3 Reasons Why You're Waking Up Tired — Even After a Full Night's Sleep

Waking up tired — especially after an early night — is one of the more frustrating ways to kick start the day. If you've done everything 'right' (slept for at least 7.5 hours, in a cool, comfortable space with little noise or light pollution) and you're still waking up fatigued, there are a host of science-backed reasons to explain why. If the problem persists, the best port of call to address the issue is, of course, your GP, but these might explain why you're exhausted after a full night's rest, too...

The Wrong Phase of Sleep

If you've woken up immediately after or during a period of REM sleep, you're likely to wake up feeling tired.

Your brain is extremely active during the dream phase of sleep and so utilises large quantities of adenosine, a neurotransmitter which inhibits the activity of the neurons which make you awake. So, basically asically, an overload of adenosine collects in your brain as you dream and leaves you feeling drowsy when you wake up.

If you feel that you are repeatedly waking during the wrong phase of sleep, give yourself a little longer in bed by retiring earlier at night.

Poor Quality of Sleep

It's crucial that you get enough sleep but quality is as important as quantity. A normal night’s sleep features three stages – quiet sleep, REM sleep and short periods of waking. In the quiet phase, your sleep becomes progressively deeper. In REM sleep, your brain is active and you may dream. Each night you alternate between quiet sleep and REM sleep but wake for short periods roughly every two hours.

You won’t usually be awake for long enough to remember these periods. But if you are kept awake by your partner snoring or another disturbance, you might take a lot longer to return to sleep and your sleep cycle could be disrupted. Waking too often as a result of disturbances or sleep apnoea could also seriously disrupt your sleep cycle and prevent you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep.

Your Body Clock is out of Sync

You may not be a person of habit but your body responds best to routine. All of us have an internal body clock which is influenced by external factors such as light, meaning to catch those quality zzzs, a room as dark as possible is best.

It's also best to stick to a pattern if you want to sleep well. Late nights, crawling into bed as day breaks, travelling and working the night shift can all leave your body clock out of whack.

Try establishing a routine by hitting the sack at the same time every night, avoid napping during the day, set your alarm for the same time every morning. Even on the weekends — or your precious day off.

Now that we’re on the topic, here are 10 simple ways to enhance the quality of your sleep – starting from tonight! – plus the reason why you crave more sleep in the cold.

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