Waking up energized is important, especially in the morning. This helps you accomplish your tasks throughout the day. Plus, it can also affect your mood.
However, not everyone wakes up feeling fresh and energized. When this happens occasionally, it’s not often a cause for concern. But if it does happen frequently and it’s already affecting you throughout the day, then there’s probably something wrong going on in your body.
There are several reasons for that. If you’ve been feeling tired lately despite having a full night’s sleep, here are some factors that might be causing it.
Sleep Inertia
Sleep inertia is actually a normal part of the waking process. This happens because your brain doesn’t wake up right away after sleeping. Apparently, it needs to gradually transition to awaken.
People who experience sleep inertia usually feel groggy or disoriented even after sleeping for a long period. Some also experience difficulty in concentrating, decision-making, as well as performing fine motor tasks.
To shake these effects off, one of the ways you can do is to drink coffee upon waking up. Light exposure also helps. So, once you get up, try to open your curtains to get a glimpse of the sunrise.
Strategic napping also helps with sleep inertia. A short nap between 10 and 20 minutes in the afternoon will counteract your sleepiness. Sleep inertia doesn’t usually last long. In fact, your feeling may improve after several minutes or hours.
However, some people experience sleep inertia longer. And when you do experience it and it’s causing you discomfort or is already negatively affecting your life, you will need to consult a doctor, so you’ll be given treatment.
Sleep Disorders
If you have addressed poor sleep practices but still don’t feel energized when waking up, you might be suffering from a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders can interrupt your sleep cycle, which can cause you to wake up tired, moreover, they need to be addressed immediately as they don’t only drain your energy, but can also affect your brain function. One of the common sleep disorders that could cause tiredness when waking up is sleep apnea. During your sleep, this could cause your breathing to pause, making you snore or gasping for air while you’re asleep. And when you wake up, aside from tiredness, you might also feel headaches.
Insomnia could also be the culprit of your tiredness. This sleep disorder causes a person to either stay asleep longer or it could make falling asleep more difficult. It could cause you to constantly wake up throughout the night or it could cause you to wake up too early and make it difficult for you to go back to sleep.
The good news is that sleep disorders can be prevented. And you can do that through lifestyle modifications, proper exercise, and eating a healthy diet.
Lifestyle or Diet
Your lifestyle and diet can affect your energy too, especially when waking up. Not getting enough exposure to sunlight, for instance, can make you feel tired even after a full night’s sleep. This is because your internal body clock is ruined.
Excessive urination during nighttime can also be a contributing factor, also known as nocturia, this condition wakes you up at night to urinate. Usually, this is normal as you’ve probably consumed too many liquids before going to sleep.
However, in some cases, it could be because of an underlying medical condition. This includes bladder obstruction, bladder spasms, infection, inflammation, interstitial cystitis, or even obstructive sleep apnea.
When you urinate more than once during nighttime, it could interrupt your sleep. Thus, causing your tiredness when waking up in the morning. So, be sure not to drink too much before sleeping. Better yet, consult your doctor if you feel there’s really something wrong.
Anxiety
Anxiety is more than just stress, worrying, or feeling overwhelmed. It can make you feel tired and could affect your sleep too.
When you start to become anxious, thinking, and worrying too much, your brain becomes more active. This causes difficulty in sleeping. Thus, in the morning, you feel more tired.
Your thoughts and worries might go away the next day, but the exhaustion lasts longer, which can also cause tiredness after sleeping. This is because your body experiences a hormonal rush that can leave you feeling tired and drained.
Apart from that, rapid breathing, an increased heart rate, and trembling can cause you to feel exhausted the next day even after getting a full night’s sleep. Thus, affecting one’s ability to concentrate too.
There are different reasons why we wake up feeling more tired. But, if you feel like there’s something wrong, it’s always best to seek professional help.
