good for a long while. 
 

Now it’s so very NOT. I honestly don’t know how to function in my day today. My head just hurts. Ugh. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

We don't.  Not really.  I require a minimum of four hours to be able to pretend to function.  I celebrate if I make it to seven hours.  Even six and a half is pretty good.  (I am actually in bed for over 8 hours.) 

[Kassia]

I get around six hours a night broken up into two three-hour naps.  I do lie down most days for 20-30 minutes to refresh my poor tired brain and body plus I drink a lot of caffeine early in the day.  I'm really glad I don't have a job outside of the home and my kids are grown because I don't function well at all.  

The worst is when we stay at a hotel and share a room.  

I'm sorry you are struggling and hope you get some much-needed rest soon.  I've stopped fighting it - I've had insomnia for so many years now that I've just accepted it, which makes it easier to deal with.  But I don't have a job or young kids either.  

[Arcadia]

When it is an emergency, adrenaline rush kicks in. When it is due to work, going on auto mode and lots of caffeine tide it over. However health do suffer. My ex-classmates who are insomniacs like me would use espresso shots or red bull. 
 

If you have time to catch a nap but just can’t fall asleep, Benadryl is useful for me for headache and causing drowsiness, enough for me to nap the whole afternoon.

Hope you feel better soon. 

[MooCow]

I'm so sorry you're not getting sleep. I will pray for it. 

[bolt.]

We don't. If functioning on less sleep were biologically or neurologically possible, it would be an incredible evolutionary advantage. If it existed, the 'needs less sleep' version of human DNA would have taken over our species long ago.

Edited September 14, 2021 by bolt.

[marbel]

We make it through the day as best we can. Some of us find that after a certain time of not enough sleep goes by, we melt down over the most trivial things. Tasks that might be a little bit complicated seem insurmountable. Minor problems like mislaid earbuds become a major thing, causing tears and "questing" - searching frantically for the missing thing.

And yes as a matter of fact I am going to be ordering some more earbuds now, so I have spares.

[J-rap]

My dh is able to make up for poor sleep at night with several catnaps throughout the day.  I can function for one day on 3-hour's sleep, but that's it.  Our bodies weren't meant to function without sleep, unfortunately.

I'm sorry you're not sleeping well. 😕

[Jenny in Florida]

The answer in my case is "not well." I have a lot going on, so it's hard to know how much of my daily malaise and fatigue are due to lack of sleep and how much to other causes (medication, depression, etc.). But I've been averaging less than 5.5 hours per night for weeks (months?), and the only reason I reach that average is because I often have one or two nights a week when I make it to 7 hours or I nap on a weekend afternoon.

It's not pretty.

[Pawz4me]

I'm sorry. It's hard. A couple of nights w/o sleep and I can function fairly well. But when it goes longer than that it really impacts quality of life. It's one reason I despise summer. Like truly, truly despise. I don't sleep well unless the temperature is below 68, preferably a lot below. And that's pretty much impossible to achieve here from April through September. I can't wait for cool nights and decent sleep.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Pawz4me

[ScoutTN]

Sorry for the sleeplessness, OP! Have any supplements worked for you?
 

I need 4 hours to remember my name and do laundry, but 7-8 consistently to think at any level of complexity.

 

[Melissa Louise]

Oh my goodness, I don't.

Six hours to be able to zombie walk through the day, eight hours to feel human, nine hours to feel rested. 

I'm sure I read recently that the idea of people who thrive on four hours of sleep is a myth. 

Hope your sleep returns. It always makes me feel a bit desperate when I go through an insomniac period. 

[bensonduck]

It is so hard. I get between 5-7 hours broken up at night and nap with the baby for 30 mins to an hour most afternoons. 
 

I hope you can find something that works for you. I hate that fuzzy headed feeling of not enough sleep. Seems worse now that I’m older. 😐

[BlsdMama]

I’m blown away by how many people aren’t sleeping well. I am so sorry ya’all are struggling. Truly. Do you guys pinpoint the why? Or is it just one of those things you’ve tried to solve and it lacks a solution?

