Why do I wake up tired? 7 common causes (and how to avoid them)

We know that sleep is a basic need for the regeneration and rest of our body and brain. and that, therefore, if we do not do it, this fact will inevitably lead to the death of the subject. Likewise, it is important to consider the variables that can affect a good rest and lead to alterations in the health of the individual.

Various causes have been observed that can generate sleep problems and a consequent feeling of tiredness and lack of energy, such as appearance of a sleep disorder (the most typical being insomnia and hypersomnia), the involvement of other mental disorders such as depression, presence of pathological anxiety, substance use, drug treatment or simply a poor daily routine or environmental conditions of the bedroom.

In this article we describe what the normal sleep pattern is like, as well as what causes or alterations can affect good rest and, therefore, that the subject wakes up tired.

• We recommend you read: "12 ways to fight insomnia effectively"

The importance of healthy sleep

Sleep is an active process, with this definition we mean that electroencephalic activity continues to be recorded during sleep. During nocturnal sleep, cycles of 90 to 110 minutes are repeated throughout the night.. Likewise, sleep is divided into 5 phases that are differentiated according to the activity observed in the electroencephalogram, the electromyogram and the electro-oculogram.

In this way, in phase 1 the transition to sleep occurs, being this short-lived, brain activity begins to decrease, this phase increases its frequency when fragmented sleep occurs; in phase 2 the difficulty to wake up increases; in phases 3 and 4 brain activity reaches the lowest point, in phase 4 is when the brain rests and there is muscle activity and in phase 5 brain activity is similar to that observed during wakefulness, eye movements increase and no muscle activity is recorded, this phase helps brain development and learning.

It is recommended or established as normal to sleep about 7 hours and a half and present 5 cycles of 90 minutes during the night. This criterion does not always have to be fulfilled, so there are people who need to sleep a little more or a little less, in the same way there will be periods in which we are more tired. This sleep pattern will also vary according to age, as we get older, the hours of sleep decrease, phase 1 and 2 appear more and sleep will be more fragmented.

I wake up tired: why does this happen to me even when I sleep?

Now that we know better how sleep is produced and developed, let's see what factors can alter it and make you not rest well at night. We will see that the causes can be multiple, linked to mental disorders, physiological alterations or following an inappropriate routine.

1. Sleep disorders

Sleep is a basic need for survival. In this way, alterations in this process generate affectations in the functionality of the subject, considering then that he has a mental disorder without organic causes that justify it. There are different disorders classified within this category, the most prevalent being insomnia, which is defined as a difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or waking up early and not going back to sleep; and hypersomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness.

In the two effects raised, we observed drowsiness or daytime tiredness that affects different areas of the person's life, such as occupational, academic or social. There are also other alterations that can affect our rest and make us feel tired. such as: sleep disorders related to breathing, these would be apneas or hypoventilation; circadian rhythm disorders, the pattern of hours of rest is altered; narcolepsy that appears an irrepressible need to sleep or parasomnias.

In these last alterations, the parasomnias, are classified: the disorders of awakening from non-REM sleep that are the sleepwalking, the subject gets out of bed and walks and night terrors there is a sudden awakening with terror; nightmares are defined as long-lasting unpleasant dreams; REM behavior disorder, where repeated arousals occur during sleep related to vocalizations and/or motor behavior and restless legs syndrome, which is an urge to move the legs and a feeling of discomfort.

2. Alteration in sleep hygiene

By sleep hygiene we understand both factors related to lifestyle and factors related to the environment where the subject sleeps. In this way, the individual may not rest well and feel tired the next day if he does not follow an adequate daily routine, such as performing intense sports shortly before going to bed. bed, eating a large amount of food, taking long naps or the conditions in your bedroom are not adequate, for example there is a lot of light, noise and the temperature is very high or very short.

So that, It will help you rest better by establishing good and healthy habits during the day., a good night routine and try to make the bedroom conditions as favorable and suitable as possible.

3. alcohol consumption

We know that alcohol is a drug and that as such it acts by affecting the functioning of the brain. It has been proven that this substance affects sleep, being an exclusion criterion for diagnosing a sleep disorder, that is, the effects that we will be able to observe will be similar to those linked to alterations such as insomnia or hypersomnia, such as the sensation of fatigue.

Being a sedative, tranquilizing drug, we can believe that it will help sleep but far from being the case in the long run, when the subject consumes repeatedly, we observe a worse rest since the duration of the REM phase is greater, observing greater brain activity.

4. night anxiety

Has it ever happened to you to be tired, want to sleep but not get it, this fact is typical when we have nocturnal anxiety. The subject is physically tired but the mind is still active ruminating and unable to stop turning over the same ideas.

In the same way that happens to subjects with obsessions, wanting to stop having a thought, trying to remove it only makes it repeat itself more, since denying ourselves a thought makes it repeatedly come back to our mind and as a consequence in this circumstance we cannot fall asleep or rest. To achieve a decrease in brain activity, it is recommended to carry out relaxation or breathing techniques.

5. Consumption of medications or psychoactive drugs

In the same way that happens with drugs or as we have seen with alcohol, in the case of drugs an alteration in the sleep pattern can also be observed, being able to affect this. Drugs are therapeutic drugs and as such will also produce changes in brain function and activity.

Apart from the drugs prescribed to treat other pathologies that alter sleep as a side effect, it has also been seen that Psychotropic drugs that are specific to treat sleep problems, such as benzodiazepines with tranquilizing effects, can maintain its effects beyond the hours of sleep and produce drowsiness during the day, affecting the normal functioning of the subject. Likewise, it has also been observed that these drugs, if their consumption is abruptly interrupted, rebound insomnia may appear, where the individual shows greater sleep problems than initially.

6. Depressive disorder

One criterion that may be met in depressive disorder is the appearance of sleep disturbances both insomnia and hypersomnia, for this reason we can observe that depressed subjects may show tiredness or a feeling of not having rested together with other characteristic symptoms of depressive disorder.

Likewise, it has also been observed that some antidepressants, such as the serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which is one of the most used, can produce sleep disturbances such as insomnia as side effects.

7. Asthenia

Asthenia is a medical term used to refer to chronic and pathological fatigue. that affects the functionality and life of the subject who suffers it. The patient feels extremely tired and fatigued, making it difficult for him to develop his daily activity and this can be reduced even by half, he does not manage to do everything he used to do previously. The causes can be multiple, both organic and psychological.

This feeling of tiredness and lack of energy, which must be maintained for 6 months in order to make the diagnosis, It is accompanied by other symptoms such as: alterations in psychic abilities, such as affectation in attention, memory or concentration; sexual dysfunctions, such as decreased desire and excitatory capacity; altered sensation of appetite, eat less or can also be linked to other mental disorders such as anxiety or personality disorder.