What can cause you to feel tired in the morning?
There is nothing worse than having to peel yourself off the bed in the morning, feeling wretched or worse. We expect to suffer like this if we have had a late or indulgent night. Maybe sometimes fun is better than sleep. It is another matter if it is a regular occurrence, though, and you feel like this every morning. It may be keeping you up at night, dreading the wake-up. I strongly urge everyone not to ignore this horrible symptom. It will wear you down and wring you out.
There are a number of factors that need to be considered. One, or any of them together, may be responsible for your morning weariness.
Here are few issues that can make you feel groggy in the morning. I'll discuss more throughout the blog.
- Coffee and nicotine
- Lack of sleep
- Low mood
- Blood sugar levels
- Dehydration
- Exercise
1. Coffee and Nicotine
Many of us are addicted to stimulants to provide a bit of a kick start in the mornings. Most of your morning coffee is absorbed within the first 45 minutes after drinking it so the effects are pretty immediate. Coffee can block adenosine receptors, which are part of our chemical messaging system controlling our sleep and wake cycle. This can stop us from feeling sleepy temporarily, but it doesn't stop us from making sleepy adenosine. This is still merrily doing the rounds, waiting to get to work again as soon as the caffeine wears off. This is why you will slump again within an hour. Caffeine is also a diuretic. This means that it can flush fluid from the body and affect hydration, which can contribute to making you feel tired.
Nicotine in cigarettes and vapes are also stimulants. They can mask how tired you are and give you artificial energy. They can inhibit appetite, which can affect healthy food choices. Smokers are frequently suffering from nicotine withdrawal by the time morning hits. This can cause irritability and tiredness.
Our body has a finely-tuned balancing system to regulate energy and rest. It's important that stimulants are not taken in excess. They can negatively affect our wake-sleep cycle. You will sleep poorly and wake badly.
A coffee alternative may offer one solution - try our Bambu Latte. Maybe you think that caffeine may not be working for you any longer? It does taste lovely.
2. Lack of sleep
I worked in lovely health food shops for many years. Chronic tiredness was a complaint that was asked about with great regularity. It is a source of constant amusement to me that poor sleep is rarely considered as a potential cause. I think, sometimes, people cannot see the wood for the trees. Tiredness can make you vulnerable and a bit daft. Doctor Internet often recommends obscure and unlikely products that promise everything. We are programmed by society to shop first and to think later.
Please ask yourself: is it possible that feeling dreadful every morning could be due to sleep deprivation? You can experience this by getting less than 7-9 hours' sleep a night.
Dormeasan Sleep is a herbal sleep remedy. It can be used to promote sleep, which can then help to establish a regular sleep cycle. The taste is a little pungent – I prefer to take this in about 10mls of fruit juice. Because it is a liquid, it can get in there quickly and work in less than an hour. For chronic poor sleepers, it may take a few weeks to get a sleep cycle back on track: be patient.
3. Low mood
Feeling dreadful in the mornings can be a symptom of a disturbed sleep-wake cycle. This can include feelings of exhaustion and low mood. It can affect motivation and energy and make the morning time the worst part of your day.
The body maintains a balance of hormones with an internal body clock. It's called the circadian rhythm. Each hormone that determines mood depends upon this.
- Darkness triggers a hormone called melatonin, which makes us sleepy.
- Cortisol is known as one of our stress hormones. One of its functions is to wake us up in the morning.
- Our happy hormone is serotonin, and this is triggered by sunlight.
We need to keep all of these in balance, in order to feel well and content.
It is very important that low mood is addressed if it is a daily occurrence. There is a fine line between low mood and depression. Read our article on depression for more information.
My Self-Care Tip: How to alleviate morning grumpiness
Watch my video below for my self-care tip that may help brighten your morning, just a bit anyway, and help you relieve any morning grumpiness or low mood.
4. Blood sugar levels
I know you are all probably sick of people harping on about sugar being the root of all evil. The sorry state of the situation is that it really is the devil! The NHS recommends no more than 30g of sugar a day. The average UK child and teen is eating up to three times that, a day1. NOT GOOD at all!!!
