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You may feel tired in the morning if you’re not getting enough sleep. It may also relate to your mental or physical health. Speak with your to find the cause. In the meantime, making a few lifestyle changes may help you fight morning fatigue.
When waking up is hard to do, consider the following strategies.
We’ve all had those mornings when we just can’t shake a feeling of sluggishness, even when we’ve technically gotten enough sleep. In an effort to perk up on tired days, many of us load up on cup after cup of coffee.
But over-caffeinating can leave us jittery and anxious (not to mention perpetually running to the bathroom).
Perhaps there’s a better way to banish morning fatigue and get on with your day with the energy you need.
That beloved button on top of your alarm clock may not be so helpful after all.
Spending the last half hour or so of nighttime rest in what researchers call “fragmented sleep” has consequences for your ability to function throughout the day.
Pro-tip: Try the 90-minute sleep cycle hack by setting two alarms — one for 90 minutes before you want to wake up and one for when you actually want to wake up.
The theory is that the 90 minutes of sleep you get between snoozes will be a full sleep cycle, allowing you to wake up after your REM state, instead of during.
Fatigue is a classic symptom of dehydration, and even a mild case can trigger feelings of sleepiness, changes in cognitive ability, and mood disruptions. Let a glass of water freshen up your entire body before you get moving.
Pro-tip: If you find you still can’t shake morning lethargy, try upping your intake of water and other noncaffeinated beverages throughout the day.
There’s a reason it feels so good to stretch when you wake up. Overnight, during REM sleep, your muscles are literally paralyzed (atonia), and reactivating them releases energy-stimulating endorphins.
Pro-tip: If you have a bit of time for morning yoga, take it; just 25 minutes has been shown to boost energy levels and brain function.
Cold showers are reported to reduce sick-day absences from work.
If you don’t want to take a full shower, a splash of cold water to the face, to signal a temperature change to your body, may also do the trick.
Is getting out of bed the main problem? Keep a spray bottle or water mist by your bedside table so you can lean over and mist yourself without even opening your eyes!
Pro-tip: One cult-favorite product is Saborino’s Morning Face Mask from Japan, which has essential oils to activate your senses. In one minute, this sheet mask cleanses, invigorates, and moisturizes your skin.
Note: People with sensitive skin may want to avoid this product.
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The jury is still out on whether breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But research does say that skipping this first meal can negatively affect your energy and ability to pay attention throughout the day.
Food is fuel. Give your body some calories to put it into action at the start of the day.
But if you’re working out in the morning, remember to eat after, not before.
This will (a) burn more calories, (b) boost your metabolism, and (c) help you avoid an unsettled stomach.
Pro tip: Build a fatigue-fighting breakfast instead.Since what you eat at breakfast can affect how you feel for hours, making the right choice is critical for your morning.
Reach for a combination of fatigue-fighting foods like lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, and lower-sugar fruits.
All breakfasts are not created equal, so take stock of your morning food choices. Sugary items like sweetened coffee drinks, pastries, and breakfast cereals can lead to the classic blood sugar spike-and-drop that leaves you feeling drained.
Pro-tip: Pay attention to nutrition labels to see how much sugar you’re getting at breakfast — and cut back wherever possible. Keep whole foods like apples, carrots, and oranges on hand for easy access.
That’s right, we said less coffee — but not none! Though coffee has plenty of health benefits, chugging a lot in the morning may indirectly contribute to increased fatigue later in the day.
Participants in one study reported feeling more tired the day after they had consumed caffeinated drinks. Experimenting with a reduced amount of caffeine in the morning actually may make you less tired.
Pro-tip: Avoid the big mugs. Purchase a smaller cup, if you have to, to help reduce the amount you drink.
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Sunlight bumps up your body’s serotonin levels, leading to improved sleep — and, therefore, increased daytime energy. And, according to a series of studies at the University of Rochester, spending time in nature “makes people feel more alive.”
Sounds like a very good reason to carve out a portion of your morning in the great outdoors.
Pro-tip: If going outside is a chore in the early morning, adjust your curtain so that the sunlight seeps in when you’re getting ready to wake up.
Sure, when you want to crawl back into bed, exercise may sound pretty unappealing — but it may be exactly what your body needs to get help booting up.
Research consistently correlates aerobic exercise with reduced fatigue.
See if you can squeeze in a quick walk or bike ride, or try a longer workout for even more benefit.
Pro-tip: When pressed for time, get your body up with a few rounds of high-knees and jumping jacks. Even 30 seconds of torso twists could do the trick, or plan a short cardio commute on your way to work.
Is it possible that negative feelings about your job or stressors at home are draining you of morning oomph?
You may not be able to fix certain situations overnight, but once you’ve identified them as a source of mental and physical exhaustion, you can often take some action to alleviate them.
