You never quite realize what you have until it’s gone. In my case, sleep.
My husband and I decided to endeavor into the world of parenthood a little over a year ago, and here we are now, with a three-month-old baby boy and a lot less sanity in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, the kid is great. We love him. We do not love what he has done to our sleep schedule.
It had gotten to the point when the kiddo was about four weeks old that I was so sleep deprived I couldn’t sleep. Ever had that happen? The longer you go without a good night’s rest, the more addled your brain becomes. You can literally go crazy and even die (eventually).
Thankfully, I was able to get somewhat straightened out. My doctor basically told me to take a couple nights off from tending to our child, let my husband or my mom (who was visiting at the time) take over and take a couple of Tylenol PM. Just those few days of better rest were enough to kick start my system back toward where it needed to be.
Being out on the road is not completely incomparable to having a child. Both can mess with your natural circadian rhythm. Do you ever find yourself restless and unable to sleep?
I can’t tell you to stop and pull over or take a few days off. I understand you have to drive to make a living. However, don’t make yourself sick for the sake of dropping off a load on time. Don’t cause an accident because you tossed and turned all night but still felt pressure to perform come morning.
Take an extra weekend at home just to rest if you need to. Turn down a load in favor of checking into a hotel overnight and go sit by the pool for a few hours to relax. And if you think you might have a problem like sleep apnea, talk to your doctor and get treated.
Just like I had to do, take time to get yourself straightened out. Even though it may feel like you are missing out, you will see better results once you do.
