These days, it’s hard to find someone who will admit to being well-rested. It’s the age of being chronically overtired and burnt out. While it’s normal to feel exhausted and have low energy from time to time, if you’re feeling overtired 24/7, it’s time to look at some possible causes so you can get back to feeling your best.
The importance of sleep
Along with diet and exercise, sleep is considered one of the three pillars of health. It’s crucial to our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Sleep is an essential building block for many bodily functions — from growth and healing to emotional regulation and immunity — and a lack of it can contribute to various diseases. But sleep can be elusive for many adults, and getting to the bottom of your sleep troubles can be challenging.
5 reasons you may be feeling overtired
1. Sleep habits: If you regularly feel overtired, one of the first things to look at is your sleep hygiene (the habits that affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, as well as the quality of your sleep). Healthy sleep habits can help you get your sleep routine back on track. It might sound basic, but simple things like regularly getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night, avoiding caffeine before bed, reducing your screen time (or avoiding it altogether before bed), and keeping your room dark, quiet, and cool can go a long way in improving your overall sleep. If you’re unsure about the quality of your sleep, most fitness trackers have a sleep-tracking option so that you can get an objective assessment of how you’re sleeping.
2. Diet: Your diet can have a big impact on the quality of your sleep. A poor diet — one that’s high in sugar, sodium, saturated fats, and processed foods — can zap your energy and cause you to feel tired. Make sure you’re eating a diet high in fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes and healthy, lean protein like chicken and fish. Eating a well-balanced diet will also help you get the vitamins and minerals you need, which will help you sleep better. In fact, vitamin deficiencies can negatively impact your sleep.
In addition, make sure to watch what you drink. Alcohol and caffeine are two big sleep disruptors. The effect they have is different for everyone. Some people can have one cup of coffee or a glass of wine and be fine, whereas others notice a sleep disruption. And remember, dehydration can be a sneaky cause of sleep issues, so hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! There are so many benefits to drinking water.
3. Exercise: Research shows that regular exercise improves sleep because it helps regulate your circadian rhythm or your body’s natural internal clock that controls your sleep/wake cycle. According to The Sleep Foundation, “moderate to vigorous exercise can increase sleep quality for adults by reducing sleep onset — or the time it takes to fall asleep — and decrease the amount of time they lie awake in bed during the night. Additionally, physical activity can help alleviate daytime sleepiness and, for some people, reduce the need for sleep medications.”
4. Drugs and medication: There are many common prescription and over-the-counter medications that can affect your sleep, including high blood pressure and heart medications, antidepressants, cholesterol medications, steroids, and asthma, cold, allergy, and pain medications. Make sure you read the labels on your medications and talk to your pharmacist or doctor about side effects.
5. Medical conditions: Many medical conditions can cause you to feel tired all the time, including sleep apnea, diabetes, anemia, thyroid problems, depression, and vitamin deficiencies. Stress and anxiety can also wreak havoc on your system and disrupt your normal sleep schedule. Stress-reduction techniques like yoga, mindfulness meditation, warm baths, journaling, or other non-screen activities can help you fall — and stay — asleep.
When to talk to your doctor
If you’ve made tweaks to your diet, exercise, and sleep habits, and you still aren’t seeing an improvement, it’s important to speak to your primary care provider so they can order bloodwork to rule out possible medical conditions.
