Tiredness/Lack of Sleep causes Brain Fog???

[Carnation]

I suffer with Brain Fog/Lightheadedness nearly everyday. And, for the people that know me, I stay up quite late most nights. (Normally on here). I have trouble sleeping and I worry, so I stay up late until I am ready to flop. Well, I got so tired, that I had an early night and the next day the Brain Fog/Lightheadedness had gone completely and I was fine all day. So, I was wondering if it was caused by being overtired and not getting enough sleep? I also have found that if I do too much during the day, it makes me feel lightheaded. Could it be that we are working our Brains too much?:shrug:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Anxiety makes our bodies work harder Carnation, hence why we can notice the boost we get from vitamin supplements or dietary changes. Being on alert more than we should means the blood is pumping quicker, breathing can be working harder and our senses are more attuned to our surroundings (or worse our internal feelings & sensations).

All this is draining. The more you recover, the more you realise just how knackered you were all the time. I still have phases of it where I become more tired than normal, usually for a few days max now.

Another thought is circadian rhythm. This is meant to run a certain way and when we change it, it can affect us. Night shift workers tend to sleep less deep in the light. I read an article about this and how daylight starts to trigger the cycle of melatonin conversion back to serotonin, so we humans are meant to sleep in the dark. Some people feel it worse than others but I've worked at places where I would be in shifts that overlap the day, evening & night workers and people would say this, especially the security guards who said it could be hard to adjust between their shifts so the first day of their 3-4 day off periods was often a bit messy.

Do you get less sleep than you should? So, you went bed earlier and had more sleep? This can also be a factor in brian fog as well as nausea I have found. If you only had your normal hours, it suggests that you are out of step with your natural rhythm.

[Carnation]

I have definitely noticed a change in my energy levels since going into Autumn/Winter Season. I haven't changed the time I have been going to bed for most of this year, so it could be the lack of fresh air and Sun? We may need more sleep during the Winter Season, as I have been napping a bit in the afternoon and I have never been a person to do that before. Anxiety is draining and even though I may have a good day/week, it is still there in the background lurking. And, I can definitely say I was completely knackered in the run-up to the height of my Anxiety. Unfortunately a lot of my workload was out of my control and it took the Anxiety to bring my circumstances to their attention. I have come along way in the last six months, but there are relapses; which are annoying and symptoms that go away for weeks, then come back to say; "Hello, I'm still here!". I do think a regular sleep pattern helps the body to cope better, but I feel that maybe we need a bit more in the Winter.
Thanks for checking it out for me MynameisTerry. As always you are there to help. :)

[chickpea]

I'm guessing there's a reason why some animals hibernate in Winter. :yesyes:

I don't know if you have children, Carnation, but the mother of any newborn will tell you that a lack of sleep can make you forget your own name! Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, precisely because of what it does to the brain and body.

I'm like you - I put off going to bed and always go too late. However, when I go earlier and allow myself time to unwind and relax, the rewards it reaps are fab!

[MrAndy]

Lack of sleep cracks me every time I go through a bad patch.I now don't go to bed to early as I wake at 3-4 in the morning and can't go back to sleep.I swear by drinking horlicks last thing at night to settle my stomach and make me dozy

[chickpea]

Lack of sleep cracks me every time I go through a bad patch.I now don't go to bed to early as I wake at 3-4 in the morning and can't go back to sleep.I swear by drinking horlicks last thing at night to settle my stomach and make me dozy

Yes! Horlicks was great at night, when I'd had a breakdown and used to dread going to bed. Might have to try it again now.

[Carnation]

I still fight the tiredness. I just hate going to bed. I've got myself in to a bad routine and deprive myself of valuable sleep.

[MrAndy]

Yes! Horlicks was great at night, when I'd had a breakdown and used to dread going to bed. Might have to try it again now.

I had a breakdown and the final nail was the insomnia for me,mindfulness helped me get over the fear of bedtime and lack of sleep
I still wake very early but just ignore it and get up and get started with my day,before I would obsess about how many hours sleep I was getting

[chickpea]

I had a breakdown and the final nail was the insomnia for me,mindfulness helped me get over the fear of bedtime and lack of sleep
I still wake very early but just ignore it and get up and get started with my day,before I would obsess about how many hours sleep I was getting

I'm really getting into mindfulness at the moment. I've got the Mark Williams book and I'm also doing the Headspace podcasts, as well as others. I found a couple of good ones to help with sleep - they must be working because I am yet to hear the end of either of them!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Lack of sleep cracks me every time I go through a bad patch.I now don't go to bed to early as I wake at 3-4 in the morning and can't go back to sleep.I swear by drinking horlicks last thing at night to settle my stomach and make me dozy

I'm the same MrAndy.

Lack of sleep tends to make me feel quite rough, like a hangover without the night before! I think part of it is reaction as well though "oh god, another day slogging through wanting to throw up!" so perhaps works on 2 fronts is needed?

When I relapsed it was an 8 day period of really poor sleep that tipped me over the edge. I find we are not as resilient when we are like this.

This time last year I went through a 3 month period of sleep issues. I was constantly tired, had daily headaches and felt rough a hell of a lot. I just couldn't snap myself out of it. Its not happening this year and the only thing I can put this down to is high strength Omega 3. I have noticed a big change in my mood. I still have downs but I cope with them better, I feel more resilient and I've been getting less & less sleep due to my obsessional issues (I could definately sleep longer!) and I've found it doesn't bother like it used to. I get the odd day where some of the old me creeps back in but mostly I get through it and feel ok and wake myself up more.

Perhaps thats worth a look?

---------- Post added at 07:31 ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 ----------




I don't know if you have children, Carnation, but the mother of any newborn will tell you that a lack of sleep can make you forget your own name! Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, precisely because of what it does to the brain and body.



Do you remember that programme on CH4 about sleep deprivation? It was like a Big Brother without much sleep. They certainly made them work for it :roflmao:

---------- Post added at 07:33 ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 ----------


I'm really getting into mindfulness at the moment. I've got the Mark Williams book and I'm also doing the Headspace podcasts, as well as others. I found a couple of good ones to help with sleep - they must be working because I am yet to hear the end of either of them!

I'm really glad you are liking this chickpea, I was introduced to Mindfulness by my CBT therapist and it did more for my OCD than CBT ever did by a long way.

I too have the Frantic World book, its really good. The explanations are excellent.

I have just started reading a QiGong book for anxiety and everything this master is saying links in with what Professor Williams is saying.

I can see CBT being replaced by MBCT in the future, I think its better.

---------- Post added at 07:37 ---------- Previous post was at 07:33 ----------


I still fight the tiredness. I just hate going to bed. I've got myself in to a bad routine and deprive myself of valuable sleep.

I was the same Carnation. I think this is a very common one for anxiety disorders but you can escape it given time. I don't have that fear of it anymore, I struggle with sleep patterns from an OCD angle in that my head is fighting me going to bed earlier or changing my day around, but I can sleep fine when I'm in there.

Fighting is part of the problem, you have to retrain yourself to see bedtime as a neutral thing. I really would push the Mindfulness here because you could practice it at bedtime and it will relax you. Mindfulness can be used to examine an issue that is causing anxiety, which is used in sensorimotor OCD and I think this could be of great benefit to all of us because it would allow us to used a controlled method to look at the issue in question without judgement. Over time, it just becomes another part of the day and the anxiety just goes.