Why Am I Always Sleepy?

In recent days, staying up late has disrupted my biological clock, and I really don't know what I'm doing staying up late. Today, I finally made up my mind not to stay up late anymore. The daily slogan with my roommate is "no more staying up late," but we haven't been able to achieve it even for a day. I hope I can accomplish it today. For me, the biggest problem is not staying up late, but the fact that no matter how long I sleep, I always feel drowsy. That's what troubles me. Since I became an adult, my sleep time has been relatively stable, about 7 and a half hours every day. What makes me most uncomfortable after going to college is that my roommates don't have the habit of taking a nap, only I do. For someone who has taken a nap since childhood, if I don't take a nap, the afternoon will be a waste. However, when you enter a new environment, you have to adapt to the changes and try to adjust to a state where you can stay energetic and complete various learning tasks throughout the day without taking a nap. How can I change this state of drowsiness every day? The so-called finding the cause and treating the symptoms, let's find out together.

Reasons#

Eating Habits#

A person's diet is the most important part of their body. The energy for activities comes from food. Some reasons for excessive sleepiness related to diet include:

Deficiency in vitamins and minerals, especially iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D
Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can limit the body's ability to deliver energy to cells
Excessive alcohol consumption
Consuming too much caffeine

Original: Failing to eat a balanced diet or skipping meals can lead to poor nutrition.

Tips: Simple dietary changes or supplementation of necessary nutrients may be all that is needed.

Stress Issues#

In the current environment, everyone's stress is increasing, especially during the pandemic, when everyone is under various pressures. For example, my roommate is very anxious every day because she is preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. Stress and sleep problems can be considered as a difficult pair. Stress can cause sleep problems, and sleep problems can feedback stress. Research has found that getting a good night's sleep is of great help in facing stressful events and can help people develop positive emotions, thereby reducing the tendency to avoid difficult emotions. Sleep can also bring happiness.

Dehydration#

50% to 60% of a person's body weight is water (data source needs to be verified, other sources mostly state 60% to 70%).

Original: When you don't get enough fluids on a regular basis, you may feel more tired than usual and low on energy.

Tips: Drink at least 6 to 8 cups of water every day. In addition to drinking plain water, you can also ensure fluid intake by adding fruits such as watermelon and cucumber.

Pathological Reasons#

Sometimes feeling sleep-deprived, easily fatigued, and mentally exhausted may not be caused by external factors, especially after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, the body undergoes some subtle changes.

Anemia
Autoimmune diseases
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heart disease (this condition also occurs during cancer and chemotherapy)
Menopause
During pregnancy
Thyroid disease (hypothyroidism)

Original: Drowsiness and fatigue are common side effects of medications. Your healthcare provider will likely look into what medications you're taking if you are always sleepy during the day.

Lifestyle#

Sitting for long periods without exercise
Increased screen time
Poor sleep habits
Irregular meals

Original: Getting into a regular sleep routine and creating a pleasant sleeping environment may help you feel less sleepy during the day.

Meditate#

As for solutions, most of them have been mentioned above, but when I was researching many documents or watching many YouTubers, I came across a word - Meditate. Many articles link meditation with increased productivity, and some bloggers even claim that after meditation, they feel energized and significantly improve their work efficiency.

Original: Meditation brings many benefits: It refreshes us, helps us settle into what’s happening now, makes us wiser and gentler, helps us cope in a world that overloads us with information and communication, and more. But if you’re still looking for a business case to justify spending time meditating, try this one: Meditation makes you more productive.

An important question: How Can We Start Meditating?
There is no one answer to this question. Follow your own preferences or search online. Meditation is obviously popular abroad, and you can see it in many articles about health.

I am not a health professional, and I do not provide any scientific knowledge. This is only for communication and learning purposes.

王云子