Do you every just get plain tired?
BellaGabriella
| Posted in General Discussion on
I get more done in my mind than I do in reality. Other than working, cooking, cleaning, yardwork, grocery shopping and whatever else comes up, by the time all is done at night – around 7:30 – I’m just so d&*m tired. Is it because I’m 50 and running out of gas? Is it because I’m up at 5? Is it because I’m not loving my day job anymore and want a change, but figure I’m 50 and now what? Is that number making me tired? I have so many projects I want to get done but I fizzle out so early.
Do you have any ideas on how to be less tired? Or, if anyone can relate, what do you do?
I’ll check back after my nap. LOL
Nancy
Replies
Hey wait a minute! That's my life! LOL Yes I am on the verge of falling over at any time, frequently sit down "for a minute" and fall asleep sitting in a chair. No ideas here, just keep moving at least you'll stay awake.
I'm 57, my husband is 58. I can't begin to tell you how often we go to bed right after the News. The 6:00 PM news! We are up between 4;30 and 5;00 A.M. For too long, I think we really shorted ourselves on sleep.
Especially when I was working and our daughter was a teen-ager, I'd often stay up until 11:00 PM or Midnight and start the next day a 5:00. Stupid, Stupid, stupid. New studies suggest that sleep is even more important than exercise in maintaining a healthy weight. Guess What???? Even though I was walking 2 miles a day 5 days a week during that period of my life, I gained weight every single year! My goal is now 9 hours of sleep every night. Like all goals, sometimes I miss the mark.
I've cut my walking by 75%, made a few minor dietary changes and increased my expectation of sleep. My weight has now stabalized and I'm seeing a slight downward trend. It is slight, but significant enough that my sister noticed! yea.
To get 8 hours and be up by 5:00, you need to be ASLEEP, by 9:00. I don't fall instantly asleep, so an hour of reading or watching TV or whatever and now it's 8:00. By my figuring 7:30 is staying up pretty late! Gail
Most of the time I'm not tired. But then I don't do yardwork and only do about half of the housework and the cooking (not even that in the summer). I'm fortunate in having a dh that does more than his fair share and understands about my obsession with sewing. Especially since sewing is my business as well as my hobby and stress reliever. In fact, he knows when I'm sick because that's the only time I'm not sewing. I'm 55 (soon to be 56 in Oct) with a 10 yo son (he's finishing up 4th grade).
It could very well be that you don't like your job. Life's too short to work at something you don't like. Explore other avenues of employment. Have you ever taken an aptitude test? When was your last physical? Do you get enough sleep, iron?
Chris
I have gone through periods of being extremely tired.......I know 'being of that certain age' can raise havoc with restful sleep. I am now 60, soon to be 61 and I think I'm feeling better........there is hope! We try to keep a fairly routine schedule....... bed at 10:30, up anywhere from 6-7 and sometimes a short snooze after lunch.........by short I mean about 15-20 min. power nap. I find that when I get moderate exercise......such as a brisk 20-30 min. walk in nice weather that I actually have more energy and feel better.......and maybe sleep better, too. Having activities during the day that are pleasant helps, too. Having a job that is distasteful can make you depressed, thus feeling tired.
With all that being said, if you can figure out a cause, perhaps its time to see your friendly family Dr. I do think that my early 50's were times when I was the most tired of my entire life...........I blamed it on menopause!! Couldn't think of anything else and anytime I needed a scapegoat, that was handy!!
Kay
I think menopause has something to do with it too. I went on a meno website and seem to have quite a few of the physical things going on. I take a multivitamin every day, and have for years. I go to the doctor yearly and so far am in good health. I could probably lose about 10 lbs but am not so concerned about it any more. The day job I have I've been doing it at different places for about 20 years and I'm just bored with it. Being a single Mom, I have to make a certain amount of $$ to keep things going, so the thought of doing the same thing elsewhere doesn't appeal to me and, what would be the point? Daughter just turned 21 and moved in w/ her DBF of 2.5 years, and Son is almost 16 - the loves of my life! I've been seeing a really nice man for 1-1/2 years now but we don't live together. After 10 years of not dating, I'm still getting used to being in a relationship. I'm ready to go as soon as I wake, and love the weekends because I can be up by 6 and accomplish quite a lot by noon. Maybe it is the day job.