Pro-tip: Streamline harried mornings at home by making school lunches the night before, or make time for morning meditations and create calm before your day begins.
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Sometimes all we need for an energy boost is a little excitement on the horizon.
To beat morning fatigue, consider scheduling a phone call with a friend during your commute, penciling in an outdoor walk on your midmorning break, or pre-making an appealing breakfast that calls you out of bed.
Pro-tip: Let another schedule determine yours. Make an earlier morning podcast or radio show part of your wake-up routine.
If morning fatigue becomes a chronic problem, it could be caused by depression or anxiety. People with depression can feel worse in the morning or only feel depressed in the morning.
The only way to know, however, is to track your mood or see a professional.
Pro-tip: Dig a little deeper. Asking some key questions about your mental health state may reveal an underlying condition that needs professional attention.
If your bedtime habits can have so profound an effect on your rest, so too could your waking routine. You’ve probably heard of sleep hygiene — the handful of best practices that help you fall asleep at night.
These include:
Getting up at the same time each morning helps maintain circadian rhythm, the internal biological clock that’s responsible for feelings of sleepiness.
Make an effort to rise at the same time every day — even on weekends — to see if you can banish the midmorning slump.
Sarah Garone, NDTR, is a nutritionist, freelance health writer, and food blogger. She lives with her husband and three children in Mesa, Arizona. Find her sharing down-to-earth health and nutrition info and (mostly) healthy recipes at A Love Letter to Food.
As annoying as it can be, waking up tired is incredibly common. But the reason isn’t always linked to how many hours of sleep you are getting in each night.
Has your morning coffee suddenly stopped working? Do you spend most of your morning feeling groggy and irritated rather than refreshed and rejuvenated? Maybe you need to upgrade to a hybrid mattress? Many reasons can lead to morning fatigue and you may need to do a little research to figure out why you are waking up tired.
Waking up tired can impact mood and productivity. Most people feel like they are dragging their feet even to do the simplest of tasks such as brushing teeth, taking a shower, or packing the kids’ lunch. This sluggish and lethargic feeling is familiar, but it shouldn't last for long.
When waking up tired becomes a common occurrence, you might need to pay attention to any changes which might be happening in your body or in your routine that could be contributing to this sudden decrease in energy.
Here are 5 common reasons why many people wake up tired. Do any of these resonate with you?
1. You wake up during the deepest stage of sleep.
Have you ever woken up in a confused state of mind, wondering where you are and what time it is? This is called sleep inertia, and it usually happens when you wake up during the deepest stage of the sleep cycle.
Sleep inertia can last for 30 minutes or longer, but even when it’s over, it can be hard to hit the ground running and start the day the way you would like.
2. Your diet isn’t as good as it used to be.
What you eat during the day affects how you sleep at night. It may not look as evident on the surface, but if you take a deeper dive into how the sleep cycle works, you’ll learn that a poor digestive system can leave you feeling bone-tired in the morning.
Changes in your diet could be the reason you are waking up feeling really tired. Maybe you are eating more carbs than usual or trying to shed pounds by eating much less. It could even be the new spices you’ve been experimenting with. Whatever the case, when your digestive system is adjusting to something new, you may feel the after-effects in the morning.
3. You have a lot on your mind.
A new baby, new job, new relationship, or any new and sudden lifestyle change can wreak havoc on your morning routine, leaving you with no choice but to wake up exhausted. From everyday stress factors to more serious ones such as anxiety or depression, your state of mind plays a crucial role in sleep.
When you are mentally drained, you will most likely wake up tired even after a solid 8 hours of proper sleep night after night.
4. Your bedroom is distracting and uncomfortable.
Comfort shouldn’t be a luxury, it's a necessity if you want to finally put an end to waking up tired. An uncomfortable bedroom can be the difference between average sleep and fantastic sleep.
Most of the research you are doing about waking up tired is likely to be related to your health and routine. However, most people overlook one of the most critical factors of all: Sleeping on the most comfortable mattress and limiting distraction in the bedroom.
An old and lumpy bed can negatively impact joint and muscle health, and distracting noises and dust cause multiple disruptions throughout the night. The result? A tired and grumpy morning.
5. You never sleep or wake up at the same time.
Waking up tired is easy when you constantly leave your mind and body guessing when rest will come.
A key reason why so many people can’t seem to stop waking up so tired is that they don’t have a proper sleep schedule.
Getting 8 hours of sleep is essential, but it matters when you do it. If you sleep 8 hours at night, then 8 hours in the day, then try another 8 in the afternoon a few days later - your sleep cycle will be confused and will leave you waking up tired.
Now you know a few of the key reasons you are waking up tired, here's what you can do about it. Putting an end to waking up tired each morning can be easy when you know the right sequence of steps.
