Daytime Sleepiness and Surprising Reasons for It

Waking up mornings can leave many of us struggling to leave that bed at times. However, if you habitually feel drained of energy when your alarm rings and can’t understand why, then you could be missing some simple reasons as to why you’re still tired after waking up. Here is what you need to know that could help that defeat that daytime sleepiness after waking you may not have thought of.

Temperature has a big influence over the comfort of our sleep, if you intend to conquer that daytime sleepiness. The ideal temperature for sleeping is 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. You may be keeping your thermostat up to high causing a restless night of tossing and turning to sweating. An easy solution is investing in a programmable thermostat that can automatically lower the temperature at night for you in case you keep forgetting.

I get very cold and usually have a mountain of blankets on my bed. If you do the same, you may want to make the bed with fewer blankets and keep an extra afghan or blanket handy at the foot of your bed. This can help keep you warmer when crawling into bed while being easy to throw off later when it gets too hot.

Something else to consider is dry indoor air, especially in the colder months. Your lips can dry out and chap or skin can itch to irritate while attempting to sleep. Keeping a tube of lip balm and body lotion handy within reach on your night stand or dresser can help with a more contented night of sleep and bettering your odds of avoiding that sleepy feeling the next morning.

The condition of your mattress has a lot to do with how well you sleep. On the same note, your pillow can also play a part in that equation. For example, you may be sleeping on one that is too soft a pillow that doesn’t give you the support you need. Maybe you keep punching it or adjusting it through the night to cradle your neck, which could account as another reason you’re tired after waking up.

Another explanation for daytime grogginess is that you might be using the wrong pillow for how you typically sleep. Side sleepers usually need a thicker pillow than someone that sleeps on their stomach or back.

A pillow that is too hard can also cause sleep problems from rolling around it bed, to repositioning it due to a stiff neck.

You may find that it would be to your advantage to think about replacing your pillow. Just do a simple test on your pillow to see if it is time to shop for a new one.

To evaluate your pillow condition, get your husband, wife or another family member or friend for this test. What you do is tell that recruit to watch how your neck looks on that pillow when you lay on your side. Your neck needs to line up with your spine. If your neck deviates from that straight position, this is your clue to replace that pillow.

You can do another quick test to judge a fiberfill or down pillow. According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, you can fold the pillow in half and place a book on it. If that pillow springs back in shape, then your pillow is still good.

These are just a few changes to your bedtime routine that may help you avoid that sleepy feeling waking and those bouts of daytime sleepiness. For more ideas to improve your sleep, you may want to read my earlier post.

Of course, you could also have a medical condition causing daytime sleepiness like sleep apena when your breathing gets interrupted during sleep or a condition called narcolepsy narcolepsy. You also want to visit your physician and get evaluated to see if what you are going through is due to your health.