Always being tired

Ask a Therapist Is This Normal?
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I wake up feeling tired everyday even with sufficient sleep, sometimes too much. I have no idea why I feel this way

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Hi @ys20 ! Thank you for reaching out. I can imagine that it’s frustrating to wake up feeling tired everyday, even though it feels like you have gotten enough hours of sleep. Here are some reasons you might be feeling this way and what we can do about it:

  1. You might be getting your 8h of sleep at the wrong hours. Studies have found that the deepest and most restful part of our sleep occurs between 10pm and 2am, regardless of the time we actually go to sleep. So that means that if you regularly sleep at 3am, you don’t get the optimal amount of deep, restorative sleep you require. The solution to this is to find a bedtime within the window of 8pm to 12am that would suit your lifestyle needs.

  2. You might be staying awake in bed for too long. I know that lounging in bed feels comfortable, but when we do it for too long, our brains start to associate the bed with wakeful activities rather than just sleep. So this means not being in bed until you are ready to sleep, and not staying in bed for too long after you have woken up for the day.

  3. You might not be practicing good sleep hygiene. Examples of poor sleep hygiene would be things like engaging in stimulating activity such as exercise, consuming caffeine, or even social media before bed. Instead, you could come up with a way to relax and get your body ready for sleep. This can include meditation, breathing exercises, journaling, or even something as simple as listening to calming music. Here is an exercise tool for relaxing you might want to try out (Mental Support & Wellbeing Resources in Singapore to Improve Workplace Mental Health | mindline.sg).

Here is a similar thread you might want to check out for more tips on how to improve your sleep quality: Is wanting to sleep all the time normal?? - #2 by Jane

I hope this helps! :slightly_smiling_face:

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I do follow whatever you said as I’m quite aware of good sleep.
I’m just feeling tired because of some mental stress which I’m not prepared to share as yet

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Hi Ys20,

I actually really relate to you, I also struggle with feeling tired regardless of if I’ve slept enough or more than usual. Although our situations may be different in their own ways, I can imagine how this might affect you or leave you feeling puzzled.

Again, I can’t assume that you have the same reasons as me, but from my personal experience, I realized this fatigue also comes from an emotional place. When I have a lot on my mind or stressed with schoolwork, I find that sleeping isn’t enough, and that the mental stress affects my physical body. In that case, finding time to rest during the day in other ways (mentally or physically). helped a lot in reducing that “tired” feeling.

However, that’s just what I found works for myself, maybe you can also take time to reflect what might be causing this tired feeling other than sleep itself? Feel free to reach out as well and we can discuss this more :>.

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We’ll be here for you when you decide to share! In the mean time, hope you get a good night’s sleep!

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As @Jane beautifully pointed out there could be several reasons why this might be happening.

I will talk about when I feel tired from my own personal experience.

  • My dinner and eating regime the previous day was messed up
  • There is no proper wake up and sleep routine
  • Body is sometimes stressed cumulatively with daily activities

Let me know if you could relate to anything above @ys20 . Also, I am happy to connect with you to understand more.

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