A
female
age
51-59,
anonymous
writes:Does anyone have any idea how I can feel less fragile in the mornings? It sounds daft at my age - mid forties - but having brought up a child alone and got up early each morning to sort her out and go to work, I am only now realising that I am NOT a morning person. In the past I just got on with it and dismissed the fact that I felt awful in the mornings, but now realise this was a huge part of why I was so unhappy - the only way I can get through a morning is if I down a coffee and go onto auto pilot - I can barely speak to anyone or have any loud noises around me and can only concentrate on one thing. At the moment I'm researching and also have a part time job. I get up fairly early and immediately just go to my computer and start my research. I can do this, and in a way I'm happy doing it, but I feel crappy. It means I can ONLY do this one thing and I feel very, very physically and pschologically fragile - kind of hyper-protective of myself. By around 1-2 pm I can feel a change starting to happen and I 'lift' out of myself and feel better and ready to face the world. 5pm, whatever I've been doing ie. exercise or not, I feel compelled to sleep for around 20-30 minutes - I literally just conk out - and then I often get another energy burst that takes me through the evening. Often after I sleep at 5 I wake feeling refreshed and enormously relieved somehow - I can concentrate in a different way and get far more done.I know this may sound self indulgent but I really have had years of having to blank out how the mornings affect my ability to work - I've honestly tried and tried to not feel this way and even been to the doctor who couldn't suggest anything. I've tried doing my exercise in the morning, instead of later in the day, and I feel so shaken up that I can't function properly after that and it just spoils the day even more.The problem is that I need to take on more paid work - I think I may be getting more hours soon - and this will inevitably be morning starts. In my head I'm more than willing to do this, but even when I work the part time hours and have to get up early I feel totally exhausted by the end of the day. Sometimes I only work a morning stint and the work is very well paid but extremely draining, and I feel exhausted even after that. I just have this overwhelming need to feel left alone - I can work really hard, but I just can't handle any extra stimuli.In the past I have had problems with depression and also a serious dietary issue that for many years I did not know was affecting me, making me very weak and ill. I now have to carefully try to regulate my energy levels and I'm fine apart from the mornings. But it really does not feel like the morning issue would be a matter of eating more or different kinds of food. I've heard that it is possible to 're-set' your body clock, but the thought of this really scares me given what happens when I exercise in the morning.Any ideas or anyone experienced similar?
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reader, Tisha-1  +, writes (27 February 2014):
 Definitely see your doctor. Reading your post made me wonder if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder which would need to be properly diagnosed…
But why not eat more fish in the meantime? ;)
Good luck, it does sound solvable to me, I hope your research and the visit to the doctor turn up some good ideas and a 'cure.'
Best wishes!
A
female
reader, Daisy_Daisy +, writes (26 February 2014):
 Ok I was going to write a huge essay, but YouWish has put things vey succinctly.
I'm also a night owl, I changed my shifts to work around this. I get around this but like you I only "wake up" late morning/ midday. Before then, I'm like a robot.
No matter how tired I am, I'm not sleepy until after midnight.
The first thing to consider is going back to your GP. Get your iron and thyroid levels checked.
Do you adhere to sleep hygiene recommendations?
Is your depression adequately treated? Because symptoms are hightened in the mornings.
Really I suggest going back your doctor and emphasing how much this is affecting your day to day life.
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A
female
reader, YouWish +, writes (26 February 2014):
 The best thing to do is visit your doctor, because your fatigue could be anything from a need to change your diet to an early warning sign of a potentially serious health issue.
So, assuming that you *will* go get checked out by your doctor, you should try melatonin, which is a natural way to re-set your inner sleep cycle. I am a lot like you in that I'm a huge night owl. But like you, I need to operate in the early morning without the use of too many stimulants. Melatonin has worked famously in re-organizing my energy into times that I need to use it. It's not a sleep chemical like Ambien or anything like that. It's very natural.
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