Okay, so now that the winter is here, we are all feeling tired. If you’re always feeling shattered, though, it could be more than just the urge to hibernate – your body could be trying to tell you something important.. If you’ve tried going to bed earlier and waking up according to your sleep cycle, check out these things that could be making you tired...
If you’ve got a magnesium deficiency, feeling tired all the time goes without saying. Magnesium is crucial for a good night’s sleep, because it maintains GABA receptors in your head. Without these receptors functioning properly, the brain can’t switch off and achieve restful sleep. If your diet is lacking in leafy greens, beans and nuts, try adding some in. For women between 19 and 30, you need 210 milligrams per day – that’s around 2 cups of leafy greens, or 4 squares of dark chocolate.
If you are out of sync with your natural body clock, you’ll always feel tired. Your body releases hormones and chemicals in accordance with the time and your geographic location. If it’s out of sync, such as when you’ve flown a long way, you’ll feel tired and rubbish. Working a late shift or not listening to your body’s cues cause the same effect. If you’ve traveled, your body will eventually adjust. If you are just ignoring your body, you’ll need to make routine changes to feel better.
High fat consumption has been linked with daytime sleepiness in a scientific study published in journal SLEEP. Women between 18 and 65 were observed, and despite always getting the same amount of sleep, they were significantly more tired on a fatty diet than a normal one. Try ditching the fat in favor of a low-fat diet, and see how your body responds.
Teeth grinding during the night is pretty common, especially during stressful periods. It’s called bruxism, and it’s also a leading cause of daytime tiredness. All that movement in the night tires out your muscles, just like if you’d been exercising all night. It’s also pretty bad for your teeth, long-term. See a dentist, and they’ll help you stop grinding at night in no time.
Sleeping pills actually make the body sleepy during the day. They mess around with our sleeping patterns, and they stay in the bloodstream for a while. If you are on medication from your doctor, work with them to find a medication that affects you the least. If you are self-medicating, switch to something that makes you feel naturally tired instead – herbal remedies will work fine for most people. If you do need sleeping tablets, trial them at the weekend to see how they affect you.
Sleep apnea is a lot more common than you might think. If you snore, and regularly wake up feeling short of breath, you could suffer from it without even knowing it. Sleep apnea is really common in women, and it’s quite hard to diagnose. Not only does it make you more tired, because your sleep is constantly disturbed, but it also drastically increases the risk of high blood pressure. See your doctor if you suspect sleep apnea!
Any number of breathing conditions can affect sleep quality, which leads to you feeling more tired during the day. Asthma, sleep apnea and deviated septum conditions can lead to a dry mouth, or mouth breathing throughout the night. This then disrupts your sleep constantly, making you feel rubbish. Try using nasal strips that increase air flow through the nose, or see your doctor to find a solution. You’ll feel much better when you do!
Don’t be tempted to just put up with being tired all the time – while everyone is busy these days, and some tiredness is normal, being tired all the time will undoubtedly impact on your life. From being short-tempered to making mistakes at work, it’s a place you don’t want to be, so sort it quickly and combat that tiredness! Do you have a tiredness tip? I’d love to hear it!