A Sleepless Week With Insomnia

Getting consistent and good quality sleep is something that evades me on a daily basis. Dealing with insomnia is not easy. Many people simply do not have any idea of what we go through and how it affects our daily lives, especially when we have an extended spell of bad insomnia.

Recently I went through a week of terrible insomnia, and I wanted to share it with you.

Day 1: Surprised

The first night of severe insomnia always leaves me a little surprised. One would think after all these years that I would be past being surprised by it. But here we are. For the last 2 or 3 weeks, my sleep has been better than usual; that was, of course, until tonight.

After the first night, I feel a little worse for wear, but having had some decent sleep a few nights prior, I handle this a little better than I usually would. Up and off to work we go. I cope relatively well through the day, make sure I eat healthy meals, and limit my coffee intake.

Day 2: How long will this last?

Another really rough night behind me, I woke up an estimate of 6 to 8 times, and for most of those, I was up for about 10 to +20 minutes. This morning, my body is feeling really tired, and my motivation is lacking. I cannot help but wonder how long it is going to last this time.

Work was busy and I found it a little hard to concentrate at times. I may have had more coffee than I should have – anything to try not to feel so tired. Hopefully, I will get some sleep tonight.

Day 3: My lack of sleep is starting to show

Sleep came in fits and starts last night. I landed up going to bed later than I wanted to, as I had some house chores to get done and everything seems to be moving slower. The longest consecutive sleep I got was for about 2 hours. Eventually, I got up and had a cup of sleepy tea in the hopes that it would help.

Day 3 has me feeling really irritable and short-tempered. One look in the mirror told me that the lack of sleep was starting to show. Dark circles and sore eyes mean makeup is only going to make it worse.

Day 4: Feeling the emotional impact

I wake up before my alarm, feeling beyond exhausted. Feeling this tired makes me emotional and really out of sorts. Being aware of this helps as I go out of my way not to be curt with those around me. The only way I can explain how I feel is shattered. My shower finds tears rolling down my face; I simply cannot face this day, but I have to.

Work awaits, my concentration is lacking and mistakes are slipping in. Dinner has me grabbing take-a-way food. There is no way I have the energy to cook tonight. Not the healthiest choice I know, but we have to eat.

Day 5: Pure exhaustion

Last night after going to bed, I power napped and was awake an hour later and there was no chance I was going to get back to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning, I got out of bed and started doing some cleaning in the house. There were a few really tough moments that found me sitting and crying from pure exhaustion. I figured that if I kept busy a bit, it would help me when I got to go back to bed. School and work lunches are prepared, and the house is sparkling.

After a warm shower and donning some fresh PJs, I crawled in and got a good session of about 3 and a half hours. Today, all I am focusing on is getting through the day.