Why You’re Always Tired
5 ways to Improve Your Sleep and Be more energized
There are always some days when we feel sleepy and tired all the time. On those days, although it helps, Drinking a cup of coffee doesn’t seem to solve the problem, while sleeping in isn’t an option, which means that more often than not, this sleep deprivation is going to carry on for days.
Most probably, the reason you feel sleepy all the time has to do with the quality and not the quantity of the sleep you get. Although this might not be an easy fix, the results are much worth it. So, Here are 5 ways you can improve your sleep to always feel energized.
1. Know Your Sleep Cycle
Figuring out one’s sleep cycles is vital if you want to get a good night’s sleep.
So What exactly are sleep cycles?
Sleep cycles are periods the body and brain go through during sleep. Each sleep cycle consists of four stages: three stages of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and one stage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and typically last around 90 minutes.
Non-REM sleep is when the body relaxes and restores itself, while REM sleep is when the brain is most active and dreams occur.
Because of this, we typically feel more relaxed towards the start of sleep cycles, as we have just been through the REM sleep stage. In contrast, If you wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle, you will feel really sleepy.
Knowing this, It’s obvious that we should aim towards waking up at the start of our sleep cycles, and the most optimal way of doing that is by waking up with around 7:30 hours or 9 hours of sleep.
2. Don’t Oversleep
“But Neoklis, aren’t we supposed to sleep more if we are tired? I thought the problem was not sleeping enough, not more!”
Believe it or not, oversleeping is a major problem for a lot of us, as most of the time, after a long week of work and overtime, we want to just sleep a lot, with the excuse that we underslept.
Don’t get me wrong, Under-sleeping is still bad, but most of the time, when we try to get up to date with our sleep, we tend to sleep more than our body is used to, which throws our whole system off therefore makes you more tired than you would have been otherwise.
To combat this, try to sleep progressively more, but never exceed 9 hours or 1 hour more sleep than you slept the previous night, which brings me right to my next point.
3. Optimise Your Circadian Rhythm
Arguably the most effective way to sleep better is to optimise your circadian rhythm to be as accurate as possible. But what exactly is the circadian rhythm?
In short, the circadian rhythm is in control of how sleepy you feel at any point.
The Circadian Rhythm achieves this primarily through detecting blue light, which is produced by the sun, through the optic nerve.
The thing is, in modern society, there is another thing that produces a crap ton of blue light, and this is electronic devices.
The problem with that is it messes up your circadian rhythm because it makes you think that the sun is still out when in reality, it is just your phone emitting the blue light.
This can cause immense consequences, as it means that you don’t get into deep sleep as much, which heavily impacts your quality of sleep.
So, in order to sleep better, try to avoid sources of green light, as well as try not to eat close to the time when you go to sleep.
4. Exercise More/Use up your Energy
Arguably one of the best ways to sleep better at night is by spending a lot of your energy during the day so that by the end of it, you feel tired and go straight back to sleep.
This can be either mental or physical work, as long it makes you feel tired. Again, it is easier to fall asleep when tired rather than feeling energetic because you sat on your ass watching TV all day.
Exercising also comes with other benefits, such as weight loss reduced heart disease, and lots of other issues, but that’s a story for another article.
5. Drink More Water
Due to all these things constantly fighting for our attention, we usually don’t drink as much water as we should. This is especially apparent to women, who always seem to feed off of junk drinks such as coffee and sodas, but this effect also applies to us men, though less frequently.
Drinking more water can immensely improve your sleep quality in a variety of ways, including
- Regulating your Body temperature, which helps you get into deep sleep quicker
- Prevent Dehydration during the night, Essentially eliminating those late-night wake-ups
- Keeping you in a good mood, making you feel more content and happy
But if you drink too much water, that can result in nocturia, which makes you wake up late at night even more, So it is crucial to regulate the amount of water you drink throughout the day, to maximize results.
Conclusion
Incorporating these strategies into your daily routine can pave the way for nights filled with restorative sleep. Remember, sleep is not a passive activity; it’s an essential part of maintaining our physical and mental well-being.
By making informed choices and prioritizing sleep, you’re taking a proactive step toward a healthier, more energized, and fulfilling life. Sweet dreams!