1. Create a reliable sleep schedule.
So you’re dreaming about being able to wake up fresh before your alarm, aren’t you? Most people can, and it doesn't take a lifetime. Sleeping at the same time each night, and waking up at the same time each morning for two straight weeks will help get you there. But there is a fine print - you need to follow this schedule on weekends too.
Being consistent with your sleep schedule is a straightforward way to make waking up tired a bad dream of the past. If you struggle with falling asleep fast when you hit the bed each night, a weighted blanket might be exactly what you need.
Weighted blankets relax the body with gentle stimulation. Small pellets in the blanket rest on the body to create an instant state of calm and relaxation.
2. Upgrade your mattress and bedroom setup.
To wake up feeling completely refreshed and rejuvenated, make sure you sleep on the most comfortable mattress. In most cases, the best mattress will either be a memory foam mattress or a hybrid mattress.
Memory foam mattresses are excellent if you prefer a contouring feeling on your muscles. Memory foam is a viscoelastic material that hugs the body. These mattresses don’t have a bounce like traditional innerspring mattresses.
If you prefer more stability, then a hybrid mattress may be the one you are looking for.
Hybrids offer the same sleep-inducing benefits of memory foam, with an added density boost of encased pocket coils. One of the major benefits of both these mattress types is that they limit motion transfer. So if your partner is moving around, you won’t feel a thing.
Once you are confident that your bed is supporting your sleep in your pursuit to stop waking up tired, take a quick look around the rest of your bedroom. Are you getting distracted by noise, clutter, dust, or colors? Light sleepers who can easily be distracted should remove all possible distractions. You can look into minimalist decor ideas on how to strip back to just the essentials.
3. Manage stress and release worries before bed.
Most people would agree that you should never go to sleep angry. You should also never go to sleep stressed. Going to bed stressed doesn’t just make you go to bed straddled with worries, but it can also be why you are waking up tired.
Ruminating over worries is common before bed.
When everything is quiet, you might feel like you have plenty of time to overthink. However, it’s not healthy, especially if it happens too frequently.
There are some quick and easy ways you can reduce stressing out when you should be sleeping. To put your mind at ease, try a simple guided meditation before bed. Meditation is a proven calming technique that can clear your mind.
You can also try listening to sleep sounds. Sleep sounds consist of low to medium frequency noises, often referred to as white noise, that mask other sounds. This level of sound frequency helps to create a calm state of mind.
When you go to sleep with your mind at ease, you may find that you no longer have to endure the struggle of waking up tired.
4. Maintain a healthy diet as much as possible.
The perfect diet doesn’t exist, and most people tend to adjust what they eat depending on life circumstances. To stop waking up tired, take a close look at what foods you are consuming before bed.
The best foods for sleep have high levels of potassium, melatonin, tryptophan, and antioxidants. When you’re tired or sleep-deprived, your body tends to crave unhealthy foods. You can blame it on your hormones. Lack of sleep causes certain hormones to shift, and as a result, pizza, donuts, and sweets tend to be all you can think about.
Lack of sleep increases the hunger-control hormone ghrelin and decreases the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin. The solution isn't to starve yourself; instead, try to indulge in the best foods for sleep. You will be able to satiate your hunger without increasing sugar levels, so you don’t have to worry about waking up tired.
5. Get to know how your sleep cycle works.
You sleep in stages, and knowing which stage you are in when you usually wake up can help you say goodbye to the days of waking up tired.
Waking up exhausted and feeling disorientated is usually a sign that you have woken up during REM sleep. It’s the deep stage of sleep where dreams occur.
While the body remains entirely still during REM sleep, the mind is highly active, so waking up suddenly can be confusing.
To better understand your sleep cycle and avoid waking up during REM sleep each morning, you can use a sleep tracker to see what time you enter the different stages of sleep. You can then adjust your sleep schedule accordingly.
Transitioning from waking up tired to waking up full of energy takes time. Instead of doing it all at once, you may need to make minor improvements and practice trial and error until you start feeling the benefits.
The most important thing to know is that it is possible to wake up in the morning full of energy - many people do it! Stay positive, and pay attention to the small things like your mattress' quality and how you manage stress.
Your Turn...What's your morning routine like? Share below in the comments!
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Disclaimer.We love sleep and we want you to get the best sleep possible. But we do not provide medical advice. This blog is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical info, diagnosis, or treatment. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read on our blog.
Woke up, but as if you had not slept? If you wake up tired and even broken in the morning, you need to fix it urgently. We have collected 9 working tips that will help you become alert again and wake up full of energy.
Sports are the last thing you want to do when you feel tired. But research shows that the more physical activity you have, the more energy you have.
