Waking up irritable

Sometimes I wake up in such a terrible mood. I can't distinguish a pattern and was wondering if anyone had this experience and found there to be a particular reason why it happens sometimes and not others. It does not necessarily correlate with the amount of sleep I get. I am always tired when I need to get up and have never been a morning person. But sometimes it comes with irritability and sometimes it doesn't. It usually goes away within an hour or so.

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It's called "waking up on the wrong side of the bed"
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,354 Member
    I just call it “morning”. Seriously, I find it helpful to have a small glass of juice right when I wake up. My family actually won’t talk to me until I do, lol.
  • dydn11402
    dydn11402 Posts: 103 Member
    Lol. Thanks guys :) oh how I wish I were a morning person.
  • calliou
    calliou Posts: 13 Member
    Ohhh.... I am the same way. I need quiet and coffee when I first wake up. LOL!
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    Same. I'm just not a morning person. Although I'm less irritable when I wake up naturally on weekends than to the alarm on weekdays. I work out first thing, after letting the dogs out and feeding them, which seems to help.

    Back in the day when I used to nap occasionally (can't now as it completely messes with my sleep), I always woke up SUPER irritable. Like stay-out-of-my-way grumpy.
  • Interestingly I used to be a morning person.
    The last few months - not so much. I'm putting my grumpiness down to hormones - I'm not sleeping as much/as well as previously and I'm a 'woman of a certain age' and think I'm heading down the Peri-Menopausal route. Dunno what your gender and age is, but just to say it *could* be more than just a wrong-side-of-bed thing...
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    Could be slightly low blood sugar levels. Everyone's blood sugar dips lower at night, but sometimes, even non-diabetics can have their blood sugar level dip a bit lower than expected and have some trouble in the morning until they've eaten something.

    So if this happens and you tend to eat before you feel better, that might be worth looking at. If it's what's wrong, then maybe, say, eating a little something right before bed that doesn't spike the blood sugar levels too high, or even have a little snack near the bed to munch on when you get up to pee, or before you get out of bed.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Recently, I've woken up irritable from naps (I'm recovering from surgery.) Once it was because my mother had the TV on really loudly downstairs and once was when she was cooking clams - I detest bivalves. So if unpleasant things wake me up, my mood reflects that.

    It's usually my bladder that wakes me in the AM and I have no issues with that.
  • RahulSHrs
    RahulSHrs Posts: 1 Member
    it's really get to kno many reasons for irritable sleep
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    I'm not a morning person, either. But, I actually love having something to do early in the morning, particularly on a weekend. Like going for an early hike with a friend, or something. I still feel irritable as I get up, but just getting moving toward some goal shakes me out of it more quickly than sitting around at home stewing in it.

    I think that the past years of quarantine has affected many of us incredibly negatively. Most people require a social community for emotional health (a few introverts may not). We are not solitary creatures. Virtual interaction is better than nothing, but actual in-person interaction is an emotional elixir. It doesn't have to be in the morning, but it helps if it is.

    I also adopted using a gratitude journal this year. Each morning while having my tea (when I actually remember to do it) I make an entry of things I am grateful for. It is amazingly helpful.

    Finally, you have to minimize the usual suspects: caffeine, alcohol, screen time, etc. These (and other similar things) affect overall mood negatively. (I am no saint. I badly need to remember my own advice!)