Lupus and Sleep: 8 Things I Learned from Being Tired for a whole School Year

Remember that extra level of fatigue I was fighting during the previous school year? Mostly due to getting up an hour earlier for my high schooler? It's back. 

It was over. The moment school let out in June, my need for extra daytime sleep subsided. I had a summer to sleep, and it was glorious! 

But now, school's back in session. And so are my 2-3 daily naps. Ugh. 

But I vow not to get as frustrated as I did last year. Here's what I know from having gone through it once before. Hoping I can apply all I've learned to craft a new school year sleeping pattern! 

1) Long naps (90 min or more) in the morning aren't sustainable. 

    - I miss too much of my morning. I feel unproductive and resentful afterward. And it makes it difficult to fit in an afternoon nap, which I desperately need to make it through the day.

2) Even if I wake up and am still sleepy from my morning rest, it's okay 

    - I thought waking up sleepy meant I wasn't allowing myself  to get all the sleep I needed. Now I know that within about 10 minutes of waking up, I feel rested and recharged enough to get my morning underway. 

3) My morning nap has to end before 9:15/9:30. 

    - It has to end early enough that my napping in the afternoon isn't thrown off. I'm not a pleasant person to be around if that happens, so just...yeah. 

3) I can't skip an afternoon nap, no matter how long I've slept in the morning. 

    - This is really just me saying that trying to skate by with a tall cup of joe instead of a proper afternoon nap isn't an option. Coffee works, yes, but it's not ideal. And it has repercussions. See #4. 

4) I cannot rely on caffeine to manage fatigue.

    - I learned the hard way that consistent caffeine use (2-3 x week) has its side effects. At least for me.  Remember that redness I was dealing with over the winter? My dermatologist diagnosed it as rosacea, most likely caused from my increased caffeine use. Argh. I promise to fill you in on the diagnosis in the next post. It involves medications and topicals! How exciting! 

5) The extra fatigue is not a lupus flare.

   - I REALLY worried about this last year. I just couldn't figure out why I couldn't adjust to the new schedule. Was I actually flaring? Were swollen joints just around the corner? When I was in the midst of it, it was hard to see the big picture - which was that on weekends, when I had an extra two hours of sleep at night, I only needed one nap. During extended breaks, I was back to normal, and needed even a shorter nap. It really was just the early mornings that did me in. I even tried to blame it on an iron deficiency for awhile, which, in truth, was mildly contributing to the issue...but not really.  I just need sleep at night. And if I don't get it then, I need it during the day. 

6) Two naps is not as ego-shattering as it sounds.

  - Going into year two, I now realize that two naps is not a deal breaker. None of this is a deal breaker, in fact. I need what I need. If I go back to sleep between 8-9am, and sleep a little more between 1-2:30p, it's not a big deal. I'm not missing as much as I once thought I was. I can schedule my day creatively, and still get stuff done. My need for sleep does not define me. Thank you very much. 

7) This is temporary.

   - That really says it all. With one summer under my belt, I now know this need for sleep won't last forever. It's reassuring. 

8) I am SUCH a better (INSERT ROLE HERE) when I am rested. 

   - This is what keeps me going. It's what makes me march upstairs in the morning to go back to bed, and it's what makes me shush the kids and their friends in the afternoon when I'm trying to sleep. It benefits everyone when I sleep. So I do it mainly for them. 🙂