I want to be making money in a creative way. I'm tired of depending on someone else for a paycheck, but I'm smart enough to realize I won't make what I make on my own. But I just realized that I can also start slow. If I spend even one hour at night on my "future" job, I will be ahead. I'll do that!
Thanks ladies!
Nancy
oh dear I recognize this so well! Take a leaf out of my book and try to see what you can stop doing. My answer is going out to work for less hours so that if i want to I can spend more time sewing -and I am trying to also see what household tasks I can do less of as well! I realize that I can only do this because I am 57 and with only hubby to care for I can afford to be less picky about work.
I am not sure that I will relish having less income - but this is where I am hoping to boost income selling what I make. I did this a lot when the children were young and loved it - goodness knows how I ever had the time...say nothing about age, energy levels etc. here please!
And yes - I have lived, loved and created so much in my mind over the years.
Its a sign of our creativity.
Jan
Yes, I'm almost 50 and I feel tired all the time anymore, too.
I've decided that I just have to give up one of my hobbies. I still weave and spin, but I don't have time for my real hobby. I love to cook, and have to do that by default, but I just don't have time for my real hobby. I still collect books and read all the time, but that doesn't leave time for my real hobby. I'm learning to sew, but in order to make time for that I've had to give up my real hobby.
My real hobby is housework.
Berna
Berna--I should have your last post on a BIG poster and hang it in my living room! Thanks for a chuckle. BTW--my dishes are undone today, while I quilt!
Thank you Berna Weaves for the insight and chuckle! Maybe if I could look at housework as a Hobby I wouldn't think of it as such a Chore.
As for the tiredness we all feel after a full day, I agree, aging does seem to make that nap necessary. Seeing your doctor is a good idea if you have not had a blood test in a while... I was putting on weight and felt the reason I could no longer get up the hills or go as far was because of the wt. and soon no longer walked. I was 48 at the time. I did have a history of endometriosis, but without any pain and went to the dr. because of some symptoms that wouldn't go away and the blood count found my red blood cells way too low so I needed to take iron pills to build up my hemoglobin before surgery and I couldn't believe the energy that came back after a few months. I was not going in for a yearly exam so did not have blood tests done, so I guess what I am trying to say is that a yearly physical exam, especially after 50, with a blood count included should be considered by all of us to make sure we are staying healthy.
Ever since my twenties three decades ago, I've had a 20-minute nap as soon as I get home from work--even while commuting/working long hours and raising children (they knew they had 20 minutes of freedom if they could behave!) I'm a fresh new human afterward and can usually keep going till ten, even though I have to be on the go non-stop from six a.m. weekdays.
If I start feeling tired or run down even with my daily nap, I make a point of getting some extra exercise, maybe parking in the far end of the grocery store lot or climbing stairs at work to use the restroom on a different floor.
Besides age, physical and emotional health can also affect our level of tiredness, so talking with a health professional could really help.
I've read that a nap in the afternoon, of even 10 minutes, can help control high blood pressure.
Having tried medication, diet, and exercise, with only limited success, why not give NAP a whirl?
Gail
One of my favorite lines from the movie VENUS was when one of the older characters said he was going to take his pre-nap nap. There are days that makes perfect sense to me.
I'm older than you are and I just went through a battle of exhaustion for many months and it turned out I was anemic. After taking some Iron for a few months, I'm back to normal.
I do find as you, that I do more in my mind at times, than in reality.
OH WOW Are U my long lost twin sister - I have been searching for all my life !!!
