I've been dragging a little bit lately. Honestly, I feel completely spent, like all the life has been drained from my body. My diet and exercise journey has suffered as a result.
The problem is probably more complicated than this, but I'm very sleep deprived.
Even when the boys are gone for the night, my sleep patterns are still messed up. Almost every single night, one or both of the boys have a problem in the sleep department that requires me to either wake up or not go to sleep yet.
Some may read this post and hear only excuses for my lack of discipline. Others who live a life similar to mine will better understand where I'm coming from.
It's difficult to function when you didn't sleep well the night before. When it comes to Autism parents, though, it can be even more difficult to function because they haven't slept well for extensive periods of time. We're not dealing with a bad night; we're dealing with chronic sleep deprivation.
This is the kind of sleep deprivation that affects your entire body and mind.
There's no easy fix for this type of problem because chronic sleep deprivation is usually a symptom of a more systematic issue.
Speaking for myself, ever since my oldest (who will be seventeen this coming week) was little, my wife and I have had to sleep with one eye open and our ear to the ground.
In the years since this began, we've added to our family, as well as added to the sleep issues. Elliott and Emmett have problems sleeping, even on medication.
[clickToTweet tweet="#Autism Parenting Exhaustion #parenting @hollyrpeete @autismsociety" quote="To those who live it every single day, I want you to know that you aren't alone. I want you to know that I get it. -Rob Gorski"]
I don't know if I can honestly remember the last time I went to bed and woke up feeling like I'd slept more than five minutes.
Between my kids being unable to fall asleep and waking up throughout the night, my sleep is always being disturbed. I track my sleep with a special watch, and my sleep is always broken and ineffective. I get up sometimes and don't even remember doing so because I'm so exhausted.
This has been the case for as long as I can remember but it seems to be hitting me harder lately, and I don't know why.
When it comes to things like using the treadmill, it's not that I don't want to do it. I want to keep moving forward. At the same time, my body just doesn't have to energy to even push myself to do it.
It sucks, and I know not everyone will understand, but I know some of you will. To those who don't have the first-hand experience in this area, my goal is to at least help you gain some insight into my Autism parents are always so tired.
To those who live it every single day, I want you to know that you aren't alone. I want you to know that I get it.
