Being tired isn’t always just about being tired. It can mean a few different things. For me, I need to handle different types of tiredness in different ways, and I find that it also gives me different results when I choose to do so.

Sleep tired

The simplest form of tiredness is perhaps sleep tired. It feels like I often come across research and wise words and recommendations that point to the fact that it takes so and so much sleep for us to get enough sleep. But where the recommendations on the length of sleep differ, I find that most people agree that the quality of sleep matters and that we actually need sleep in a sufficiently large amount. I myself find that I can manage on quite little sleep, but typically 7 hours, if I get 8 I often feel really well rested. I also manage fine on 6 hours and sometimes less, even if I then feel the consequences of sleep deprivation. I think the important thing, linked to sleep, is that you find your balance and what you and your body need.

If your sleep is out of balance and/or of poor quality, it may be a good idea to adjust or change something to find a better balance.

Physically and mentally tired

The next two types of tiredness are completely different, but are still connected in some way. They differ from sleep tired and I see it as bodily or physically tired and mind or mentally tired.

For me, the most effective way to handle them both is the same way, as far as possible. If I am physically tired, it means to me that I have used up physical energy and that the body needs rest. But it also means that the mind is not tired or in need of rest. And vice versa, if the mind is tired, I have used up a lot of mental energy and the mind needs rest, but the body still has a lot of energy.

In both cases, I find that the best way for me to handle this type of tiredness is to use up more energy, rather than trying to replenish it. And of course, if the mental energy is low, then I use up my physical energy, preferably in an activity where the mind does not need to be burdened more, for example exercise, going for a walk or similar. In the other situation, the physical energy is depleted, activate the brain in some way where the body can be still. Create, read, crossword, sudoku, or something else that suits you where your brain can go bananas and figure things out.

Bilbo tired

The last tiredness in my extremely simplified approach is Bilbo tired. The name comes from a line that the character Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings says to the character Gandalf, something like ”too little butter spread over too much bread”.

I have no direct idea of what the cause behind this tiredness is, other than that I link it to our innermost being, the soul. To be spiritually tired rather than sleep, physically, or mentally tired.

I treat this tiredness with great caution. I think that I have continuously over a longer period of time done something or some things that take energy without replenishing it. It is not likely (but it can of course be) that it is one big thing and that there is a clear (quick) fix. The likely thing for me is that there are several things that have caused me to end up here. It is a signal for me to stop and reflect. Map. Understand. Direct the light inwards to see and listen. Take in. Then do. But not a lot at once. It has probably taken time to become Bilbo tired with very small energy withdrawals continuously over time. Then for me, the probably best solution is to calmly and methodically plug the small leaks, one by one with small changes, perhaps a few larger ones (but not all at once), to rectify it in the long term.

All the best!

//N

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