Well, I’d like to say I don’t have much experience in this arena, but alas, here I am with a baby who just turned one and a toddler who just turned 3, and yes, I am very, very tired.

There are constant demands put on me by extended family. There’s a never-ending cycle of naps, meals, nursing, cleaning, working… If I get an hour to just sit in the evening, I feel pretty lucky, but unfortunately even that isn’t often enough for me to actually feel relaxed.

I, like many moms I’ve heard from out there, end up staying up an hour or two later than I probably should just to feel like I have a little time for just me, or to just hang out with my hubs – but the baby never wakes up any later.

We’re pretty much always (sort of) functioning on like three or four hours less sleep than we probably should.

So, yeah, I know that I’m sleep-deprived. And I’m very familiar with the signs.

Maybe writing this will be my wake-up call to go the F to bed tonight instead of watching one more episode on Netflix, or checking just one more thing on my phone.

Some new moms find that the exhaustion lets up once baby sleeps through the night. Others, especially those of us with two or more, find that it lingers on and on…

Here are 10 signs that mama is sleep-deprived (and 5 ways it can become dangerous). And may we all soon feel rested at last…

15 Not-So-Fun Forgetfulness

I feel like my husband and I both sometimes ask someone’s name at a party like seven times before we maybe remember it. And then we forget it fifteen minutes later.

Feeling forgetful or like you have a short attention span can be a clear indicator that you are lacking in sleep. (Think of the repercussions of children not getting enough sleep during the school-age years…)

It can really affect your life in large and little ways. Maybe you find that in a period of like three weeks you’ve left your house without your phone three times (yep, me, this month…).

Then there’s bigger stuff like making it to important appointments, closing the car door, or you name it…

It can be hard for your memory to feel sharp when sleep is seriously lacking. This may be part of what some describe as the sensation of “mommy brain.”

14 Snap Attack

Oh, man. Parents of toddlers brace yourself to face a common reality. You may psych yourself up every night to try to do better the next day, only to feel that you again were short-tempered with your little ones.

They can really, really test your patience and know JUST how to push your buttons, even when you have had a decent night’s sleep.

Throw in sleep-deprivation, and it can be so, so challenging. Having a short fuse, being quick to snap at someone, or being short-tempered: No matter what you call it, it can really affect your life and relationships – and make you feel like you’re maybe not doing as great of a job as you could as a parent.

And this is why patience with yourself and great self-care can be so important to being a good parent.

13 Not Tonight. Or Any Night

When I hear of new parents complaining of not having any interest in intimacy any more, I know that there can be a handful of factors at play.

Sure, there’s that both mom and dad may be feeling different about their post-baby bodies. (It’s very challenging to find time to eat as healthily and exercise for many new moms and dads). And yes, there are hormonal changes and fluctuations. There are shifting roles and changes to the relationship.

But you know what I think can be a really big factor when it comes to a decrease in sex drive? Being really F-ing tired.

When your head finally hits that pillow, you may have no interest or even think in the moment of doing anything but trying to just let your mind go blank as you drift off to dreamland. Or you may find it hard to sleep and just want to stare at a screen for a while.

12 Farewell To Fitness

New parents may feel like they just don’t have enough time to exercise any more. But is it really that they don’t have time or is it simply that they have no energy?

If even when you do have the spare time or help around to get in a short walk, run, or trip to the gym you instead sit idle on the couch or stare at your phone, it might be time to take a long hard look at how exhausted you really are.

Not getting enough exercise can actually be part of a vicious cycle of not getting enough or enough good sleep.

I’ve dabbled in running over the years, and man, there’s nothing like hitting the hay after you have exercised enough to become completely physically tired. (Best. Sleep. Ever.)

On the other hand, if you are tired but your muscles haven’t moved at all, it can just be frustrating to try to drift off once bedtime comes.

11 Up All Night

You lie down, but sleep just doesn’t come. You might toss or turn for a while or give up and start looking – again – at your phone.

