Are you in sleepy mom mode? Just seems like you never get enough sleep. How do you function on little to no sleep? I used to punish myself for being so tired. I mean I have these kids and I’m living the dream life of a stay at home mom, who am I to complain about being tired. Then I would abuse my body because I was tired. No more my friends. Let me share what I have learned about how to deal with being sleepy.
Punish myself
I would beat myself up for not being able to handle it better. I would get mad at myself for being impatient with the kids. And then again for not completing all the things I can when I’m fully rested.
But what good does it do to be angry on top of feeling tired. What if instead we could just be tired. This was life changing for me. Instead of adding more negative emotion to an already trying time, I would give myself grace.
Of course you are a little less patient, you are exhausted. Your body needs sleep and doesn’t function at its peak performance right now. Nothing has gone wrong.
The simple act of loving yourself is more empowering than beating yourself up. Think about it, how many times have you stuck to something long term when you started it cause you were mad at yourself? Stuck to a diet, stopped yelling at your kids, or started more self care. I know I haven’t stuck with things for very long when I am doing them out of anger.
Treat my body poorly
To go along with beating myself up for being sleepy, I start treating my physical body poorly. Eating lots of junk food, go towards soda instead of water, and skip moving my body. Spending lots of time scrolling on my phone instead of going to bed at night.
I picture this as kicking myself while I’m already down. It’s our bodies natural response to being tired to try and increase our energy with carbs and caffeine. Or find some peace and solace after the kids are finally in the bed.
But what if we just acknowledged that we are tired instead. In my head it looks something like this: “Keira, I know you are super tired right now, so Pepsi sounds super delicious. That’s your body trying to give you energy. What if we just be tired and drink some water instead or find some fresh fruit?”
It might also look like telling myself that I am craving quiet time, but what will really help me feel better is to put the phone down. Without the phone I can get some extra sleep or quality time with my husband. I can do something that really fulfills me instead. It can be helpful to ask what do I need right now?
When you decide that you are ready for help seeing how you are beating yourself up for being tired, book a free discovery call. I’d love to help you see your patterns and the results they give you in life, so you can make an intentional decision for yourself.
Until Next Time
– Keira