Look at how easy it is to get more than the recommended 30g. A single treat may use up your daily allotted portion before you even get to eat a nutritious meal.
| Food portion | |
| A portion of Corn flakes 42g served with skimmed milk |
|
| Baked beans (that aren't sugar-free) one cup or 150g |
|
| Only 8 Jelly babies | |
| A regular pack of Maltesers | |
| Can of coke |
It's important to remember that sugar is present in healthy things like fruit too. An apple has about 10g; but this is bound up with fibre and absorbs more slowly.
Why can too much sugar make you feel rotten in the morning?
After eating, the body converts any sugars to glucose. This can be readily accepted by our body and used for energy. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas and its job is to manage glucose. It receives it and decides where to put it. It is either used by cells all over the body for energy or stored away for later - in the fat cells of our bottoms, as well as other wobbly bits, tissues and organs.
If you go without food for a few hours, the body will use another hormone to release stored glucose. This will keep you going till the next meal. That is how our blood sugar level is regulated.
Sometimes there may not be enough insulin available. This is called hyperglycaemia or high blood sugar. This can happen with persistent overeating and inactivity2. We need to move around to burn energy and to use up glucose. Overeating can interfere with the body's ability to know how much insulin to deliver to achieve its blood sugar balance.
Repeated incidents of high blood sugar can lead to diabetes. Diabetes is a permanent inability to produce enough insulin. The body can also become resistant to insulin.
Hypoglycaemia is low blood sugar
This is the one that can make you feel wretched in the morning. Symptoms include feeling:
- Jittery, shaky or sweaty
- Clumsy
- Anxious
- Irritable
- Exhausted
- A fast heartbeat
- A headache
Why does this happen?
Big meals and sofa snacking - maybe the body has produced too much insulin during that last meal eaten. This can happen if evening meals are regularly too large.
Too much alcohol makes it harder for the liver to release glucose into your blood. It is busy trying to deal with the booze. This is the low blood sugar you get with a hangover.
Missed meals and under-eating will also cause low blood sugar. There simply isn't any fuel for the body.
Intense exercise in the evenings may cause low blood sugar the following morning. If the body is pushed too hard, it may lose too many resources. Fluids, salts, carbs, sugars or protein may need to be ingested for recovery.
Here is an excellent article about healthy eating - What is a healthy diet?
5. Dehydration
This is another thing that you may be tired of hearing about. Nonetheless, I am going to repeat it. Even mild dehydration can make your feel terrible. The symptoms of this are:
- Feeling thirsty
- Dark yellow or strong-smelling urine – peeing less than 4 times a day.
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- Dry lips, eyes and mouth
- Feeling tired
We are all supposed to drink lots and lots of plain water! 3 pints or one and a half litres a day. Try doing this for just 10 days – I promise you that you will feel better, especially in the mornings.
6. Exercise
Don't forget that we are creatures with arms and legs – we are designed for movement. Movement helps circulation and helps gets oxygen to all of the cells in our body. It keeps our muscles strong and supple. Exercise helps us to produce energy. It can even improve energy in people with chronic fatigue syndrome3. Not to mention feelings of wellness. Look at the boundless energy of small children – they are like those battery bunnies. You may not be fit enough for that demented level of activity, but there may be room for improvement!
Read my blog - 4 exercises you can do in the morning to boost your energy - this explains what sort of exercise will benefit energy and a better morning feeling.
Please do remember, feeling really dreadful every morning should not be considered normal. There may be an underlying reason that needs to be diagnosed. Mood or thyroid conditions, for instance, can cause morning fatigue. They should be diagnosed by a GP or medical professional.
Nutritional deficiencies can be identified with a simple blood test. Over the counter remedies or lifestyle changes may help. They may need to be supported with specialist treatment or medication.
References:
1 https://www.drwf.org.uk/news-and-events/news/report-diet-finds-most-people-uk-are-consuming-almost-3-times-recommended-daily
2 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121017153911.htm#:~:text=They%20found%20that%20overeating%20impaired,explained%20by%20brain%20insulin%20resistance.