I thought it began because of spasticity pain but now I wonder if it’s hormonal? I think I’m beginning menopause, surprisingly enough. 
 

I use CBD with light melatonin most nights. I think it wears off around 2-3am which is when I generally wake up. Then I fall back to sleep around 5 until 6:30ish. 

I fall asleep immediately. I admit I’ma little afraid to nap - I just don’t have the spare time to sacrifice with so many young kids still homeschooling. And also because I don’t want to have problems falling asleep. 

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, BlsdMama said:

I’m blown away by how many people aren’t sleeping well. I am so sorry ya’all are struggling. Truly. Do you guys pinpoint the why? Or is it just one of those things you’ve tried to solve and it lacks a solution?

I thought it began because of spasticity pain but now I wonder if it’s hormonal? I think I’m beginning menopause, surprisingly enough. 
 

I use CBD with light melatonin most nights. I think it wears off around 2-3am which is when I generally wake up. Then I fall back to sleep around 5 until 6:30ish. 

I fall asleep immediately. I admit I’ma little afraid to nap - I just don’t have the spare time to sacrifice with so many young kids still homeschooling. And also because I don’t want to have problems falling asleep. 

Have you tried slow release melatonin?  Or a higher dose?  

 

What I think is causing mine, not 100% sure.  I think it is hormonal.  I tried melatonin and slow release high does and it did nothing for me.   I take Magnesium and it helps me sleep.  

I think I got in bad pattern with kids.  Until a 2 years ago I hadn't slept one full night since I had my first.  Babies who didn't sleep, bed wetting, night walking, sick kids, kids who end up sleeping with you at night....  It was one thing after another that never stopped.  Before having kids I was someone who needed 9 or more hours of sleep.  Wow, how I remember the good nights of sleep where you just went to sleep for 10 plus hours and never woke up.  I wish I could still do that.  

I used to nap and that is how i made it through my parenting life.  But since Covid nope.  My house is way to loud with everyone here every second.  2 barking dogs, dh who works from home, all the kids who are just nuts all day.....  

What is working for me now Magnesium and then Tea to get through the day.  

[kiwik]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:34 AM, Jean in Newcastle said:

We don't.  Not really.  I require a minimum of four hours to be able to pretend to function.  I celebrate if I make it to seven hours.  Even six and a half is pretty good.  (I am actually in bed for over 8 hours.) 

Me too.  I can function on none for a day of two and four for a week.  I have functioned for the past four years on four hours sleep most nights.  But I am not function well under the surface.  I struggle to make complex decisions and I forget appointments.

[Night Elf]

I have had insomnia for years but the nature of it has changed. It's gotten worse now. I am lucky if I can sleep 4 hours in one stretch but it's usually more like 2 at a time. My psychiatrist has had me on all kinds of sleep meds but nothing helps. I have a sleep study scheduled for Oct. 25th. It's a class that teaches ho to use equipment, CPAP?, for 3 nights, then an individual appt. to discuss results and figure out next step. My youngest son has a form of narcolepsy and has settled into a routine of getting in at least one nap a day. His mentor/advisor in grad school pulled strings to get my son his own office so he can lock the door and sleep during the day. We all thought that was incredibly nice of him.

I'm hoping for some answers from my sleep study. I'm going against medical advice from my eating disorder support team and getting out of bed when I wake up. They want me to stay in bed. I have a difficult time laying in bed wide awake. Tonight I woke up at 2:00 am and it's now 5:00 am. I really should try to get back to sleep but I'm fighting it. I just don't want to go to bed. I wish I knew why I was like this. My support teams believes I have trained my brain into sleeping like this. 

I purposefully scheduled work hours to be in the afternoon to have my mornings to sleep. I don't have to go into work until 1:00 pm and I'm usually functional before then. If it's too early, I cannot drive myself. We all fear I'll have an accident because I nod off while driving and then jerk awake again. It's quite scary.