In the past 7 days I have maybe gotten 2 nights of 4 hours and the rest choppy, broken sleep. When this happens I feel cranky, emotional, shakey, sensitive, quicker to get angry. I drop things, should not drive, and eat weird. Sleep deprivation is worse than a drunk driver depending on how many hours of sleep you lost. I have sleep issue’s since becoming a mom. First, there were the wake ups when they were a baby. Then the wake ups during sickness and teething. Now we have entered the worrisome years. “Will they be ok? Will their teacher treat them kindly and show them love and respect?” “Will the kids at school be nice?” “Are they safe?” We all have similar worries as parents but as a sober parent my brain worries and thinks more. I try to meditate and slow it down but sometimes I forget or I am just too tired to remember. I read and that helps but sometimes you just gotta stay away from people. Put yourself in a protective bubble and go in self-preservation mode. Especially when stress is high! Back to school is high-stress no matter how many kids you have. We are all meeting new teachers, moms, new schedules, expectations, and if you are like me we set the bar far to high for ourselves to ever meet it all.
So today I will log out, read a book and maybe, just maybe take a nap. Afterall HALT is not good for anyone especially me!
I work 12 hour shifts and get woken up several times throughout the day. I often get quite cranky too!