Why Am I Still Tired After Sleeping? Causes of Fatigue

Do you feel tired all the time, even after waking up? You’re not alone, many people are struggling to get through their day without feeling exhausted. You may have tried several different solutions, from caffeine to increasing the amount of sleep you get at night. If nothing seems to be working, and you’re still tired after sleeping, there may be other issues that need to be addressed.

Fatigue can be caused by a number of health conditions and lifestyle factors. From the amount of sleep we get, to the quality of it, our diets, even stress, all of these things and more can cause us to feel exhausted. We’ll go over each of these fatigue culprits now.

Fatigue and Sleep

You may be suffering from fatigue because you just aren’t getting the right amount of sleep. You may be going to bed too late or waking up too early. Even sleeping too much could cause you to feel fatigued. Depending on your age, how much sleep you require can differ:

• Teens (ages 14-17): 8-10 hours
• Adults (18-64): 7-9 hours
• Elderly (65+): 7-8 hours

These are just a rough guideline, as everyone is different and may require more or less sleep to find the optimal amount for themselves. 

Other factors that may affect the quality of sleep you’re getting include:

• Working long hours
• Sleep apnea
• Narcolepsy
• Insomnia
• Diabetes
• Poor quality mattress

How to Get Better Sleep

The first step to getting better sleep is being aware of what you do before you go to bed. Make sure that you’re sleeping in a room that has no stimulation, such as a TV. Avoid using your phone before bed, as the blue light emitted by your device limits the production of melatonin, which can make it more difficult to fall asleep. Also, give yourself 3 hours between eating your final meal and turning in for the night, especially if those foods are high in protein and fat, as our bodies have a harder time processing these at night.

Fatigue and Stress

Daily stress can impact us in so many ways, and fatigue is one of them. This is a mental or physical exhaustion which can be caused by worrying or the difficulty in coping with a situation in your life. You may experience stress so often that you don’t even realize how much it can affect you. There are many forms of stress:

• Relationship related at home or work
• Overthinking
• Overworking
• Anxiety
• Physical or Emotional Trauma

How to Reduce Stress

There are many strategies employed when dealing with different kinds of stress. If your stress is stemming from your work/life balance, it’s important that you separate your work and home life. You process what you did at work, and you process what you did at home, but you don’t let them mix. If your stress comes from overthinking, sharing those feelings with another person is a good way to alleviate some of that burden you feel. Other stress reducers include:

• Being active –  any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever, this can even be as simple as going on daily walks. Physical activity helps release endorphins and other natural neural chemicals that enhance your sense of well-being
• Meditation – can be practiced anywhere, and can help instill a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being, as well as quiet the intrusive thoughts that are filling your mind
• Journaling – Putting your thoughts and feelings down on paper is a great way to get them all together and de-stress. You can choose to throw out what you’ve written when you’re done, or hold onto it for reflection later

Fatigue and Diet

Because your body relies so heavily on the foods you eat to function, your diet can be the main culprit of fatigue. These kinds of foods and drinks that wreak havoc on your energy levels:

• High carbs
• High sugar
• Fried foods
• Caffeine
• Alcohol

Improving Your Diet

Foods that can help boost energy levels are fresh rather than highly processed. They also tend to be rich in nutrients. Baked goods and snack foods may provide a short burst of energy, but it will also leave you crashing in the middle of the day. Instead opt for foods such as: 

• Fresh Fruits and Raw Vegetables – these are the original multivitamins providing you with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water.
• Almonds – Whole almonds are rich in nutrients like fats, fiber, and protein. Both protein and fat provide a feeling of fullness and can help increase energy levels.
• Leafy greens – rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and iron. Individuals with low iron often feel the effects of fatigue
• Fish – Salmon and tuna in particular can add beneficial, heart healthy fats to your diet
• Water – Making sure that you drink plenty of water and stay hydrated can help combat fatigue

Tried these Tips and Still Tired After Sleeping?

If fatigue doesn’t get better by addressing your sleep, diet, stress, and lifestyle, it could be caused by an overactive immune system. If that’s the case, then the immune system being out of balance can lead to it consuming a lot of the body’s energy to try to resolve whatever it sees as an issue, which will cause you to feel fatigued. 

When your immune system is attacking your own cells on a chronic basis gradually, over time this can lead to destruction of your own tissues. If the symptoms discussed here sound like you, then I encourage you to sign up for my upcoming webinar, Autoimmunity Finding Solutions That Last. Sign up to attend my free webinar today, it just might change your life.

At Whole Body Health, we do not treat symptoms or suppress body functions. We are different from mainstream medicine. Medications compete with the body’s innate ability to control itself. Our approach focuses on being the detective to find what your body is missing, provide that and remove what it doesn’t need so you can heal naturally!

Don’t wait to get motivated, to take better care of yourself, to develop symptoms or to realize your life is precious. You have the power to make a choice and decide how you want to take care of yourself and your family. You can make a positive impact on your health. Make your health a priority today.

If you’ve got more questions on what to do when you’re still tired after sleeping, reach out to us, we’re here to help. If you’re interested and, in the Vienna, VA area, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. David Gustitus by filling out our new patient intake form. You can also call us at (571) 378-0108 or reach out to us via email. We’re located at 8391 Old Courthouse Road, #350, Vienna, VA 22182.