Teeheeheeheeee :~)
OH you so sing my toons :~)
We as women have so so many hats and are expected to be so many to so many and when we want to do for ourselves we have to sacrifice something and it is usually our sleep/ care for our self and something along that line.
I have read all the way down and am in that hormonal state.
I had to totally change my diet and then when I broke my foot and injured my left side in a fall -creating a rupture in my left side w/ a rupted appendix and 2 surgeries later.
MY whole self is different.
I use a hormone cream and had to cut out so so many goodies - that just give me a Nutritional pill to swallow ! :~)
Hey, not that bad, but could be..... I am now a vegan and doing so much better (occasionally eat fish) but ............ had to make some health changes.
I have so so many dreams and even completions in my mind. MY sewing area is stacked once again and was so so together, but ................
At times hubby would say -why do you even have a sewing craft room - you do not get to work in there like you like - well those are bad words that came out of his mouth - my friend. He know it as he last said them and walked on ! :~)
I must get this horrible glaze over me eyes and go into this crazy lady stance and speech from a forked tongue ! hahahaahaaaaa :~)
Now he just listens when I state I can't seem to find that time to get in there.
I am in my 50's and still have a son (whom is Autistic) at home and a hubby that travels in and out and I fell I am on 24/7 and some days I feel like I got nothing done. BUT we do somehow some way.
I think for me - it was a diet change and having to when I was down and others had to step in and take over(esp. for our son) I had to re-evaluate many areas. Many can not be and can.
I take extra all natural and organic supplements and foods and drink lots of water. There are days I still feel tired but I am still gaining back my health. I feel better when I stay on an exercise program and actually I still love to run and would love to find the time to train and run races but ............
SO I have a Rebounder and a Boxing tower ( great for when you mad) and a weights that help my strength. It has been slow building back up.
Plus I am reading a fascinating book by DON COLBERT, M.D.
DEADLY EMOTIONS - Understanding the mind-body-spirit connections that can heal or destroy you. This was in the grocery store. I have another of his books - very insightful.
I love to do finger work at night while watching tv with hubby that is relaxing, even though most of the time it is counted cross-stitching.
The biggest of me is the loneliness during the day, hubby at wk' and our son does not talk. My sis, daughter,mother, mom-in-law and cousins communicate through texting. These all work and at times I miss the work place, but not those early rises.
THANK the LORD we have this site to say, and glean from another and encourage us to hangth thou in there and sew another stitch or two !
Take care all and enjoy what ever project you be on and for however long it takes.
I have a few that I am even shocked how long it has taken to complete and some I still working on! Teeheehee :~)
Special Thanks to all posters above. I love you all! I learn from you, not just about sewing but about life. I am 38, wife and mother of one, and I hope I will be sewing and teaching others here ( if Gatherings is still here) about all that my life has brought to me just as you all have given me. Three Cheers Ladies!
Miss Cherrypops,
I find that you have already taught me a lot. Your ability to find important, meaningful, and highly useful sites on the web is an inspiration to me! Gail
I think I have found a bunch of ladies who are a lot like me in many ways. I happened upon this gathering by accident and started to read. I was amazed by what I read, that there were women out there who had interests and lives similar to mine. That I was not as alone as I felt.
I too am tired. Just plain worn out by life sometimes. In '92 a drunk driver tried to take away my husband and the two older of my girls. Since then most of my time has been spent since then being a hospital mom, and organizer. Fortunatly, with a lot of therapies, the two girls have healed, and with difficulty, will go on to lead fairly normal lives. My husband in not the man I married, as a head injury has changed him, but I have come to love him as he is now. This has unfortunatly left me with health problems, primarily depression and post traumatic stress syndrome and panic attacks that make it hard for me to leave the farm some times. So I get lonely. The things that havekept me going have been my Faith, and the promise that someday my time would come and that I would be able to pursue my creative arts again. That time is coming now.