Believe it or not, having trouble falling asleep (insomnia) can be a side effect of being sleep-deprived.

I sure believe it!

Many women I’ve talked to have a harder time unwinding, relaxing, and just letting go and giving in to rest at night as quickly as their partners. It’s that feeling that you just can’t quite turn your brain off. And so instead of drifting off to dreamland, you feel sort of stuck there, maybe getting frustrated as you worry about various things there’s really no need to be thinking about at the moment that have you feeling on edge and tense instead of relaxed and ready to rest.

10 Soooo Much Sugar!!!

Some people say they’ve always had a “sweet tooth.” Others of us find too much of the sweet stuff makes us feel sick unless we have very little of it and only after a healthy meal.

If a new mom or dad is suddenly craving or snacking on sugar daily or even throughout the day, it can be one obvious habit of the very, very tired.

Seeking a jolt of energy some way, somehow, people may turn to chocolate, sweet snacks, and of course caffeine. The problem with making a habit of this is that the energy is quickly used up, leaving the body in search of more energy before too much time has even passed.

This can quickly get very caloric, very unhealthy – and very bad for your teeth!

9 Feeling Sad All The Time

Especially if you already have a baby or child, you are probably very familiar with this little phenomenon. It’s the fact that being overly tired can really mess with your emotions – particularly make you feel really, really sad.

Being tired can make everything feel like too much – like it’s all overwhelming, like every problem is insurmountable, and like this tough period will never ever end.

It’s hard to even process emotions when you haven’t had enough sleep or rest – and it’s easy to feel like you just need to cry! (And you know what? That may help! Releasing emotions can be healthy – and help you to then get some sleep once you get a chance.)

Even if you haven’t been completely aware of feeling sad yourself when you’re super tired, you’ve probably witnessed a baby or toddler having a “meltdown” right before her parents realized they missed the prime time to begin a nap by about 20 minutes.

8 All The Sickness

There are certain things we can do that may help our immune systems do their very important job of fighting off illness and infection. Staying hydrated, eating nutritious foods, and managing stress in healthy ways may all be important factors.

And of course a huge factor in having a capable immune system is getting enough sleep. Conversely, if a parent finds herself getting sick more often, it could very likely be sleep deprivation that’s to blame.

The body can just only take so much.

And if you think back, isn’t it when you’ve pushed your body’s limits just a little too far that you often wind up getting sick?

Getting colds and other illnesses is no fun, it can make it even harder to get sleep once you do get a chance, and of course disease and infections can spread to other family members easily.

7 Seriously Irritable

Feeling particularly aggressive or angry? Is it maybe because you haven’t gotten a solid 8 hours of sleep in, like, months?

This stuff can be really tricky. If feelings of anger are overwhelming or you feel out of control (or have any concerns at all about rage or mental or emotional health), I’d talk early and often to your healthcare team. This isn’t something you want to ignore.

At the same time, can a lot of readers out there identify with feeling just plain angry easily when super sleep-deprived?

Also known as being “grumpy,” it’s like the oldest sign of tiredness in the book.

It can be easy to blame circumstances, get easily frustrated, and just find it almost impossible to have a sunny outlook – because quite frankly, you feel pissed.

6 Black Circles Under The Eyes

This one may seem obvious but also be easy to overlook. The physical appearance can be the most obvious way to see if someone is overly tired.

What I had in mind first of all here is the appearance of the eyes. I, for one, pretty much gave up on wearing contacts, even though I much prefer their appearance over glasses. My eyes are simply too dry most of the time.

Dark circles under and around the eyes can of course be another big one.

And what about posture? I find myself slumping so. Like, do I really not have enough energy to sit up straight at the dinner table? Apparently not!

It’s easy to get used to the look of yourself as a tired person.

Have you ever encountered an old friend you haven’t seen for a while after she became a parent and noticed a drastic change to her appearance?

