What To Do When the Tired Sets In: Developing Healthier Sleep Habits

by Michelle Montoro

I know I am not the only one who feels like I am in a perpetual state of tiredness.

I don’t know if it is parenthood, middle age, or just poor sleeping habits. Probably a combination of all of those things and more.

Despite my level of tiredness, however, I still wake up everyday before 4:00 a.m. and trudge through the day, accomplishing what I can along the way. By about 3:00 p.m., I am completely done. Exhausted. Out of patience. Energy depleted. And ready for bed.

And then, suddenly I am wide awake making a mental list of all the things I didn’t get done and need to do tomorrow.

Adding insult to injury, I have struggled with sleep issues my entire life.

I was a sleepwalker between the ages of 4 to 8, followed by the horrors of night terrors until well into my 20’s. This led to a decade of insomnia which required sleep aids in order to get any rest at all. Add in my bladder issues (it’s small and there is an actual hole in it from a C-section mishap) and all the symptoms of menopause and my sleep cycle is tormented with frequent trips to the bathroom combined with night sweats and chills.

Exacerbating the situation, lack of sleep can also trigger manic episodes for me. I need to avoid this because it sets into motion a whole bipolar nightmare that I just don’t have time or patience for these days. So I do what I can to get…