I am feeling that this gatherings is a gift from heaven. Thank you. Cathy
I was sent to this forum in response to a question I asked of Threads.
The next day, I told my husband, I've found my tribe! Ladies, all over the world, just like me.
A Blessing on your heads. Gail
Edited 6/5/2008 9:28 am ET by GailAnn
Thank you Gail. Tribe. Excellent description of the people here. Every person seems to have some sort of strength or expertise. Makes for a dynamic whole.
ThreadKoe, What a touching story. I know you will enjoy every minute and every second here. Glad you found us by accident.
I've been posting here for a few years now, subscribe to Threads, and have found new friends too.
Look forward to reading more from you.
Cp - sydney australia
Oh, I totally understand about the panic attacks. I began having them in jr. high and they've been a battle for me for 35 years now. They are much reduced in severity now--but still always a possibility and it's so frustrating, because I'm an out-going, social person by nature. I'll keep you in my prayers. I'm so glad that you are finally reaching a stage in your life when you can spend a little time on yourself, doing the things that you want to do. Serving your family is a blessing, but it is exhausting, especially in a situation like yours. God WILL honor your faith and commitment to your husband and daughters!
Thats the worst part. I like people and loved my jobs in retail. I love teaching and doing workshops and stuff like that. Normally I can talk in front of groups and it is fun. But when I have a bad spell it is impossible. Had to cancel all my classes this winter. The heavy snowfall sure kept me at home. Doing better now, refuse to let it get the best of me and keep on trucking.
If the truth were known, I'll bet there are lots of folks, just like you. Being out "amongst 'em" is scary. Sometimes the courage can be "rustled-up", but sometimes it can't. Gail
Edited 6/5/2008 10:29 am ET by GailAnn
It can be amazing what you can do and accomplish when you have to. We are given strengths and abilities we can call on when needed. I sometimes think that what is happening now is happening for a reason. As hard as it is, it is also teaching me to step back and rethink things. To take the time to heal. Every day is a blessing, a chance to tell some one I love you and say my thanks.
I am learning so much here, and laughing so much, it fills my heart with joy.
I've had anxiety since I was young but never knew it. I diagnosed myself - I figure I've spent enough years with me I should be the one who figures it out, then I just have the doctor confirm. She wanted me to go on lorazapam, but I'm not a pill taker, not even a Tylenol unless I can't stand it. So I bought "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne. GREAT BOOK! I highly recommend it. Ironically, some of your anxiety is self-induced but most is a result of your defense against a situation happening to you that you cannot control. Best thing to do? Learn to relax. Breathe. Do yoga. Keep a journal. Let the sun shine on your face. Smell something wonderful.
I cross-stitched that saying "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Practice that too. And eat chocolate. And ice cream. :)
Remember, you are in control.
Nancy
Thanks Nancy for your upbeat and heartfelt message. I have been in treatment for a number of years now and am much better now. My Dr. says I am the most sane insane person he has ever met. :) As long as I stay cool calm and collected I do OK. It is when the whirlwind starts that life gets rocky. I find meditation helps a lot. I also quit playing the "what if" game. Going into very early menopause hasn't helped either, and now that has settled down a bit, it should even out some more (I hope) And as a last resort Cheesecake!
I too run a busy life. The one blessing that I enjoy and most people forget about is the blessing of a Sabbath.....Take a day our of your busy week and do not do any work in it.(for those biblically inclined, see the 4th commandment.) I celebrate Sabbath on Saturday, but any day will do. It is amazing how much more we accomplish with a refreshed feeling when you take one day out of the week to rest, or enjoy. Do nothing.....the world still goes on and you feel better because of it.
Relax - Relate - Release! Words to live by,
Elizabeth
I refuse to work Sundays unless abssolutely neccessary. It is a day for Faith, Family and Rest. Farming is a 365 day a year job as it is. Cathy
That is my on-going, every year, New Years, or not, RESOLUTION! Sadly, I'm not any better at "remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy" than others are at losing weight or learning a foreign language. Yet, I know, I absolutely KNOW, we are healthier and happier when we do.
