# How do YOU know when you're tired? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613 "2009-01-23T08:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/1 "2009-01-23T08:51:15Z")
Obviously, if you start feeling tired, you know you’re tired. But sometimes you are caught up in something and don’t realize how tired you are, you know? But some people get other “symptoms” of being tired other than just feeling tired. My fiancé gets itchy. His ex-girlfriend got cold. My eyes burn when I blink. What about you? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/2 "2009-01-23T09:03:05Z")
I get this kind of drunk feeling when I’m sleepy. I’ll feel a little tipsy, almost like I just had a glass or two of wine, but without the pleasurable buzz. More like a kind of dull sick feeling. Also, my eyes water and burn a little, ESPECIALLY if I’ve been reading/watching TV/using the computer/etc. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/3 "2009-01-23T09:16:36Z")
I get cold and hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/4 "2009-01-23T10:07:27Z")
I feel nauseated if I haven’t had enough sleep. I get cold when I’m tired. ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/5 "2009-01-23T10:08:37Z")
I get the hiccups. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/6 "2009-01-23T10:40:42Z")
I get very cranky. Well, more than usual, I’m always pretty cranky. I usually recognize when/why it is happening and put myself to bed, if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/7 "2009-01-23T15:16:22Z")
I get a little tic in my eye. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/8 "2009-01-23T15:18:45Z")
My upright press isn’t up to snuff. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/9 "2009-01-23T15:53:18Z")
I get punchy/silly. Or sometimes it’s the reverse, and I get irritable, and withdraw — Don’t feel like talking and want to just be left alone. But I usually only get this overtired when I’m working and I’m up against the wall on a deadline, otherwise, I’d just go get some sleep and recharge. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/10 "2009-01-23T15:54:51Z")
My language skills go out the window. Which is pretty bad, as I write for a living. I remember talking to my boss after a long week and a mentally fatiguing day, gesturing to that “thing” over there and trying to come up with the word for it and generally failing. “You mean on the _bookcase_?” my boss gently chided. “Yes. I write for a living!” I replied. We both laughed. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/11 "2009-01-23T15:55:22Z")
My eyes get dry and achy and, when I’m getting exhausted, I get cold and nauseated. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/12 "2009-01-23T15:56:10Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > I feel nauseated if I haven’t had enough sleep. Me too, but it is a weird nausea that makes me feel like I need to be eating constantly to prevent being ill. Right now I haven’t slept in about 30 hours due to my horrible insomnia and unless I am actively chewing something my stomach hurts. :(:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/13 "2009-01-23T16:01:40Z")
I get the munchies big time. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/14 "2009-01-23T16:16:33Z")
My eyes get dry & twitchy, and I feel hungry even if I’ve eaten and shouldn’t actually be hungry. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/15 "2009-01-23T16:19:18Z")
RLS. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/16 "2009-01-23T16:37:48Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I get punchy/silly. Or sometimes it’s the reverse, and I get irritable, and withdraw — Don’t feel like talking and want to just be left alone. But I usually only get this overtired when I’m working and I’m up against the wall on a deadline, otherwise, I’d just go get some sleep and recharge. This. Usually when I start getting really silly and giggly I know it’s time for bed. Unless I’m stressed out, and then I get very irritable. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/17 "2009-01-23T16:38:34Z")
If I suddenly get depressed and tearful for no reason late at night, I know it’s time to go to bed, right. now. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/18 "2009-01-23T16:40:08Z")
My eyes get really watery. When I’m in semi-sleep mode (like watching a movie on the couch) then I get silly/snuggly and start talking non-sensically. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/19 "2009-01-23T17:08:50Z")
Irritable and/or unable to concentrate. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613/20 "2009-01-23T17:13:28Z")
I get a feeling I describe as “a cat sitting on my head”–just kind of a diffuse feeling of something soft and heavy pushing down on the top front part of my head, and it only happens when I’m really tired. That’s my signal for “time to head to bed.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-when-youre-tired/482613.md?page=2)