Why do you feel tired when you wake up

1. You are going to bed at the wrong time, for YOU.

Remember you have a specific chronotype (Early Bird, Night Owl etc), and if you wake up, at a time that is not consistent with your chronotype, it can make mornings miserable. For example if you are a Night owl (what I call a Wolf in my Chronotype Quiz) and you are waking up at 6 am, even if you went to bed at 10 (giving you 8 hours to sleep), you will still feel terrible, because your brain still wants to produce Melatonin, while you are trying to wake up!

Solution: If you want to learn about your chronotype, and when to go to bed, check out our free quiz or get a free copy of my audiobook here.

2. You stay in bed too long

Many of my patients tell me that they hit the snooze 4-10 times while trying to get up in the am. This is a terrible idea and here is why: the average snooze button is about 7-9 minutes long, this does not give your brain the time it needs to get back into a deeper more refreshing stage of sleep. So, during the last 30-60 min of shuteye you are actually getting broken, fragmented sleep.

Solution: Set your alarm for the last minute until you need to get up. Or if you MUST have a snooze, then limit it to one time.

3. Your bedroom environment is disturbing your sleep.

There are many different things that can be impacting your sleep in your bedroom. For one, your environment’s temperature is crucial to your sleep quality, so consider turning the A/C down or trying out a cooling mattress to help set the stage for restful sleep. To start, I look around the room based on the 5 senses and see what is being impacted. But if you want to do just one thing, I suggest limiting blue light exposure at night. Remember blue light will keep Melatonin from being produced, which is critical for good rest.

Solution: Good Night Melatonin filtering blue light bulbs you can use the code Breus17 and get 10% off and these blue light blocking glasses, especially if you ever use a device at night (these should be on EVERY person’s bedside table)

4. Your Bedpartner is keeping you from getting good sleep.

Did you know that if you sleep next to a snoring bedpartner YOU lose an hour of sleep each night? Yes, it is true. But have you tried to get them to stop snoring and it failed? It’s likely because you’ve been trying incorrect solutions. Did you know that there are 3 different types of snorers?

Solution: Check out my new Snoring Quiz to learn more about the type of snorer you have in your bed, and what solutions can be personalized for them, trust me you will be thankful that you did and most are very simple and inexpensive to use. And, if your bed mate is keeping you up not from an abundance of snoring, but rather from tossing and turning too much, consider trying out a memory foam mattress that limits motion so you can rest uninterrupted.

5. You ate or drank something that is reducing your sleep quality.

The two biggest issues are alcohol and caffeine. While alcohol may make you feel sleepy, it actually keeps you out of the deep stages of sleep, which makes you feel awful in the morning. Caffeine does that same thing, this stimulant keeps your brain out of the deeper stages of sleep, which also makes sleep unrefreshing.

Solution: Stop caffeine by 2pm and stop alcohol 3 hours before bed. Caffeine has a half-life of 6-8 hours so stopping by 2 means that by 10 at least ½ is out of your system. As for alcohol, it takes the average human 1 hour to metabolize 1 alcoholic beverage, so if you have 2-3 glasses with dinner, make sure it is out of your system before bed, by waiting 3 hours.

6. You could have a sleep disorder.

While the symptoms may be mild, there are many sleep disorders that can affect sleep quality. A typical one is sleep apnea, but others include narcolepsy, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome. But when is it time to see a sleep doctor and do a sleep study?

Solution: Check out this blog post on When to do a Sleep Study.

All of these and even more reasons are addressed in my Sleep Coaching Course “Get Better Sleep” which you can do all on your own for less than the cost of a bottle of “sleep” medication.

Updated on Oct 16, 2022 08:10 PM IST

Do you frequently feel worn out, sleepy, and lethargic even after a good night's sleep? Learn from an expert the potential causes of your morning fatigue.

It's common to feel a little drowsy when you first get up. For many, a cup of coffee or a shower can solve the problem. However, if you frequently have morning lethargy, particularly if you feel exhausted all day long, there might be another issue at play. It can start to negatively affect your capacity to live life to the fullest if you consistently struggle to get out of bed even after a restful night's sleep or if your sleepiness lasts for an extended period of time. There are actions you can do to reduce the amount of time you spend in the morning grogginess zone and there are ways to maximise your energy levels throughout the day. (Also read: How to get a good night's sleep? Health and wellness experts share tips )

Dr. Michael Breus, Sleep Expert, explains reasons why you might be waking up tired in his recent Instagram post.

1. You are going to bed at the wrong time

Remember you have a specific chronotype (early bird, night owl etc), and if you wake up, at a time that is not consistent with your chronotype, it can make mornings miserable.

2. You stay in bed too long

Many people snooze 4-10 times while trying to get up in the morning. This is a terrible idea and here is why: the average snooze button is about 7-9 minutes long, but this does not give your brain the time it needs to get back into a deeper more refreshing stage of sleep. So, during the last 30-60 min of shuteye you are actually getting broken, fragmented sleep. Set your alarm for the last minute until you need to get up or if you must have a snooze, then limit it to one time.

3. Your bedroom environment is disturbing your sleep

There are many different things that can be impacting your sleep in your bedroom. For one, your environment’s temperature is crucial to your sleep quality, so consider turning the A/C down or trying out a cooling mattress to help set the stage for restful sleep. You can also get a blue light night lamp as blue light will keep Melatonin from being produced, which is critical for good rest.

4. Your bed partner is keeping you from getting good sleep

If you sleep next to a snoring bedpartner you lose an hour of sleep each night. And, if your bedmate is keeping you up not from an abundance of snoring, but rather from tossing and turning too much, consider trying out a memory foam mattress that limits motion so you can rest uninterrupted.

5. You ate or drank something that is reducing your sleep quality

The two biggest issues are alcohol and caffeine. While alcohol may make you feel sleepy, it actually keeps you out of the deep stages of sleep, which makes you feel awful in the morning. Caffeine does that same thing, this stimulant keeps your brain out of the deeper stages of sleep, which also makes sleep unrefreshing. Stop caffeine by 2 pm and stop alcohol 3 hours before bed. Caffeine has a half-life of 6-8 hours so stopping by 2 means that by 10 at least ½ is out of your system. As for alcohol, it takes the average human 1 hour to metabolize 1 alcoholic beverage, so if you have 2-3 glasses with dinner, make sure it is out of your system before bed, by waiting 3 hours.

6. You could have a sleep disorder

While the symptoms may be mild, there are many sleep disorders that can affect sleep quality. A typical one is sleep apnea, but others include narcolepsy, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome.

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