Five Ways Sleep-Deprivation Can Become Dangerous

5 Liquid Harm

I thought of this one pretty quickly because it’s something I’ve noticed somewhat commonly these days in my own life.

Along with feeling somewhat scatter-brained or forgetful when I’m very tired after long days, weeks, and months playing mom and wife and writer, I also notice my reaction times are off when it comes to the signal being sent from my hands to my brain that something is too hot.

I am always very, very careful when it comes to testing the water before I let my two little ones stick their hands under the faucet for washing or before putting them in the bath to wash up in the evening.

I’ve noticed, myself, though, that I’ll be holding something or have my hand under the water for what seems like just a little too long before my brain gets the message that it’s uncomfortably warm or hot enough to burn.

So word to the wise: Use extreme caution around hot water, pans, and so on, especially when you know you’re tired, to avoid burns!

4 Not Thinking Fast

Surely readers out there recall being very, very tired and just having much slower reaction times than usual – and it only takes common sense to realize that this could become very dangerous in a few key situations.

One of them is something many parents do every single day – driving. It may feel like there really isn’t any choice but to get behind the wheel to go to work, drop the toddler off at preschool, or run to the store, but it’s just not worth it if you’re so tired that you really can’t operate a car safely.

We need to be able to react within seconds to avoid accidents caused by other drivers, unpredictable conditions, animals, and debris in the road.

And unfortunately, when we’re tired, we can tend to put the pieces together and react more slowly.

This is not even to mention the danger of actually falling asleep at the wheel.

3 Dreadful Diets

What’s interesting to read if you look around a little bit about the topic of sleep deprivation is that it can cause general states of un-wellness in many ways, one of them being when it comes to a person’s interest in eating.

Yep, being exhausted can cause a loss of appetite, and it’s of course dangerous in certain ways to go for long periods of time without adequate nutrition and hydration.

But perhaps also important to consider here in our country of overabundance is the issue of overeating and eating a diet high in fats and sugars and with too many calories.

Heart disease, strain on the joints and tissues of the body, a lack of energy, and many more problems may arise – and be long-lasting.

Making healthy choices and finding the time and energy to prepare nutritious meals becomes a challenge for some parents who are lacking in the sleep department, but imagine the consequences if they don’t find some way to make healthy eating a priority…

2 In Want Of Mental Wellness

We’ve already covered that it’s easy for some to feel unhappy and overly emotional when extremely tired, but there are of course certain situations in which these feelings – particularly if they last on and on and become the norm – can become dangerous.

If feelings of worry and sadness are intense enough to be depression and anxiety, the chronic conditions should be discussed with a parent’s healthcare team. There is always a solution! There is always a hopeful path forward – and nothing is forever.

People who have tendencies toward this type of disorder may find that sleep deprivation really makes the battle tougher. Plus, feeling depressed or anxious doesn’t exactly help folks get a good night of sleep even if they do get the chance (once a baby sleeps through the night, a toddler doesn’t require a third trip to the bathroom, or an older child doesn’t need late-night reassurance or homework help).

1 Tot Runs Off

To get really basic with it, it’s hard to be as aware and generally “on it” when you’re super-duper tired. Sleep deprivation can have a way of making us feel like our brains just aren’t working as well, like our reaction times our slowed, and like we’re just not as alert and aware and able to pay attention as we are after we’ve actually had adequate rest.

And this can be dangerous if it is a sleep-deprived parent’s responsibility to be looking out for the safety and well-being of a child.

Especially out in public at a park, story, library, or you name it – but also of course in the more enclosed and familiar environment of the family home – it takes constant watch to make sure nothing dangerous is going into the mouth, the toddler isn’t climbing on something he’ll then tumble dangerously down from, he’s not running off out of site or into a street, and so on. It comes in ages and phases, but you never know just when your little one is going to choose to explore further or dangerously test her limits.

Sources: PsychologyToday.com