4 Reasons Why You Feel Tired Upon Waking Up
Often, we wake up feeling irritable, unmotivated, and reluctant to leave bed. This article explores why we experience fatigue even after a full night's sleep.
After a good night's rest, we expect to feel refreshed, energetic, and upbeat. However, many times we wake up feeling grumpy and tired. There are scientific reasons behind this phenomenon.
Why Do We Feel Fatigued After Sleeping?
1. Adenosine Buildup in the Brain
In the final hours before waking, we spend time in the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phase, characterized by heightened brain activity and quick eye movements. Throughout the night, REM and non-REM sleep cycles repeat about 4 to 5 times. REM sleep is when vivid dreams occur.
During REM, the brain consumes significant amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy carrier in cells. Adenosine accumulation suppresses alertness and promotes sleepiness, which can leave us feeling groggy upon waking.
2. Sleeping Alone or With a Partner
Whether you share your bed affects how you feel in the morning. For example, women who sleep next to a male partner often report poorer sleep quality. However, when sleep is preceded by intimacy, women's moods improve, helping them tolerate mediocre sleep and morning tiredness.
Men’s sleep quality is unaffected by a female partner’s presence, but they tend to experience poorer sleep when sleeping alone.
3. Late Bedtime Habits
Night owls who go to bed late and wake up later tend to feel alert during the day and evening. However, those who consistently sleep deep into the night often suffer from reduced sleep quality and insomnia.
Disrupted sleep patterns impact the hippocampus, a brain region responsible for emotions, memory, and focus. This can even lead to hippocampal shrinkage, reducing learning ability and memory retention, and may be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease.
4. Low Blood Sugar Levels
What you eat before bedtime influences how you feel in the morning. Recent studies suggest that consuming sugary foods before sleep can improve morning alertness. Elevated blood sugar levels affect neurons involved in sleep regulation, which is why heavy meals often make us feel sleepy.
The Importance of Getting Enough Sleep
Scientists still don’t fully understand why we sleep, but they agree adults need at least 7 hours of sleep daily. Sleep deprivation triggers irritability and intensifies negative memories and emotions. Emotional instability results from the prefrontal cortex's reduced ability to regulate the limbic system.
Poor sleep also impairs memory, and chronic insomnia can lead to various health issues and mental disorders. During sleep, the brain clears harmful proteins that accumulate and may contribute to dementia. If you didn’t get enough rest last night, take a moment to pause and nap now to recharge!
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