Have you ever experienced feeling incredibly tired during the day without doing anything remotely strenuous? Have you ever felt like you’ve haven’t slept for days, even if you had 8 to 10 hours of sleep? This is a frustrating feeling that we may get from time to time. A lot of factors can be causing you to wake up tired or get worn-out easily. Your daily habits, the way you sleep, your pre bedtime regiments, and other surprising factors will affect your energy levels and sleep quality.
These factors can cause your body to ache and make you feel groggy during the day. This will affect your quality of life and your performance. You will need to regain this energy with excessive food or caffeine that in the long run will affect your health. Instead of grabbing that 7th cup coffee. Let’s learn about these surprising reasons and let us learn to correct them.
GERD or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease
One fourth of the people who suffer from GERD suffer from sleep-related acid reflux. Some people are unaware of heartburn during sleep so they are incognizant of the condition and just wake up with a bad taste in their mouth and pain in the chest to throat area. The acid reflux will partially wake the body up from sleep, causing you to sleep poorly without knowing.
Fix: There are medication you can take to cut down acid in the stomach. Prevent heartburn by cutting down on acidic, fatty and spicy food. Avoid eating two hours before sleeping for less acid production. Sleeping with your head slightly elevated will help keep the acid down.
Lack of vitamin B12
This vitamin is needed for the growth of red blood cells. This will boost the mood and improve energy production. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause the body to bruise easily, make the body weak, have a sore tongue and make you feel burned out.
Fix: You can fix this by adding more protein to your diet. Eat more meat, fish, daisy and eggs. You can also take a vitamin B12 supplement.
Dehydration
Mild dehydration can cause the brain to feel exhausted and woozy. Lack of water in the body can kick in when the body is 2% dehydrated. Making you feel thirsty, but we often ignore this feeling causing the body to get mildly dehydrated.
Fix: Carry a water bottle everywhere and take small sips of water every few hours. Take in some liquid in your diet too, add in soups, yogurts and fruit juices.
Anemia
Anemia is common in women due to heavy periods and iron deficiency. Fatigue is one of the symptoms of anemia. There are other causes of anemia such as rheumatoid arthritis, kidney failure and internal bleeding. Other symptoms of anemia is weakness, headaches, lack of concentration and chest pain.
Fix: Take in iron supplements or consult your doctor for medication you can take for anemia.
Unhealthy Eating
Foods that are high in caffeine, sugar or carbohydrates will give the body a temporary energy boost. This temporary energy boost will die down after a few hours causing an energy crash. The blood sugar will drop, causing exhaustion and lack of energy.
Fix: Lessen junk food consumption and substitute carbohydrates to complex carbohydrates. Remove processed foods in your diet and opt for fresh and healthy meals.
Pancakes for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Pancakes can cause the blood sugar to crash and cause you to feel drained and tired. Pancakes are filled with sugar and carbohydrates that can alter blood sugar levels.
Fix: Opt for whole wheat pancakes and honey.
Using the Bathroom In The Middle Of the Night
This habit is called nocturia, adults in their late 30s and older are more prone to waking up in the middle of the night to urinate. This disrupts sleeping patterns and interrupt sleep. Some adults may sleep through nocturia without going to the bathroom, but the signal that your bladder sends to brain partially wakes it up. As we grow older anti-diuretic hormones in the body decrease causing nocturia.
Fix: Don’t drink fluids 3 hours before hitting the sack and prevent eating food that is liquefied or had high water content. Lower the consumption of teas and coffee. Alcohol can also alter bladder function.
There are a lot of other illnesses that can affect your sleep such as diabetes, teeth grinding and thyroid problem. Lack of exercise will also lower energy production in the body. Depression can cause the body and mind to feel tired even with a full night’s sleep. Feeling tired all the time is not normal, especially if you eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep. Consult your doctor about this problem and get tested for possible health problems.
