Concentrating on No Sleep

Adding fish oil to my diet has worked well for my brain function. Sorry you aren't getting any sleep. I've been there. Good luck!

Does your son wake up multiple times and you can't get back to sleep when he does or just once? My oldest was a horrible sleeper for a year and I was pregnant for half of it w/ our second and working full-time so I somewhat know how you feel. Some people can fall right back asleep when their child does but I couldn't always. I did find out about lorezepram which is a bit like valium. It helped me relax enough that I could sleep when my daughter did vs up even when she was sleeping. This was after I wasn't pregnant anymore... But it isn't a sleeping pill so doesn't make you drowsy the next day or not alert enough at night to take care of your child. I also slept in the same bed as my daughter as it seemed to help her get back to sleep and at least I was resting. I found power naps actually at work helped a ton too. I'd sacrifice 1/2 hour to an hour of trying to be productive, nap or rest a bit and it'd help a ton getting through the day and actually be productive. If you don't have a private office, try your car. I also went to bed pretty much the same time as my daughter so I gave myself as many hours as possible and can your husband at least take some nights? Finally, sleep as much as possible on the weekends. My life was basically sleep whenever possible so I didn't do a whole lot else. But it passes...

I don't sleep well...in fact, I get less sleep than anyone I know because of chronic insomnia. I cannot take sleeping pills and rarely take sleep aids - which for you are a complete no-no since you have a child to take of in the middle of the night. So I offer these more natural solutions to help you feel better and more alert during the day. Remember, that different things work for different people depending on their body chemistry so you have to keep trying until you find a combination that works for you.

Try -
B12 or a B complex - I find vitamin B helps me focus and feel peppy when I have not had enough sleep.
Ginseng tea and/or Jasmine Tea - both have little to no caffeine
A diet high in protein
Stay away from caffeine and sugars as stimulants - the crash afterward is horrible.

Lack of sunshine can lead to a vitamin D deficiency (seasonal affective disorder) - take a supplement. My sister suffers from this and she always takes extra D during the winter months.

Is there any way you can slip in a nap during the day? I found even a 20 minute power nap during my lunch hour would help me.

Most importantly, since you are not getting enough rest, make sure that you are as healthy as possible in all other areas of your life. Exercise and eating right will help you combat fatigue related illnesses.

Good luck - and know that one morning you will wake up realizing that you slept all through night and you will panic and run to your child's room just to see your little angel sleeping peacefully.

Me too.

I wish I had some good advice, but I really don't. Good luck.

I just wrote a lengthy response to someone else on how I got my 2.5 year old to finally sleep. If you can, look for it or feel free to message me. We are sleeping now and it is like a whole different life.

I also have a job that requires a lot of concentration and engagement. WIth the lack of sleep I can absolutely say my performance at work suffered. And driving.....I was a menace! I was lucky to have a short commute because there were times I would be almost home and not remember how I got there!

I would say if you are not getting any sleep do your best to treat yourself as well as possible in every other aspect of your life (difficult with a child, I know!). Try to eat as healthfully as possible. Lots of nutrient dense foods. When I wasn't sleeping, I would get a lot of headaches. Your body isn't getting that chance to repair itself and do all the things it needs to do at night so give it the best possible chance in the daytime. I also use to use my lunchbreak to sleep in my car occasionally. Don't know if that is possible for you but there were many days I would not have made it otherwise. A little bit of exercise can help too. I really felt physically exhausted and couldn't really work out but a brief walk even just around your building my help get your blood flowing too. I'll be honest the only thing that ever made me really feel better was more sleep :( I'm sorry. I hope it gets better soon.

How old is your son? I'm assuming he's still an infant. The best I can really say is, this too shall pass. My son had me so sleep deprived, with serious colic for 9 months, that I was literally blacking out during the day. He's now 10 and that seems like a distant memory. In the meantime, you may have to resort to a day to day, do whatever it takes kind of approach. On bad days, they do have those 5 hour energy shots that I did use actually a lot. There's other energy drinks as well. Get sleep WHENEVER you can. Even if you're deprived during the week, if you can make up some of that on the weekend, by sleeping in, or taking a nap, do it. It pays off. Hopefully you have another adult in the house to help out? If so, they need to support you in taking over so you can get sleep. I even used to go to my car during my hour lunch, set the alarm on my cell phone, and crash out for a little while before going back to work. You can get through this time, just don't overwhelm yourself.

Hi C.
Sorry to hear that! I think all Mums suffer from exhaustion at times but your situation ,as you said ,is more serious than that.
The advise I can give is to sleep as soon as he is,organise your time that you get the max. ammount of sleep possible.
Make sleep your priority until your situation improves.
Make sure you have a long shower,good food,fresh air ,plenty of water each day.
If at all possible,could you arrange to have a sleeping day once every two/three weeks. I do this where I have an afternoon every few weeks where I just sleep. I love it as it keeps me sane. Even if it is once a month it will help.
Best of luck with this
B.

Honestly, you need to sleep. Your question is akin to asking "I realized that I don't know when I'm going to be able to eat again, so what can I do to keep my energy up?" I'm not saying that to be snarky at all, but the fact is that the ability to concentrate is very closely tied to sleep. That doesn't mean that you have to rock a straight 8 hours every night to be good at your job, but it does mean that you need to use some time to "catch up" on your sleep when you can get it. Do you have a spouse that can take your son some weekend days so you can sleep? And I don't mean take a quick nap, I mean crawl in bed and sleep for 6 hours in the middle of the day. What about paying someone to do the occasional overnight? The ability to function like a normal person would be worth $100 to me. Yes, this too shall pass, but for now, you need to come up with some stop-gap measures to get you at least some of the sleep that you need.

Good luck.