Quiet! Mom want to sleep! You’re welcome!
That’s why we mothers are always so tired
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“You are always tired.” – Yes man! I do quite a busy job too – I am MOTHER. But what exactly makes us so exhausted that we can barely stand on our feet at 8 p.m. in the evening? Our author gets to the bottom of this.
by Linda Berger
Yes, of course we usually don’t sleep enough and having children is very nice and very exhausting per se. But other people also have strenuous jobs or a lot on their minds and still hold out until the end of the film at 8:15 p.m., while we like to slumber away after just 10 minutes. As long as we have even made it to the couch and don’t wake up in the cot two hours later completely disoriented. Shit, unfortunately the mountain of laundry that we actually wanted to take care of for the evening television program will have to be postponed until tomorrow. Not that we have time for it, but we have to go somehow. And already we are at point one, why we mothers are constantly tired.
1. To do list in mind
What I couldn’t get today really annoys me tomorrow. Or something like that. Mothers’ to-do lists are long. Days when there is nothing to do are rare, very rare, or even nonexistent. Then unforeseen things don’t make it any better because they just mess up our schedule even more. That in turn means that we either have to try harder to get everything under one roof or postpone things to the next day, which usually does not have too many gaps in order to get something done quickly. A vicious circle. Even if you can delegate things. Because it’s not just getting things done, but above all the “thinking of everything”. Managing appointments, household chores, jobs and free time for a family is simply incredibly exhausting and therefore it’s no wonder that we are completely crammed in the afternoon and want our peace and quiet most of all.
2. Be careful
Mothers with small children in particular know this: no matter when, no matter where, no matter how, we are always on the go, always on alert, subconsciously scanning the environment for possible sources of danger, have amazing reflexes when it matters and our attention is always there in the child, even in sleep. After all, everyday things, such as all-purpose cleaners or bits and pieces lying around, quickly become really dangerous objects. So we are in permanent protection mode. The good thing: It becomes a little easier when the children are older, no longer put everything in their mouths and have learned that a red light means “stop”.
3. Multitasking
On the way from the kitchen to the children’s room, quickly put one to eight things away, hang on the pediatrician’s queue and at the same time don’t let lunch burn on the stove while the laundry does its rounds in the machine. Daily doing for moms. Last year, home office and homeschooling on top. No wonder we burned out. Multitasking sucks incredible energy. Especially when the mountain of mental load grows and grows while you try to think a thought through and the child stands next to us for the tenth time within 3 minutes to say “Mamaaaa?” to express a need. In the best case, we can still remember who we wanted to write an email to.
4. No breaks
Just take a short break? Close your eyes for half an hour and neither hear nor see? Hahaha, funny. There are only breaks again with older children. With Me-Time it often looks difficult for parents beforehand. A real show of strength, especially for single parents. Where there is no partner who can take on tasks, only a strong network helps, but you also have to have that first. Sounds exhausting, and it is. No wonder that at eight in the evening we just sit on the kitchen chair and stare exhaustedly in front of us – simply because there seems to be no more strength in us. Oh yes, and sleeping at night is not always an option with small children. In any case, every mother knows that sleep deprivation is actually torture. Hell!
5. Under constant observation
Ever since I’ve been a mother, I’ve always felt valued and appraised. Whether I’m doing it right, what my children eat, how many toys they get and how often they are allowed to watch TV. A lot of people have a lot of opinions about when and how to be a good mother, also like other mothers who believe they can do everything better. Return to your own door and save your energy! In general, evaluating others is so exhausting. Why don’t we look benevolently at each other? The constant competition is just annoying and very, very tiring.