Are you feeling sleepy all day? Are you going through your day groggy and looking forward to getting back into bed? Feeling sleepy sometimes during the day is quite normal. But feeling sleepy all the time is not. Your work and your relationships can be affected by your lack of productivity and sluggishness. When this happens, it’s time to take a closer look at the reasons why you are experiencing somnolence and ways you can stop feeling so sleepy all the time.
Why Am I So Sleepy all Day?
Some possible causes for daytime grogginess may be as simple as not getting enough sleep during the night to other more complicated health issues like thyroid problems or depression.
If you go to bed on time and get enough sleep every day, yet you still feel drowsy, you need to be careful since it could be a warning sign of illness. You need to visit your family doctor or specialist physician. So why are you so sleepy all day?
1. Anemia
Anemia does not just occur in women, it can occur in anyone. If it is not detected in time, organ functions may be affected due to the long-term insufficient blood supply, such as deformed fingers or enlarged hearts. Anemia in children can cause growth retardation while anemia in women can lead to decreased body resistance, dull hair color, acne, skin discoloration, and other consequences.
If there is usual fatigue, drowsiness, tinnitus, and dizziness, it is best to do a comprehensive examination as soon as possible to get a clear diagnosis.
Tips: If it is iron-deficiency anemia, it is suggested to eat more red meat like pork or beef for lunch. On the other hand, vegetarians can eat spinach instead. However, it is better to not eat them together with some calcium-rich food.
2. Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea leads to a lack of oxygen in the body, cause the organs to not have enough oxygen supply to rest and repair. During the day, dizziness, fatigue, and other symptoms are easy to occur. People who are overweight or snore at night are at higher risk of sleep apnea.
Tips: The first order of business to stop sleep apnea is to make some lifestyle changes, such as exercising more to lose weight, avoiding alcohol, etc.
3. Thyroid Problems
As the largest endocrine gland in the body, the thyroid plays a very powerful role. But due to its strong concealment, thyroid diseases are easy to be ignored. Thyroid dysfunction is divided into hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are slow speech, not interested in many things and often feeling sleepy while the symptoms of hyperthyroidism is having more energy compared to less.
Tips: Thyroid dysfunction directly affects the operation of the human endocrine system, so a thyroid function test should be done as soon as possible to find out what are the causes and adjust ones diet to either "high-iodine diet" or "low-iodine diet".
4. Heart Disease
The heart's role is to pump oxygen-rich blood to every cell in the body. A lack of blood supply throughout the body leads to a lack of oxygen in the brain, which leads to an inactive nervous system. The classic symptom is feeling sleepy all day.
Tips: One way to keep your heart healthy is to not stay up late and go to bed earlier every day.
Apart from the health-related reasons, let's take a closer look at the most probable cause of why you are feeling sleepy during the day, which is that you are not getting enough deep sleep during the night.
Deep Sleep Explained
First of all, what is a good night’s sleep? Your body needs to go through sleep cycles during the night in order to wake up refreshed and ready for the day. If for one reason or another you don't get enough deep sleep you will feel the effects the following day.
The body goes through non-REM cycles and REM cycles several times during the night.
This is the cycle during sleep where your body is completely relaxed and where your body and immune system are recuperating.
You should be experiencing sufficient REM cycles during the night If you are getting around 7-8 hours of sleep. If not, chances are you are lacking deep sleep and we all know what not getting enough sleep during the night can do.
But Why am I Not Getting Enough Sleep?
There are a variety of reasons why you may not be getting those precious zzz’s during the night. The occasional few extra cocktails during dinner will probably have you feeling a little groggy in the morning.
Here are a few things to look into if you are not getting good sleep at night and experiencing somnolence during the day.
- Sleep Habits
Start by looking at your sleeping habits. Are you going to sleep too late? Are you not getting enough hours of sleep every night?
- Food and Drink
What you eat and drink during the day, and especially the few hours before hitting the sack, can disturb your deep sleep. You may not be getting enough restful sleep if your digestive system is working overtime during the night.
- Lack of Exercise
If you live a sedentary life, chances are your body and general health will be affected.
- Sleep Apnea/Snoring
Sleep apnea and snoring that wakes you up in the night is often the number one culprit for somnolence during the day. It may also be your partner’s snoring or problematic sleeping that is keeping you awake and reducing the amount of deep sleep you are getting.
What Should I do to Stop Feeling Sleepy all Day
If any serious medical condition has been ruled out, you need to look at the possible causes and make a few simple changes to your lifestyle to get back to sleeping through the night.
- Stick to a Sleep Schedule
Tracking your sleep habits and implementing a sleep schedule may help you sleep better through the night and have you waking up refreshed and not tired.
- Eat and Drink Healthily
Reducing refined sugars and carbs from your diet may improve your sleep. Obviously limiting the number of alcoholic drinks and coffee intake will also help your body relax to get better sleep.
- Stay Active
Studies have proven that exercising regularly will keep your body and mind fit and will also help you sleep better.
- Anti-snoring Solutions
You will want to look into anti-snoring solutions if your snoring or your partner’s snoring is keeping you from sleeping well through the night.
Get Your Shut-Eye at Night and Stay Awake During the Day
We all know that sleeping well is as important as any other healthy activity we do daily. Lack of sleep can have some pretty negative effects on your life. Your boss doesn’t quite appreciate you dozing off at your desk in the middle of the afternoon, right? You may even find yourself being cranky and your relationships with friends and family may suffer. Nobody likes to be around a cranky-pants.
Somnolence is usually caused by a lack of quality deep sleep during the night. There are many reasons why you are not sleeping well and a few lifestyle changes may be necessary in order to get back to feeling well-rested during the day.
Look at what you eat, how much you exercise, and try to stick to a sleep schedule. Also, check into anti-snoring solutions if this is what is keeping you from getting your restorative zzz’s.
