You know you’re sleep deprived if…

You have to get up at 3:30 a.m. daily due to commute to work, and each day is spent wondering when you will see the "light at the end of the tunnel," if ever…

 

Getting out of bed feels like lugging a 20-lb. lead weight alongside each side of your body.

 

You've ever almost backed into your garage door and barely realized it. This happened to me today. Luckily, I looked into my rearview mirror just in time to see that the raised door had suddenly been lowered (at first unbeknownst to me) by the accidental slip of my tired thumb on the remote.

 

You've ever put on one earring, but zoned out and forgot to put the second one on the other earlobe. And you realized this halfway through your commute to work.

 

Wearing cosmetics and hairstyles other than tightly pulled back ponytails are a thing of the past. Who has time to get up even earlier and apply makeup?

 

Coworkers have commented "what a nice photo" when seeing you in a photo on your desk and then asked, "Who is that?"

 

You get a knot in your stomach every time you are rushing to get out the door and striving to be on your way by 4:30.

 

You drop and lose your keys twice IN YOUR CAR while trying to exit and get to your apartment, after your return home from work.

 

You have ever considered taking a catnap in your car in the train station parking lot – "just for a minute" – because you're not sure you can stay lucid long enough to drive home without it. (I haven't actually ever done this though. But the thought has come to mind more than once.)

 

You can hardly perform simple tasks like swiping your credit card in the correct direction at the McDonald's checkout station, in order to get to the soul-sustaining coffee that sits just six feet away on the counter beyond. The clerk looks at you like you have the IQ of a toad.

 

You open your mouth to speak, and it feels like your tongue is still asleep and unable to articulate the thoughts that are slowly awakening in your brain. Suddenly, you feel like you’re doing an impersonation of the character Lennie in Of Mice and Men.

 

You can't find your keys, and they are in your hand (happened to me again yesterday).

 

You feel like you are in a fog driving to or from work, and you really can't remember having done simple things like stopping at intersections or using your turn signal. However, you know you did, or you wouldn't have gotten from Point A to Point B.

 

Your alarm clock goes off, and in a mildly confused stupor, you answer your phone instead. (This only happened once, and that was years ago.)

 

You find yourself rewriting emails 2-3 times, toward the end of the day, to make them coherent before you send them.

 

You envy people who have "normal" hours and feel annoyed when people complain about having to get up at 5, or be at work by 7 a.m.

 

Climbing the stairs in the mornings feels like it consumes the only energy you might have had for the entire day.

 

The train ride in and out of the city is a blur, as you drift in and out of consciousness, head against the cold, rattling window. Even the presence of a person loudly turning the pages of a magazine at 5 a.m. pisses you off royally (I mean how dare they have the gall to be awake?)

 

You have to take a catnap each afternoon immediately after you get home, in order to have the energy to remain awake with your significant other, until a whopping daring bedtime of 9 p.m. Oh, and that coveted nap is all you can think about throughout the day, in order to get you through (in addition to the amount of junk food you consume, because it also helps to numb the frustration). You will do anything to get your nap “fix,” and blow off as many errands or plans as possible, in order to make room for it.

 

You can’t be bothered with smiling. It uses too much energy. (I know, I know. Frowning uses more muscles, they say.) It’s just hard to smile when you are perpetually cranky though.

You're excited when you have a legitimate medical ailment, because you are forced to get some much needed rest.

 

The focus of almost every conversation with friends or family begins with them asking, "So how is that rough schedule treating you?"

 

You frequently take chances on the highway and hit 80 mph, in order to arrive at that right moment to catch the train you need, in order to arrive at your destination (workplace) on time.

 

You can wear about 10% of the clothing in your whole wardrobe, because of the 30 pounds you've gained since beginning this "rough schedule." And you wonder how you would ever find the time or the energy to work out.

 

Your significant other is beginning to wonder where his once happy, sexy, energetic girlfriend went.

 

Breakfast, staying awake long enough to leisurely read a few pages of your favorite book, finding time to call or see friends during the week… These are also things of the past, or they must be far and few in their occurrence and be carefully squeezed into that rare hour or two that is planned well in advance.

 

You know that you once had hobbies and a passion for some things in life – umm, what were they again?

 

You stand in a moderately long line for coffee, and then get up there, grab your creamers, forget to get your coffee (aargh!) and have to get back in line to get the coffee you forgot!

 

ZZZZZZZZ……

Comments

[Melanie Tindale]

I used to think of my car as my second bedroom. Oh, the power naps! I could still crash in my car anytime. Baby redefines sleep deprived....

[Sparrow]

I did a similarly grueling schedule up until a few months ago. I was up at 5, out the door at 6:20, and on MARC by nearly 7. I can't imagine having to wake any earlier. My heart goes out to you.

[Cute Easy Hairstyles]

3:30am???!!!! You are exaggerating right? I really hope so. We all need to stop working like a zombie!!

[Richard]

Great post!! It's sad to say that I can totally relate! Thank you!

Richard
Maid For You Home Cleaning Service