So when you're getting eight hours and still feeling tired the next day, it's frustrating. There are four likely culprits behind your low energy: your sleep need is more than eight hours, you're getting less sleep than you think, you've got sleep debt to pay back, or you're out of sync with your circadian rhythm.
If you or a loved one feel sleepy or fatigued, despite having 7-8 hours of sleep, it could indicate poor sleep quality or be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder. If you have questions or concerns about your sleep health, please speak with your primary care provider.
Physical causes of tiredness
iron deficiency anaemia. underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) sleep apnoea.
Things like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, grinding your teeth, acid reflux, parasomnia (sleepwalking or doing other things during the night that you don't remember doing), rheumatoid or osteoarthritis, or orthopaedic injuries or neuropathies can all create sleep problems that can leave you feeling exhausted the ...
It is caused by factors that can include stress from significant life events, or changes to your sleep schedule. Or it could be secondary insomnia, which is linked to health conditions like mental health issues, other sleep disorders, illness, or pain — and it can be acute or chronic.
To minimize sleep debt, regularly get the length of sleep you need to feel rested when you awaken. If you have built up sleep debt, allow extra time for sleep: go to bed early. You sleep more deeply when you are sleep deprived, so you do not need to “pay back” hour for hour the lost sleep.
Mental laziness and lack of motivation can also be caused by one simple problem: not having enough exercise and nutrients in the body. One should consider eating healthy food high in protein, such as green, leafy vegetables, and fatty fish. Research also suggests eating berries and walnuts and drinking coffee or tea.
Sleep inertia, or wake-up grogginess, is the main reason you're unable to fully wake up in the morning or after a nap. It's a completely normal part of your sleep-wake cycle that's intensified by factors like high sleep debt and circadian misalignment (caused by sleeping in, social jetlag, and travel jet lag).
Remember, the feeling of constant sleepiness doesn't necessarily mean you're lazy. It may mean that you struggle to find a way to stay alert. Online therapy can be a way of exploring healthy sleeping habits and cognitive performance.
While making a habit of spending the day in bed or on the couch is not good for anyone, using it as a well-placed conscious tool for your emotional and mental well-being is absolutely ok. As a matter of fact, it's an investment in your health.
While sleeping in for a morning or two may help ease symptoms like fatigue or daytime sleepiness, this is often not enough to adequately recover from sleep debt. Research has shown that it can take up to four days to recover from one hour of lost sleep and up to nine days to completely eliminate sleep debt.
Napping can both help and hurt sleep debt. If you didn't get enough sleep the night before, a nap can help you feel less sluggish during the day. Keep your naps short. Aim for 10 to 20 minutes.
Can you make up sleep debt? Yes. If you get 39 or fewer hours of sleep in one week, you have sleep deprivation. You need to get three to four extra hours of sleep over the course of a weekend, plus one to two extra hours of sleep every night for the following week to pay off that sleep debt.
If you aren't feeling rested when you wake up, despite getting to sleep at least 8 hours prior, then it might not be the quantity of your sleep that's the problem. It could be your sleep quality that needs some attention. The amount of sleep you get is important, but equally important is the quality of that sleep.
If you get up early, you're not only depriving yourself of sleep, but you're also robbing your body of the majority of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep — the stage of sleep that, according to the National Sleep Foundation: Provides energy to brain and body. Supports daytime performance.
If the fatigue is associated with chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heart rate, or sense of imminent passing out, these are urgent conditions that warrant immediate medical attention.
Reasons for fatigue in females include high sleep debt, being out of sync with your circadian rhythm, your menstrual cycle and period, pregnancy, menopause, hormonal contraceptives, poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and anxiety, medication side effects, and medical conditions like thyroid issues or anemia.
You may be too exhausted even to manage your daily affairs. In most cases, there's a reason for the fatigue. It might be allergic rhinitis, anemia, depression, fibromyalgia, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease (COPD), a bacterial or viral infection, or some other health condition.