When Alison McGeary of New Jersey had twins 13 years ago, her sleeping patterns changed and never returned to normal.
“My main issues started as waking up multiple times during the night. I would not get restorative sleep, ever. It didn't matter how long I actually slept, I never woke up feeling refreshed or not tired,” she says. “From there it went to not being able to fall asleep, and then when I did I would toss all night and wake up multiple times a night. It was incredibly frustrating.”
The signs McGeary wasn’t getting enough sleep were present in all aspects of her life.
“There were the obvious symptoms like fatigue, but my mood changed too. I was cranky. I got sick a lot – colds, strep (throat) and pneumonia – and I developed severe migraines. My thyroid disease symptoms – such as tremor, heat and cold intolerances, and brain fog – worsened quite a bit. I got very nauseous,” McGeary says. “Lack of sleep also made weight gain so much easier (due to) my body not recovering enough during sleep and also not having enough energy to exercise.”
