Written by Robyn Abree
Rough night last night? Everyone has a bad night of sleep now and then.
Your life won't wait until you're rested, so you'll need all the energy you can to get through today. Some of the nation's leading sleep doctors offer tips on how to power through the day after a bad night's rest.
Caffeine can help when you need an energy boost, as long as you don't overdo it, says sleep disorders expert Joyce Walsleben, PhD, of the NYU School of Medicine.
Two cups of coffee, for instance, will give you about as much alertness as you're going to get. Drinking more than that probably won't make you more alert, especially if you drink a lot of caffeinated beverages, says Jeffrey Durmer, MD, chief medical officer at FusionSleep Center in Atlanta.
That's partly about your brain chemistry. When you're sleep deprived, '[sleep hormones] collect in the brain all day and drinking excessive amounts of caffeine isn't going to stop that process," Durmer says. If anything, too much caffeine can give you the jitters, he says.
The same goes for over-the-counter supplements that promise to help you stay alert.
"Caffeine and supplements ... do increase attention and focus and are fine once in awhile, but in no way replace a bad night's sleep," Durmer says. If you use stay-awake supplements regularly, you might need to check with a doctor to see if you have a sleep disorder.
Energy drinks can serve a purpose when used appropriately, but for the most part, usually do more harm than good, says Michael Breus, PhD, who writes WebMD's sleep blog. Breus suggests sticking with plain black or green tea and coffee. Also, steer clear of all caffeine after 4 p.m. to avoid problems falling asleep at night, Breus says.
When you're sleep deprived, you may be tempted to reach for a candy bar. Don't.
Sugar will give you quick energy. It doesn't last, though, and you'll just end up crashing later, Breus says.
Instead, stick to a balanced diet and put extra emphasis on protein-rich foods like nuts and lean meats, he says. Also, avoid large meals and simple carbohydrates, like having pasta for lunch, to avoid energy dips.
Breus suggests eating a salad with grilled chicken, or another lean protein, like fish with veggies for lunch and dinner.
For breakfast, Durmer suggests eating protein-rich foods like eggs and plain Greek yogurt. If you have a sweet tooth, choose fruit, not a doughnut. The natural sugar in fruit takes longer to digest than table sugar and won't make your blood sugar swing as much, Durmer says.
After a bad night's sleep, your attention span may drag a little more than usual. To keep focused, take breaks throughout the day, Durmer says.
Let's face it, you're not at your best when you don't sleep well. So lighten your work load as much as possible. By doing fewer things, you can still do a quality job without stressing out, Durmer says.
Let's say you have five tasks for the day.
Shave them down to two or three, and focus on doing those really well, Durmer says.
You may also want to hold off on making any big decisions until after you've rested, Breus says.
Drowsy driving is dangerous, since it can lead to accidents. Stay off the road as much as possible if you haven't slept.
If you absolutely can't carpool or take transit, power nap before driving, Walsleben says. When driving, don't wear your sunglasses since sunlight may make you feel more energetic, Durmer says. That won't undo your tiredness, so you should still avoid driving, for safety's sake.
Be particularly careful when driving in the early afternoon. "Most people naturally drift around 1 or 2 p.m., and those who are sleep deprived will take a bigger hit," Walsleben says.
When you go to bed tonight, you might be tempted to sleep longer than normal. Moderation, again, is the key here.
Sleeping in after a bad night's sleep is OK, but you're trying to get your sleep schedule back on track.
Sleeping in too long can make that harder, because it shifts your normal sleep pattern.
If you sleep in, limit it to no more than two extra hours, Durmer says. If you normally get seven hours of sleep at night, aim for nine.
Going to bed too early can also disturb sleep patterns, says Walsleben. If you're exhausted and want to hit the sack, try to wait until it's about an hour before normal bedtime.
No matter how tired you feel, there's no reason to sleep all day, since the most recovery sleep time you can get is 10 hours, Durmer says.
If you're exhausted but still having trouble falling asleep, count backwards from 300 in multiples of three, Breus says. Doing math problems makes it hard to think about anything else and keep your eyes open, he says.
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Short naps can help boost your energy after a sleepless night. REUTERS/Kevin CoombsTrying to make it through the day after a sleepless night can seem impossible.
You may be tired, feel achy, or have headaches.
Many Americans experience this on a regular basis, as only 35% of adults report getting the recommended seven hours of sleep each night, according to the American Sleep Association.
Getting more sleep is the obvious remedy to these problems. But in the meantime, there are a few short-term solutions that can help you stay awake throughout the day. Here are 10 ways to boost your energy after a sleepless night.
"Trying to keep that consistent wake-up time is important rather than sleeping in or taking a day off work and sleeping until noon which can cause more problems than it solves," Dr.
