Life
There are the days when everyone wakes up a little groggier than they’d like — New Years Day, Monday after a long weekend, you know the drill. While you may find yourself occasionally reaching for that second (or third, no judgement) cup of coffee, if you wake up constantly feeling groggy or like you haven’t slept enough, it may be a sign that something more serious than a Sunday Funday is at play. So why do you wake up feeling groggy every day?
Waking up feeling tired can be confusing and frustrating when you've gotten seven to nine hours of sleep, as recommended by the National Sleep Foundation for people ages 18-64 (the recommendation for adults aged 65 and up is seven to eight hours).
“When we wake up groggy, it is our body telling us that we didn't get a quality night of sleep,” Kelly Benson, Performance Sleep Coach and creator of the Performance Sleep Method, a holistic approach to overcoming adult chronic insomnia and poor sleep, tells Romper. “Although we may feel we got "enough" sleep because of the amount of time we stayed in bed, the sleep itself wasn't high quality. Unfortunately, by the time we wake up in the morning, there's nothing more we can really do to influence how well we rested.”
I had doctors and sleep experts talk me through 6 things it may mean if you consistently wake up feeling tired, and because I’d never just leave you hanging, I also had them explain some actions you can take to sleep more soundly and wake up feeling rested.
4
Your melatonin production is not functioning properly
You may already have a bottle of melatonin tucked into your medicine cabinet for special occasions (read: those nights when you just cannot fall asleep). I do, and the tiny pills are cherry-flavored and delicious, but I try to limit my intake to once a month or so because I don't want to disrupt my natural melatonin production.
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. and author, says that melatonin production can be affected by many factors including light in your bedroom, electro-magnetic fields near your bed including phones or tablets (I am SO guilty) or drinking alcohol or exercising too close to bed.
Dean tells Romper that people who are consistently groggy also may not be getting "enough of the sleep mineral magnesium. Magnesium facilitates sleep regulating melatonin (sleep hormone) production. Studies have shown that magnesium helps you get a deep and restful sleep. Magnesium also relieves the muscle tension that can prevent restful sleep."
The good news is that magnesium is having a major moment and you can buy it in supplement or spray form, both of which may help facilitate better sleep.
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Your diet is a problem
I wish this was a world where I could eat pizza every day and suffer no consequences, but unfortunately, it's not and I still eat pizza twice a week. You may not think that diet has much to do with your sleep, but many of the experts I spoke with indicated otherwise.
Dr. Conners told Romper, "If you constantly wake up feeling groggy... the first thing to look at is your diet. Are you eating a lot of high-inflammation foods (e.g. heavy carbs, alcohol, sugary drinks, processed meats)? Minimizing these types of foods would be a great first step."
Lisa Richards, nutritionist and gut health expert, told Romper that studies have found a link between sleep inertia and diet. "Diets containing large quantities of junk food can lead to feelings of grogginess in the morning," Richard says. "This is due primarily to the state of inflammation that occurs in the body when you eat a lot of processed foods."
There are certain foods (in addition to lattes) that will help you fight that morning grogginess. Richard says, "Avoid processed foods and try watermelon, bananas, eggs, and almonds. Foods high in healthy fats, potassium, and protein will help wake up the mind."
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Microarousals are to blame
Benson also mentions "microarousals" (not as sexy as they sound) as a cause for morning fatigue. Microarousals are quick wakes up, to turn over in bed or flip the pillow, for example, that are usually not remember by the sleeper.
"When there is an excessive amount of microarousals and they last longer than 30 seconds, it becomes fragmented sleep," Benson says.
"This is very common in people who have a sleep disorder called sleep-maintenance insomnia, which is when it is easy to fall asleep at bedtime but difficult to remain asleep throughout the night. Fragmented sleep includes a substantial amount of micro wake ups and also results in the person experiencing less slow-wave and REM sleep, the two most restorative and beneficial stages."
To avoid fragment sleep, or microarousals, Harvard Health recommends avoiding alcohol, screen time, and caffeine in the hours before bed, and avoiding naps and demanding tasks later in the day.