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Health4 min(s) read
An expert has revealed why people sometimes wake up feeling tired despite having had a proper night's sleep the night before.
Sleep is key to so much of life, from recovery to feeling good, and not getting enough of it can be seriously detrimental to a person's physical and mental health.
However, getting decent sleep can be difficult enough - so why do we often wake up feeling exhausted despite having got a full night's sleep?
According to the experts at TRT UK, there are a few factors which can contribute to this happening.
"Waking up exhausted after what feels like a ‘full’ night’s sleep is more common than people know," they told Unilad. "The problem usually isn’t the number of hours you’ve been in bed. It’s the quality and structure of your sleep.
"Sleep happens in cycles, moving between light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. Deep sleep is when physical restoration happens, while REM sleep is important for mood regulation, memory and mental focus.
"If these stages are interrupted by alcohol, stress, late-night scrolling, blood sugar triggers or even small breathing disturbances, you can technically sleep for seven or eight hours but still wake up feeling groggy."
Cortisol is of the main culprits that can affect sleep quality, as the steroid hormone created by the adrenal glands affects several aspects of health and the body's response to stress, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The experts added: "Cortisol is meant to rise slowly in the early morning to help you feel alert. If your stress levels are increased, your cortisol patterns can be dysregulated, leaving you feeling unrefreshed rather than awake.
"Hormones that support sleep and wakefulness, like cortisol and melatonin, work in a delicate rhythm. When that rhythm is disrupted by poor light exposure in the day, different bedtimes, or persistent stress, it can lead to that frustrating ‘I slept but I’m still tired’ feeling."
There are many things that can affect cortisol levels, from doomscrolling on your phone late at night, to stress, hormonal imbalances, and even some medications.
There are ways to combat this, however, which will hopefully improve the quality of your sleep by lowering your cortisol levels.
One key way is to get into a consistent routine to allow your body to get used to going to bed and waking up at a similar time each day.
The experts explained: "First, focus on consistency. Going to bed and waking up at nearly the same time each day helps control your circadian rhythm, your internal body clock."
Getting outside and spending time in daylight can also help, as they advise getting some natural light within 30 minutes of waking up.
This triggers the brain to suppress melatonin, the sleep hormone, and wake the body up, and even just 10-15 minutes of natural light can be hugely beneficial.
It's also a well-known fact that alcohol can significantly disturb sleep, with the REM part of the sleep cycle, which contributes to brain function, memory consolidation, and emotional health per the Sleep Foundation, most affected.
The expert added: "Limit alcohol and heavy meals near bedtime, as both can fragment sleep cycles, lowering deep sleep quality without you even knowing."
Keeping stress levels in check is also really important to allow your body to switch off and relax, so creating a routine to wind down before bed can help improve sleep quality greatly.
The experts added: "If fatigue continues even with good sleep patterns, it can be worth looking into underlying factors such as thyroid health, iron levels or a wider hormone imbalance. Ongoing insufficient sleep isn’t something you can just push through."