Chris Winter, a neurologist at Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia and author of "The Sleep Solution" told INSIDER.
A cup or two of coffee in the morning can help you stay functional throughout the day, Winter told INSIDER.
But sleep deprivation shouldn't be an excuse to overdo it with caffeine since too much can mess up your sleep schedule, according to Winter.
Getting bright light is one of the best things you can do to wake yourself up because it sends your body a "daytime" signal, Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine, told INSIDER.
"That will help shake off the sleep inertia," Grandner told INSIDER.
Winter agreed and suggested eating your lunch outside or taking a quick midday walk to boost your energy.
"As tired as you might feel, being physically active helps your overall mood, your energy, and even might help you sleep better the next night," Molly Morgan, a registered dietitian-nutritionist, told INSIDER.
Winter added that even if you're too tired for a full workout at the gym, going for a short walk can help wake up your body.
"Eating small frequent meals will keep your blood sugar levels steady throughout the day," Lauren Manganiello, registered dietitian-nutritionist, told INSIDER.
"When we have long periods of time between eating, our blood sugar levels drop and can make us feel even more fatigued or tired and then overeat."
Registered dietitian-nutritionist Jessica Cording agreed and suggested having five or six small meals as opposed to three main meals. "If you're spacing out what you're eating throughout the day, you're going to get a little bit more stable energy in shorter bursts," she told INSIDER.
"Avoid really high-carb meals," Cording told INSIDER.
"You tend to burn through those carbs pretty quickly and then have an energy crash."
Instead of reaching for a slice of pizza, she recommended including lean protein and healthy fats with every meal. "Those things are going to satisfy you, but they're also going to help you stay full for longer by slowing down how quickly you digest a meal," Cording said.
"Even a brief nap of 20 to 30 minutes can improve brain performance across the rest of the day," Grandner told INSIDER.
"This is especially true if you take a nap in the early afternoon."
Winter added that it's important to make sure you keep naps short and that you take them early in the day so they don't interfere with your sleep at night.
"Drink lots of water because when you're sleep deprived, your cells are really thirsty because they're working extra hard to take care of you and they need that extra water," Cording told INSIDER.
Additionally, dehydration can leave you feeling even more sluggish, according to Mayo Clinic.
"When we're sleep-deprived, our hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin are way out of wack," Cording told INSIDER. "What happens when we're really tired is that we're very tuned in to how hungry we feel but our perception of how satisfied we feel goes way down so we end up feeling hungry all the time.
"
These hormones can actually increase our cravings for sugary and carb-heavy foods, according to Men's Journal.
Similar to how high-carb foods can lead to crashes, foods that are high in sugar can also affect your blood sugar and lead to energy crashes, according to The Daily Meal.
To avoid giving into cravings, Manganiello suggested asking yourself if you're actually hungry before you reach for a snack.
A sleepless night can leave you feeling more irritable, short-tempered, and stressed, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
To combat this stress, Grandner recommended practicing relaxation techniques to keep your mind and body ready for what comes with the day.
Grandner suggested doing breathing exercises throughout the day or a body scan. "Moving your awareness across all the different muscles in your body to identify where you are tense, then relaxing can help you quickly deal with tension you are holding in your body," he told INSIDER.
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Image copyright, Getty
Image caption,New research shows that eight hours of sleep is too much. But too much sleep, as well as too little sleep, can lead to an untimely death, scientists say. Any deviation from the golden mean increases the risk of disease and even death. Why is it so dangerous, and should we all immediately give up the opportunity to “sleep off” on a day off? nine0014
How many hours of sleep does it take for the body to fully recuperate? Most people will answer eight hours.
However, recent medical studies have shown that this is too much, and too much sleep can cause health problems.
The journalists of the BBC program "More or Less" decided to find out if the usefulness of the traditional eight hours of sleep is really a myth?
Dr. Greg Jacobs works at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine. According to him, over the past decade, research has shown that eight hours of daily (or rather, nightly) sleep can harm you.
"A total of 34 different studies were conducted," says Greg Jacobs. "Doctors tracked the behaviors and health of more than two million people. It turned out that the relationship between sleep duration and life expectancy can be represented in the form of the letter "U".
"Mortality is lowest at the very bottom of the 'U' arc, and this point corresponds to seven hours of daily sleep.
As you start to move away from the ideal of both more sleep and lack of sleep, the risk of early death begins to rise Moreover, the risk for those who like to sleep increases faster than for those who sleep less than the norm.
So, according to Dr. Jacobs, seven hours of sleep is the ideal. Sleep less and you have a real chance of dying sooner; sleep more - and the chance of an untimely transition to another world becomes even higher. nine0005
Photo author, Getty
Photo caption,It is quite difficult to calculate exactly how much we sleep: what if we dozed off in transport?