So I'll practice it for a few weeks or sometimes, even months, on end. Then my ATtention is drawn toward some supposedly important thing, and WOOOSH! all my good INtentions go down the drain.
I miss the BLUE LAWS. Anybody out there remember them? State laws requiring businesses to close (not necessarily Sunday) one day a week. Most stores were closed. You couldn't even buy gasoline on Sunday. I think some pharmasies were open for a few hours on Sunday afternoons.
Even as late as 1989, my broker, kept the land office closed until 1:30 pm on Sundays. Ours was the only office in town that closed. He always said that it wasn't his business to make anyone go to church. But when he met his Maker he sure didn't want to have to answer for having prevented someone from worshipping as they chose to do.
Gail
We are not the go to church every sunday type, but it doesn'nt mean we don't hold our faith close. When you work hard 7 days a week, you have to hold firm somewhere. Yet even trees bend in the wind. I TRY not to work Sundays. I TRY not to shop Sundays. There are times, truly, when you do have to make hay when the sun shines!:) Then perhaps the Monday or the Wednesday becomes our day of rest. What we do is look for and say thanks for our little blessings every day. A brand new calf, a deer in the field, a new crop growing, a beautiful sunrise, a rainbow, meeting a stranger and talking (perhaps a new friend), a hug when you least expect it, a zipper that goes in right the first try.
Despite all my problems with depression and anxiety, my Dr. says I'm the most sane insane person he knows. Maybe this is why?
I grew up on a small family farm and your words brought back many fond memories for me. I was an only child so I worked side-by-side with my parents from daily chores to field work to gardening........it all had to be done. My parents weren't go-to-Church every Sunday people either but Sundays were a day to go for a ride, visit relatives or just relax.........UNLESS......you got it.........there was hay ready to put up........then it was a work day. You make hay when the sun shines.......for sure. Also, the milking was done regardless of the day, the weather or how sick you may be...........nothing like a cow with a full udder to draw you from your sick bed twice daily!
Perhaps its your country lifestyle that keeps you 'the most sane insane person' your Dr. knows. Farming truly keeps one grounded and close to nature.
Kay
Dairy farming is surely one of the most demanding jobs in the world. Gail
Gee is there just a PLAIN TIRED or Sanity ???? (teeeheeeheeeeheeeee ) :~O HI lady & to ALL
I so so hear you all with the tired !!!!! I have had to add extra supplement to me diet so I can keep up- I stay on the go and when I stop I love to curl and watch some thing good on tv (my sis and I text) that for this brief moments helps. Hubby still travels w/job,even after retirement and we talk of making those major changes, but until we sell the townhouse and this house we are living in- we still need his crazy hour working and me running w/ the reigns at this end. Sewing is a great comfort and distraction and at times is not - so I have to lay it all aside at times. MY sewing area is a mess as I have been looking for different fabric that I thought. MY daughter had a baby girl instead of a boy, like we all were lead to believe. BUT I am so so so pleased for this little one looks exactly like mommy when she was my baby girl - we are working on see her end of month !!!!! I am so so w/ you on Sundays- it use to be the day of REST for Family, FAITH and etc... and now it is just another commercial day and that is sad !!!! Until my hubby get the townhouse finished-we have no family day. Then we will start on this one. I have many things I am boxing up to sell and clear out. He wants to do major renovations, so when we can sell - it will gain us a good price so we can move closer to family. Hey A (my son) and I were ask to help out w/ the Alpacas across the street in the afternoons so every mon.wed.&fri. afternoons we walk over and water them during the summer. A watches but is getting closer. He laughes when they follow him and turns back to see if they are still following him. THis family works hard and totally loves them. They both work full time jobs and hire me and another lady to help them during the wk' days. I am not a farm girl so this has been totally different ! I am not use to getting dirty, except for yard work, but they are full and I am enjoying it and A grins alot there so this is nice for him. WE all so wear too many hats and say yes too much too many, but at times there is no other and just have to keep keeping on, BUT never forget to take care of yourself - it is a must. In fact I will seeing a Personal Trainer this week to help re-gain some muscle tone after surgeries I had to have and I am so looking forward to this for my self. Take care all !!! :~)
Hi. It will sound odd, but look at your nutritional intake. I started being very worn out after I turned 40. I'd always been very energetic but my energy level just took a nose dive. I thought I might have chronic fatigue syndrome. It turned out that I was in need of iodine supplementation (I now take kelp capsules to get about 800 micrograms of iodine a day- you could take up to 25 milligrams safely- you can look for info on http://www.FDA.gov ). Magnesium also helped, and a good multivitamin. Sadly, as we get older, we don't get the same nutrition from our diet as we used to. For example, we can't absorb B vitamins as well as we did. I hope this helps.
