Sleep Insufficiency: Feeling Unrested And Exhausted

Feeling tired after a full night's sleep can be frustrating and may indicate an underlying issue. There are various reasons why you may not feel rested, ranging from lifestyle choices to sleep disorders. Here are some common causes and potential solutions to help you wake up feeling refreshed.

Sleep Disorders:

- Sleep Apnea: This disorder causes your breathing to stop periodically during sleep, often resulting in gasping for air, feeling tired after a full night's sleep, and trouble staying asleep.

- Narcolepsy: A sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden attacks of uncontrollable sleep.

- Insomnia: Difficulty falling or staying asleep, which can be short-term, often caused by stress or a traumatic event, or chronic, lasting a month or longer.

- Restless Leg Syndrome: Uncomfortable sensations in the legs and a strong urge to move them, especially when trying to sleep.

Lifestyle Choices:

- Caffeine and Alcohol Consumption: Caffeine and alcohol can disrupt your sleep by interfering with your body's ability to fall and stay asleep. It's best to limit caffeine intake and avoid alcohol close to bedtime.

- Screen Time: Using electronic devices before bed can expose you to blue light, which suppresses melatonin production and disrupts your sleep-wake cycle. Try to avoid screens at least two hours before bedtime.

- Inconsistent Sleep Schedule: Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is crucial for optimal rest. Going to bed and waking up at different times can disrupt your body's internal clock and impact your sleep quality.

- Stress: Having a lot on your mind can make it difficult to fall asleep or achieve deep, restful sleep. Finding healthy ways to manage stress can improve your sleep.

- Sleep Environment: A poor sleep environment, such as an uncomfortable mattress, a noisy bedroom, or extreme temperatures, can hinder your sleep quality. Creating a comfortable and relaxing sleep environment is essential.

If you continue to experience fatigue despite addressing these factors, it is advisable to consult a healthcare professional or a sleep specialist to rule out any underlying sleep disorders or health conditions.

Screen time before bed

The stimulating content on your devices can also play a role in disrupting your sleep. Engaging with social media, the news, or exciting entertainment can overstimulate your brain, making it difficult to relax and transition to sleep. The enticing nature of these platforms and algorithms can also encourage you to stay awake longer, contributing to sleep debt and further disrupting your sleep-wake cycle.

To mitigate the negative impacts of screen time before bed, consider implementing the following strategies:

• Create a screen-free zone: Keep your bedroom free of electronic devices. If you need to use technology, opt for audio-only content such as audiobooks or meditation apps.
• Set a technology curfew: Aim to put away your devices at least an hour before bedtime. This gives your brain a chance to wind down and signals to your body that it's time to sleep.
• Use blue light filters: Take advantage of blue light filter settings or apps on your devices. You can also invest in blue-light filtering glasses to reduce blue light exposure.
• Embrace audio-based mindfulness: Instead of visual screen time, try listening to music, practising breathing exercises, or following a guided meditation to help you relax and prepare for sleep.
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine: Develop a ritual that signals to your brain that it's time to wind down. This could include reading a physical book, journaling, practising deep breathing exercises, or drinking herbal tea.
• Monitor content: Limit and monitor violent or stressful content, as it can affect your sleep regardless of the time of day and the duration of exposure.

By making these adjustments to your evening routine, you can reduce the negative impacts of screen time and improve the quality of your sleep.

Inconsistent sleep patterns

A study by the National Institutes of Health found that irregular sleep patterns can negatively affect the body's metabolism, which controls how we function and use energy. The study found that participants who slept inconsistently gained weight and had reduced insulin sensitivity, impairing their ability to process sugar.

Inconsistent sleep can also impact your mood, with studies showing that irregular sleep schedules are associated with a worse mood, increased sleepiness, and fatigue. This pattern of sleep is sometimes called "social jet lag" and has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

To improve your sleep quality and effectiveness, it is important to maintain a regular sleep and wake schedule. Try not to vary your bedtime by more than 30 to 45 minutes, even on the weekends.

If you continue to feel unrested, consider seeking advice from a healthcare provider who specializes in sleep medicine. They can provide a comprehensive assessment, including a discussion of your symptoms, a review of your medical history, and a physical exam. Specific tests, such as a sleep study, may also be recommended to help diagnose any underlying sleep disorders.