However, another sleep specialist, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Franco Capuccio at the University of Warwick in Britain, advises not to panic. Anything between six and eight o'clock, from his point of view, is the norm. If only because it is extremely problematic to accurately measure the duration of sleep.
nine0005
“In the study of sleep,” he says, “we tend to rely on people's own judgments. And they, for the most part, are not able to say to the minute how long they slept. how much we overslept. , then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.0005
Anyone who sleeps less than six to eight hours or more is at risk for health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
"If you sleep more than eight hours or less than six, then the risk of developing any of the above diseases increases dramatically. And this, in turn, leads to early death," says Franco Cappuccio.
But how big is this risk? Scientists have found that among those who are chronically sleep deprived, mortality was 12% higher than among those who sleep six to eight hours in the golden mean. nine0005
So how much sleep should we have? Despite the fact that in most cases it is difficult to rely on our own feelings, Greg Jacobs believes that the ideal can be calculated.
Image copyright, Getty
Image caption,If you love to lie in bed, you're probably fine
“Every spring, the National Sleep Organization in the US surveys several thousand adults. A rather curious pattern emerged: most of them claim that they sleep an average of seven hours a day, which, by the way, corresponds to the average sleep duration all over the world.0005
Dr. Jacobs thinks that these seven hours may well be the natural cycle for a healthy brain.
After seven hours of sleep, most adults report that they feel rested and alert, and only 5% complain of drowsiness and fatigue.
However, if you naturally like to soak up under the covers, after which you feel just fine, then most likely nothing threatens you. After all, so far no one has proven with accuracy that the tendency to lie in bed leads to an untimely death. nine0005
It's a shame, agree! Why it happens? There are several possible medical reasons. We prepared a translation of an article in which several experts in the medical sciences explained why hours of sound sleep may not be included in your personal wellness record. “If you are a man, checking your testosterone levels can be a good first step in finding the cause of your lack of energy during the day,” recommends Dr. Chirag Shah, physician and founder of Access Labs . Testosterone levels in men naturally decline with age, and fatherhood can also be a cause of low testosterone levels. Simple lifestyle changes, such as more exercise and a healthy diet, can help alleviate the fatigue associated with low testosterone levels. nine0005
“Exposure to light stimulates the brain and body, keeping us awake” explains Nurse Rebecca Lee. Employees cooped up in a poorly lit office may feel tired no matter how they slept the night before.
So if you're tired, try going outside - maybe you just need some natural light.
“People with sleep apnea usually get enough hours of sleep, but they snore loudly, wake up often, and also wake others up with their snoring” , says family doctor Crystal Bow. People with sleep apnea can get eight full hours of sleep, but because their sleep is constantly interrupted, they don't get the calming benefits of it. Sleep apnea can also cause an increase in blood pressure, which aggravates general fatigue.
The thyroid, a small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck that regulates metabolism and digestion, can cause a lot of problems if it doesn't work properly. An underactive thyroid gland, or hypothyroidism, leads to malnutrition as well as constipation, dry skin, and hair loss. nine0087 "With insufficient activity, the thyroid gland cannot properly perform its role in maintaining the proper speed of the processes inside the body" , says Shah.
"Sedentary lifestyle can be the biggest cause of fatigue," says Li, because lack of exercise disrupts the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. And vice versa: studies show that exercise increases energy and reduces the likelihood of causeless fatigue. nine0005
Lee points out that it takes only 1.5% less water to become dehydrated, which is why many people go around dehydrated all day long without even realizing it. Dehydration makes people feel tired and sore muscles, which increases fatigue and recovery time. On top of that, when you don't have enough water, your body has to work harder. "When your body is dehydrated, your total blood volume decreases, forcing it to work harder to send needed oxygen and nutrients" , Lee says.
It may seem like a glass of wine in the evening or a bottle of beer after a hard day's work is a way to relax after a busy day, but in fact this approach can further increase fatigue against the background of general dehydration.
Alcohol also shortens REM sleep, which can make it less restorative overall.
Coffee is often drunk to wake up, but it can actually have the opposite effect. Even when caffeine doesn't interfere with sleep, it blocks the brain's adenosine receptors from receiving adenosine, a critical chemical that helps people regulate sleep and wake cycles. Normally, adenosine levels rise during wakefulness and fall when it's time to sleep, but caffeine can interfere with the natural course of things. nine0087 “Your body is still producing adenosine, but its effects are delayed, and then you start to feel it all at once after the effects of the caffeine wear off,” says Lee.
The diet you eat can affect how much energy you have, no matter how much rest you get. Simple carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to rise and fall, depleting energy stores, while bananas are full of magnesium, a mineral that can help with sleep. But, for example, cherries are rich in melatonin.
