lack of sleep

Is the sleep issue new? are you looking to solve the sleep problem or just get motivation to workout when tired? I had sleep issues when I was dieting and eating at very low calories, also had sleep issues from worrying at night or being stressed out from work. My mom (who is your age) recently developed sleep issues as she goes through peri-menopause. For motivation to work out.... I am currently 5 weeks postpartum, I only get about 2-4 broken hours of sleep a night. However, I have always been extremely athletic and it is a big priority for me. To motivate myself to workout these days I tell myself no matter how I feel at the moment I will feel better after the workout. The workout always energizes me and makes the few hours of sleep I do get better quality. I also don't want to loose the fitness I have and that fear drives me. I always tell myself something is better than nothing, some days I have great workouts and some days I can only fit in 30 minutes of light cardio. I am very much at the mercy of my newborns napping schedule and if he doesn't want to nap then I don't get to work out so no matter how tired I am, if he falls asleep I tell myself don't waste this moment. This being said, there are some days that the exhaustion is just too much and in that state it's probably not beneficial to work out. I do realize that sleep is a very important factor in health and recovery from exercise... but getting lots of restorative sleep is not always possible and I figure its better to keep working out doing what I can rather than not working out for months until sleep improves, if it does.

You may want to check with a sleep doctor or PCP first to make sure you don't have a sleeping disorder.