Alcohol and caffeine consumption

Caffeine is a stimulant that increases alertness and enhances performance. However, it also disrupts the brain's ability to keep track of how long it has been awake, making it harder to fall asleep. Caffeine can delay the onset of REM sleep, and each cup consumed reduces sleep quantity by about 10 minutes. It is recommended to stop consuming caffeine at least five hours before bedtime, or sooner if you are sensitive to its effects.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is a sedative that can help people fall asleep initially. However, it disrupts sleep in several ways, including contributing to abnormalities in circadian rhythms and increasing breathing-related sleep issues. It also increases the number of times you wake up once the initial relaxing effect wears off, preventing you from getting deep sleep. To avoid the negative impacts of alcohol on sleep, it is best to avoid drinking in the evening and to limit consumption to no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

Consuming both caffeine and alcohol can lead to a cycle of self-medication, where caffeine is used to counteract the sedative effects of alcohol, and alcohol is used to counteract the stimulating effects of caffeine. This cycle can result in poor sleep quality and quantity, as well as potential health risks associated with the excessive consumption of these substances.

Sleep disorders

Insomnia

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, affecting about one-third of adults. It involves problems falling or staying asleep. To be diagnosed with insomnia disorder, sleep difficulties must occur at least three nights a week for at least three months and cause significant distress or problems at work, school, or other important areas of a person's daily life.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterised by interruptions in breathing during sleep, lasting 10 seconds or more. This can cause snoring, snorting, gasping, or choking sounds, and the individual may stop breathing for short periods. Sleep apnea is often diagnosed through a clinical sleep study and can be treated with lifestyle changes, a custom-fit mouthpiece, or a CPAP device.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

RLS involves an urge to move one's legs, accompanied by uncomfortable sensations such as tingling, prickling, or itching. The symptoms occur at least three times a week, lasting for at least three months, and can cause significant distress or problems with daily functioning. RLS typically begins in a person's teens or twenties and affects up to 3% of the population.

Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders

These disorders occur when an individual's sleep-wake rhythms (body clock) become misaligned with the external light-darkness cycle. This misalignment leads to significant sleep problems and extreme daytime sleepiness, resulting in distress or functional impairments. Circadian rhythm disorders can be caused by internal factors, such as a person's body clock differing from the light-dark cycle, or external factors like shift work or jet lag.

Hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is characterised by an inability to stay awake during the day. This includes narcolepsy, which causes extreme daytime sleepiness. Individuals with narcolepsy experience an irrepressible need to sleep multiple times a day and may have brief sudden losses of muscle tone triggered by laughter or joking.

Parasomnia

Parasomnia involves acting in unusual ways while falling asleep, sleeping, or waking from sleep, such as walking, talking, or eating. This can include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, nightmare disorder, or REM sleep behaviour disorder, where individuals speak or move in response to dreams.

Sleep Drunkenness

Sleep drunkenness, or confusional arousal, is a sleep disorder where individuals bypass the typical sleep inertia phase and wake up abruptly from a deep sleep in a confused state. This can last for up to 30-40 minutes, and the person may not remember the episode upon waking.

Other Factors Affecting Sleep

In addition to sleep disorders, there are other factors that can impact the quality of your sleep:

• Exposure to blue light from electronic screens or energy-efficient lighting before bed can disrupt your sleep by suppressing the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.
• A poor sleep environment, such as an uncomfortable mattress, a bedroom that is too warm or too bright, or background noise, can disturb your sleep.
• Consuming caffeine or alcohol too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep by making it harder to fall asleep, increasing the number of times you wake up, and affecting your sleep quality.
• Stress or anxiety can also impact your sleep, as your brain may struggle to wind down and you may find it difficult to fall or stay asleep.

Bedroom environment

A poor bedroom environment can have a big impact on the quality of your sleep. Here are some tips to improve your sleep environment:

Light

Too much light in the bedroom can interfere with your sleep. Even small amounts of light can reduce the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep. This can make you feel alert when you want to be sleeping.

To reduce light exposure, you can use light-blocking shades or curtains, or hang a sheet or blanket over the window. You should also limit screen time for two to three hours before bed, as the blue light from electronic devices can disrupt your sleep. If you must use electronic devices, consider using blue-light blocking glasses.

Noise

Noise can also impact your sleep quality. Reducing background noise can help increase the amount of deep sleep you get and decrease how often you wake up during the night. If you can't get rid of the source of the noise, you can try sleeping with earplugs, using a sound machine, or keeping your windows and bedroom door closed.

Temperature

A bedroom that is too warm can interfere with sleep. A cool room mirrors the natural drop in body temperature that occurs when you sleep. Most research suggests that a bedroom temperature of around 68°F (20°C) is ideal for sleep, but you may need to adjust this to find the right temperature for you.

If your bedroom is too cold, you can try wearing socks to bed or placing a hot water bottle at your feet.

Mattress and bedding

An old or uncomfortable mattress can also disrupt your sleep. Mattresses that are too old can also be home to common allergens, such as dust mites, which can cause coughing and sneezing, especially for people with allergies or asthma. It is recommended that you replace your mattress every 9 to 10 years and use a hypoallergenic mattress cover if you have allergies.

In terms of mattress firmness, a medium-firm mattress is generally considered the best option for preventing back pain and promoting sleep.

Frequently asked questions