I second the note on panic attacks and diet. For me, it was finding out I was not able to digest wheat, corn, soy, cabbage, etc. Eating them gave me multiple health problems including respiratory problems, acne, muscle aches, and digestive problems. Losing the panic attacks was an added bonus I never suspected would happen as a result of eating healthier for me.
As for being tired, that's one of the reasons I took retirement as soon as I could afford to. This was my last day at work. Woohoo!
I think it is perfectly normal to be really tired by 7:30 after the kind of day you put in. When I was in my 30s and 40s I worked 3/4 time, walked almost 2 miles each way to work, had 2 children (one of whom was sickly and in the hospital a lot) and a husband who didn't help with any of the housework, had a 10 room house, did all the cleaning, cooking, shopping, dishes, laundry by myself. (My hubby would not let me hire a woman to clean). And I wondered why I was tired.
This winter (years later) I was so tired and apathetic all winter that I finally went to the Dr. He ordered all kind of tests and found that I was low on Vitamin D. It is very important, and where I live it was grey and rainy for months on end. I started taking Vit. D and am now feeling normal again. I asked him how much was too much, and he said you'd have to take 10,000 units a day to overdose. I take 2,000 a day. You don't need a prescription, so why don't you try that. It can't hurt you.
Are you kidding?? I got tired just reading your letter. If that's all you do then what do you do in your spare time? (only kidding)
I'm now, since May 29th, the ripe old age of 73. I live alone and it's all up to me. I seem to have plenty of energy, at least in my head, but it's becoming a bit of a struggle when it come to cutting all that grass without a riding mower. I'm usually wiped out the next day. I could never get up at 5 AM, but then I can't get to sleep until after at least Jay Leno's off the air.
Sounds like you could use some help and maybe you need to get organized too. I know that when I let some things go, which is often, I can't get a grip on anything. I need the kitchen to be cleared of everything and the dining room and living room neat....then I can be creative. On the other hand, I started to finally dung out the garage yesterday and that's still not done yet. I was having to slide out of my car sideways it was getting so bad. BTW, I broke two bones in my ankle on 1/28/08 and making it up and down the stairs of this two story does tire me out now but I'm keeping my yard in shape. Starting on Dec. 11, I've had four minor type of surgeries so maybe that could be a factor in why I've slowed down somewhat. In my neighborhood I'm the only woman who tends her own yard and even keeps my neighbors yard free of weeds. Now if I just didn't have to clean out the d#@med litter box out there in the garage all the time, two cats.
Don't forget, as woman we are multi taskers. Men really have it easier but they don't realize it. Of course, I guess if you have a husband it can be easier but think about it. A guy goes to work and comes home to a prepared dinner, clean sheets. Who do you think does all that....and in some cases also works??
At fifty you're slowing down a bit. Take vitamen, they help give me stamina and check with a good gyn if this is something new for you.
Edited 6/8/2008 10:36 pm ET by AAC
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