Does the following scenario sound familiar?
Most nights you hit the hay at a reasonable hour. You get your seven, sometimes even eight, hours of sleep a night.
But despite having gotten plenty of rest, your first thought when you wake up is about crawling back into bed. By lunch you’re yawning and at risk for taking an accidental nap. And exhausted, you doze off during the evening news every night without fail.
And now you’re wondering, “Why do I feel sleepy all the time?”
Feel sleepy? 6 common caused behind daytime fatigue
Well the good news is if you’re getting enough sleep, more often than not one of six common causes is triggering your daytime fatigue. Pinpoint and address it, and soon your energy levels should bounce back to normal.
Ready to get started? If you often feel sleepy during the day one of the following six triggers is likely the reason.
1. Adrenal fatigue:
Your adrenal glands kick into overdrive during stressful situations, pumping out the hormones that trigger the fight or flight response necessary to keep you safe in an emergency. Unfortunately, EVERY day is stressful in modern day America, but your body hasn’t adapted.
This means your adrenal glands are stuck in overdrive. And just like you, they get tired when they have to go nonstop. The result can be what some experts call adrenal fatigue, a collection of disturbing symptoms including sleeping problems, body aches, brain fog and fatigue.
There isn’t a formal method for testing for adrenal fatigue. Which is why some folks argue that it doesn’t exist. But there’s no question that the symptoms are real.
And the best way to tackle them is to…
- look for ways to reduce stress in your life such as watching a funny movie, listening to music, playing with a pet, sipping on tea, or taking a warm bath
- take a supplement designed to address adrenal problems with energy-boosting ingredients such as eleuthrero and schisandra berry and stress-reducing ones like ashwaganda
Give your overworked adrenals the support they need, and before you know it you could find your energy levels returning to normal.
2. Anemia:
One of the most well-known causes of daytime fatigue, anemia is actually a symptom, not a disease. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to tissues and cells, giving them–and you–energy. But when your body isn’t producing enough red blood cells, you feel sleepy all the time, regardless of how much rest you get.
Iron deficiency, chronic diseases, or kidney problems can cause this lack of red blood cells, or anemia. While your doctor has to diagnose anemia, it’s an easy blood test.
3. Dehydration:
As strange as it sounds, not drinking enough water can make you feel sleepy. And chronic dehydration can make you feel tired all the time.
Picture a dehydrated food such as dried fruit or beef jerky. It’s shriveled up and wrinkly, right? Well, that’s kind of what happens to your muscles, organs and brain when you get dehydrated. No wonder it makes you sleepwalk your way through your days.
The rule for staying hydrated is don’t wait until you feel parched. You may have already started getting dehydrated at that point. Start your day with a big glass of water and drink more water throughout the day to put dehydration triggered fatigue to bed for the last time.
4. Fibromyalgia:
You may have heard of fibromyalgia before. If you have, the first thing you likely think of is the deep, chronic pain that’s the hallmark of the disease. But an often overlooked symptom of fibromyalgia is the chronic exhaustion that sufferers battle too.
Fibromyalgia starts in the nerves which can wear you out physically, as well as cause discomfort. If you’ve been experiencing widespread pain along with daytime sleepiness, you could have an undiagnosed case of fibromyalgia. Talk with your doctor about your symptoms.
5. Sleep apnea:
Sleep apnea literally causes you to stop breathing while you sleep. It can happen dozens of times a night. But more often than not sleep apnea sufferers have no idea they have the condition. They only know they feel sleepy all the time.
Folks who are overweight and those who snore tend to be more at risk for sleep apnea. But thin folks and quiet sleepers can have it too.
If you think you’re getting a solid eight hours of sleep every night, but still waking up tired, sleep apnea could be to blame. Your doctor can order a sleep study to confirm it.
6. Depression:
Feeling tired all the time is a classic symptom of depression. If you’ve already eliminated the other five common causes of daytime fatigue but still feel worn out, depression could be the cause.
If you find yourself wanting to stay in bed, feeling like you could sleep all day, or not caring about much of anything, you could be suffering from clinical depression. It’s a perfectly normal medical condition, and you shouldn’t feel any embarrassment. Ask your doctor for a referral to a therapist who can help you recover.
We all feel sleepy from time to time. But if your “time to time” has turned into “MOST of the time,” it’s time to take some action. Stop sleepwalking through your life. The sooner you identify the cause behind your daytime sleepiness, the sooner you can return to your normal energetic self.
She is an advocate of self-education and is passionate about the power of group knowledge sharing, like the kind found right here on HealthierTalk.com. Alice loves to share her views on holistic and natural healing as well as her, sometimes contentious, thoughts on the profit-driven inner workings of traditional medicine.
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