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Thursday, August 29th, 2002 11:16 am
This morning I am clumsy and forgetful. It's truly impressive!

Twice, doing jumps during my gym workout, I tripped over the extra-long toes of my shoes. Yes, the shoes are way too long for my feet, but that has been the case since I was twelve; I shouldn't have trouble with it. Doing dips, I didn't look for the position of the movable pull-up bar, and I thwacked my head on it (loudly but with no pain). The crowning moment was when I came out of the gym and found my car in the parking lot with its door wide open. I had left it that way for over an hour.

I think the increased workouts and the stress-induced sleep deprivation are taking their toll.

Now that I'm thinking about this, I see hints that it was coming on earlier. On Sunday I drove two miles with my trunk unlatched (granted, that can't be seen from inside the car, as the lid tends to stay closed). My typing is less swift and less precise.

I wonder if I could counteract some of this by eating better -- maybe I need extra vitamins or protein?
Thursday, August 29th, 2002 03:15 pm (UTC)
Sleep, dear. You just need sleep. Thus sayeth I, who just woke up from a 4-or-so hour NAP. I'm still stunned that I slept that long on top of the 6 or so that I got last night. I suspect I'll feel a lot better in the coming days.

Regarding how to GET said sleep, I agree with the melatonin suggestion as one possibility. I'll add 5HTP: That's a serotonin precursor, as well as making you sleepy on its own. It's a bit more gentle than taking melatonin directly. But it has the added advantage of upping your serotonin and making you just generally feel better as well. Take 1 to 2 50mg capsules at night right before bed, along with whatever other vitamins you're doing. You ARE taking a multivitamin, RIGHT? Probably with IRON?

And I also agree with more protein, but it won't substitute for sleep. Change your protein to carb balance in favor of protein and see if it helps. I've been doing a low(er)-carb thing for almost a year, so I can suggest some places to cut out carbs if you want ideas.

And get to bed earlier. If you use the melatonin to put yourself to sleep, and then you wake up really early from the stress, you'll feel even groggier. I heard one recommendation not to take melatonin after midnight. That of course depends on what time you'll be getting out of bed. But I find that for me, taking it past 1am makes me groggy the next morning, and not able to get out of bed before about 9. For me, the worst time of waking up from stress has been the early morning hours. So if I can get to sleep earlier, then I'll get more sleep before that wakes me up.

*hugs*