Can you relate?
I’ve almost settled into the fact I’ll just be tired for the rest of my life. Or at least until my four kids grow up and move out. By then, unfortunately, age will have set in, and I’ll be tired for other reasons. But who wants to settle for exhaustion? I want more energy in my life, but at times I feel like it takes energy to get energy. Like the time I did an intense detox for more than a month. I felt fabulous, but frankly, it was a lot of work – prepping the foods, taking supplements, making shakes and frequent visits with a nutritionist. I can’t imagine doing it again, but I have to do something. I’m tired of being tired.
There’s tons of information on the internet about this topic. Instead of recreating the wheel, I’ve collected helpful articles and books in one place for you to read at your leisure. Ha! Yeah, what’s leisure time in a mom’s world? Maybe you should actually just sleep in your leisure time and not read. But if you do read, take time to read through these helpful articles. I’m not a sleep expert or health expert, but I am an expert on being a tired mom, and I know I have many friends who feel the same way. I hope these links and reminders give us hope – It is possible to gain our energy back. It takes time, effort on our part and patience through the rough points, but it’s worth it.
I like the 14 Reasons Why You’re Always Tired article on Health.com. It pretty much sums up my life. Here’s the snapshot, but click the article to get more details: The 14 Reasons Why You’re Always Tired – 1) skipping exercise, 2) not drinking enough water, 3) low iron, 4) being a perfectionist, 5) making mountains out of molehills, 6) skipping breakfast, 7) eating too much junk food, 8) not able to say no, 9) working in a messy office, 10) working through vacation, 11) too much wine before bed, 12) electronics before bedtime, 13) too much caffeine and 14) staying up too late on weekends. I can check off of most of these as reasons I’m tired. I appreciate this article because it touches on the physical aspects of our body and nutrition, plus the daily mental drains which exhaust us.
Here’s another helpful article on WebMD, You’re Guide to Never Feeling Tired Again. I appreciate the reminder to actually breathe during the day! My good friend and health coach, Erica, has hammered this point home and introduced me to the Dr. Weil 4-7-8 breathing method. It not only reduces anxiety, but it also relaxes me before bedtime and helps me go to sleep. And this is an interesting read on the Huffington Post from Dr. Randi Gunther, a clinical psychologist. In his article, Tired of Being Tired? Stop Your Energy Drains, he touches on the emotional and relational elements in our life, which drain us of energy.
Or how about this? Have you ever heard of Adrenal Fatigue? It’s where the adrenal glands, two walnut-sized glans which sit just above the kidneys, function below necessary levels and can leave you feeling tired and stressed. Some doctors are skeptics, but some are firm believers. Dr. Mark Hyman wrote a great article, Push The Pause Button on Adrenal Burnout. He provides tips on how to find your “pause button” and recommends supplements to help balance your body. And at WellnessMama.com, Katie, a mother of five kids, outlines remedies to help with Adrenal Fatigue. Even across the ocean, this DailyMail.com article introduces 53-year-old Christine who didn’t settle for a life of continual exhaustion. So why should we settle?
One last thing to consider, especially for moms in their forties, is perimenopause – the time leading into menopause. Perimenopause can affect sleep habits, mood changes and period cycles. Make sure to ask your doctor to run the necessary blood work to rule out perimenopause, as well as any thyroid conditions, which can also cause you to feel tired.
As parents, we’re our kids’ advocates. But we need to advocate for ourselves, too. This means scheduling the easy-to-put-off doctors appointments, getting the necessary blood work done, or even visiting a holistic practice and incorporating other healing methods.
There can be hundreds of reasons why we’re tired. It’s a matter of what we want to do about it. Stop settling for a life of exhaustion and take the steps you can to bring more energy into your life.
Exhaustion is nothing new to motherhood. Even the famous artist, Norman Rockwell, captured this mother sliding down the wall into the mess of toys. I can almost feel her frustration as she sees the mess of toys once again all over the floor. Maybe that’s just my interpretation.
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