Do you have trouble concentrating because you’re always tired? We’ll show you what you can do to combat exhaustion, and how to get through your day after getting too little sleep.
Why Am I Always Tired?
Bad sleep, too little sleep, stress, or bad weather: always feeling tired can be caused by many things. The feeling of exhaustion is your body’s way of telling you that it needs you to slow down and let it recover. Being constantly tired means having trouble concentrating and becoming easily irritated. Headaches, chills, and feeling manic can also be caused by lack of sleep. Luckily, there are a few simple methods that you can employ to help you get through your day on a bad night’s sleep.
1. Drink Right
Instead of immediately reaching for coffee after getting too little sleep, drink a large glass of water. Because your body loses moisture at night, regardless of how much or how little you’ve slept, your body is dehydrated when you wake up in the morning. If you didn’t get in enough hours or always feel tired, your body’s lack of water only makes the feeling of fatigue more intense.
And drinking water instead of coffee first thing in the morning has another benefit: waiting about an hour after you wake up to have your coffee will make the caffeine more effective. So say Canadian scientists Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, who run AsapSCIENCE on Youtube. Why? Cortisol, often called the “stress hormone”, controls your body’s level of alertness. While you’re sleeping, the level of cortisol in your body goes down, but towards morning, it begins to rise, slowly rousing your body and mind to get you ready for your day. When you wake up, cortisol levels are at their peak. According to science, while your body is in this state of heightened alertness, the effect of caffeine is diminished, and tolerance is built much more quickly.
2. Always Tired? Movement and Fresh Air Help
Even just a few short minutes outside will help boost your circulation and kick your body into gear. Try walking part of the way to work in the morning, or go for a short stroll during your lunch break. Being in the sun will naturally slow down your body’s release of melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy. But even if it is cloudy, getting outside and bringing your body into motion will make you feel more alert and awake.
3. Take A Nap
Even a few minutes of sleep can make you feel much better. If you have the opportunity to grab a power nap, take it. But be careful not to sleep for more than 30 minutes, otherwise you’ll pass into a deep sleep, which will leave you feeling groggy after you wake up. Plus, if you sleep too long in the afternoon, it will be more difficult to fall asleep in the evening, which will begin the vicious cycle of feeling always tired all over again.
Having trouble falling asleep at night? Check out this article: Ways to Fall Asleep: Tips and Tricks
4. Constantly Tired? Eat Light
If you’re completely exhausted and feeling always tired, avoid eating heavy foods that will require your digestive system to work hard. After you eat, blood rushes to your gut to aid the digestion process. It is hypothesized that the corresponding drop in blood flow to the brain causes you to feel lethargic. Skip the pasta dish or the steak and potatoes and reach instead for a salad or fruit.
If you’re always feeling tired, you should also avoid eating sugary foods. It’s true that things like chocolate, gummy bears, and sweet energy drinks will give you a quick boost, but it will be very short-lived and you’ll feel even worse after you come crashing back down.
5. Listen to Music
If you’re constantly tired, try popping in your headphones and listening to your favorite song. When you hear music that you like, your body produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter. Dopamine is connected with feelings of well-being and enjoyment; more dopamine means that you feel happy and good, which will make you feel more energized and drive away feelings of tiredness.
6. Change Your Sleeping Habits
There are lots of other little tricks that will help you get through the day if you’re always tired, like sticking your elbow under cold running water or pinching yourself in the thigh. But the only real answer to the problem of being constantly tired is to improve your sleeping habits. Try making changes to your night time routine to help get yourself ready for a good night’s rest, or get in a morning workout to help boost your energy and regulate your circadian rhythm.
If you find that you are always tired over a long period of time and nothing that you do seems to help, it’s best to see a doctor to make sure that your fatigue isn’t a symptom of an underlying illness.
This article has been translated from German to English by Christie Sacco. You can find the original version here: Ständig müde: Diese Tipps helfen gegen Müdigkeit
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