Even short workouts will make you more alert and self-confident. And they will improve the work of the heart, lungs and muscles - and improve well-being.
Devices from the pharmacy will help track the state of the body before and after training:
Any exercise is useful in the fight against fatigue, but yoga is especially useful.
There are also several studies on this subject - for example, scientists in the UK conducted an experiment: they gathered a group of volunteers, forced them to do yoga once a week (only once!). Six weeks later, they were interviewed: everyone noted that their thoughts became clearer, and their energy and self-confidence increased.
Dehydration robs you of energy and reduces physical performance - if you don't have enough water in your body, you will get tired even with the simplest housework. Dehydration also reduces alertness and concentration.
You can tell if you are drinking enough water by the color of your urine: if it is dark, you need to drink more.
Important: you need to drink exactly water, not juices, compotes or dairy products - everything except water is perceived by the body as food, and this does not save you from dehydration.
You can also buy water in pharmacies:
The logic is simple: you get more sleep, you get less tired. Try to go to bed before midnight and put your gadgets away at least an hour before bedtime - so their bright light does not interfere with the production of melatonin, and you can fall asleep quickly.
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Fluctuations in blood sugar affect how awake you are throughout the day - the more fluctuations, the more tired you are. To stabilize your sugar levels, you need to increase the number of meals and reduce the amount of servings.
How it works.
Sugar is found in almost every product. If we eat a hearty lunch, a lot of sugar enters the body at a time, its concentration rises sharply, and the body absorbs it for a long time. Dividing a heavy meal into at least two small meals will reduce your blood sugar spike and keep you awake for longer.
Supplement your diet with vitamins for energy:
Fish contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They improve metabolism and increase alertness - and this helps to stay alert and alert throughout the day.
If there is not enough fish in your diet, supplement your diet with supplements:
Of course, you need to reduce not the weight itself, but the percentage of fat in the body - just more often one is inseparable from the other.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have proven that even a small reduction in body fat improves mood and makes a person more alert.
To start losing weight, experts advise reducing portion sizes, eating a balanced diet, and exercising (or at least walking more often). If you work remotely and are afraid that you won’t be able to lose weight due to sedentary work at home, read this material - in it we told you how to start losing weight even remotely.
Help in losing weight can be found in pharmacies:
Are you an owl or a lark? The answer to this question will help you not to suffer from fatigue during the day. If you are a morning person and feel energized in the morning, plan all the important things for the first half of the day. If an owl - at the end of the day.
This biological clock, or circadian rhythm, is determined by genetics and brain structure, so changing it can be very difficult.
It's much easier to just adapt to them
And if you have problems with activity and fatigue even when you expect a daily energy peak, help:
Important: constant fatigue is a common symptom of many diseases. These include, for example, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and anemia. If you have been feeling uncharacteristically tired for a long time, talk to your doctor.
Certain medications can also cause fatigue, such as blood pressure medications, antihistamines, diuretics, and other medications. If you start taking something and feel that you are getting tired faster or more often, tell your doctor about it.
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Somnologist advises
Somnologist Maria Ovsyannikova told how to forget about sticky eyes, drowsiness and morning sickness once and for all.
To wake up easily, you need to prepare for sleep properly. To begin with: a place to sleep should be comfortable - without voids and height differences, not cramped, with linen without hard folds. The room should be dark: make sure that the light sources do not interfere with sleep.
Put the phone aside half an hour before bedtime. The flickering of the screen makes it difficult to fall asleep: the body thinks that it is still day outside the window. Devote the last half hour before going to bed to meditation, plans for the future, pleasant memories.
It is better to go to bed before midnight - it will be easier to wake up. In no case should you eat up before going to bed: then sticky eyes and a feeling of weakness in the morning will be provided to you.
The first minutes after waking up are an important time. Set your alarm 5-10 minutes early so you don't rush. Lying in bed, take a few deep breaths in and out. Pull your joints. Massage your earlobes, head, fingers. Get up slowly, without sudden movements.
The body needs time to switch from sleep to work. If you immediately jump out of bed, then the day can begin with a headache, pressure surges, pain in the joints and back. Plus, you will take a bad mood and a feeling of “lack of sleep” out of bed with you.
Sunlight blocks the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Thanks to the light, all body systems receive a signal that it is time to wake up. And it is for this reason that it is so difficult to get up on cloudy days when there is little light and no sun. “Easy awakening is a matter of the right mode, settings and attitude. Train yourself to go to bed and wake up at the same time. The body will get used to these hours: getting up in the morning will be easier. Plan your time so that you don't rush in the morning. The lack of stress, the ability to lie in bed after the alarm - all this will help to forget about morning sleepiness.
Calming collection
Natural remedy based on the roots of valerian, motherwort, oregano and sweet clover.
