We know that sleep is a basic need for the regeneration and rest of our organism and brain. and that, therefore, if we do not do it, this fact will irremediably derive in the death of the subject. It is also important to consider the variables that can affect a good rest and lead to alterations in the health of the individual.
Several causes have been observed that can generate sleep problems and a consequent feeling of tiredness and lack of energy, such as the appearance of a sleep disorder (the most typical being insomnia and hypersomnia), the involvement of other mental disorders such as depression, the presence of pathological anxiety, substance abuse, drug treatment or simply a bad daily routine or environmental conditions in the bedroom.
In this article we describe the normal sleep pattern, as well as what causes or disturbances can affect the good rest and, therefore, the subject wakes up tired.
The importance of healthy sleep
Sleep is an active process, by this definition we mean that during sleep electroencephalic activity continues to be recorded. During nocturnal sleep, cycles of 90 to 110 minutes are repeated throughout the night.. Likewise, sleep is divided into 5 phases that are differentiated according to the activity observed in the electroencephalogram, electromyogram and electro-oculogram.
Thus, in the first phase is the transition to sleep, this being of short duration, brain activity begins to decrease, this phase increases its frequency when fragmented sleep occurs; in the second phase the difficulty to wake up increases; in the third and fourth phases brain activity reaches its lowest point, in the fourth phase is when the brain rests and there is muscle activity and in the fifth phase brain activity is similar to that observed during wakefulness, eye movements increase and muscle activity is not recorded, this phase helps brain development and learning.
It is recommended or established as normal to sleep about 7 and a half hours and to have 5 cycles of 90 minutes during the day. and present 5 cycles of 90 minutes during the night. This criterion does not always have to be met, so there are people who need to sleep a little more or a little less, just as there will be periods when we are more tired. This sleep pattern will also vary according to age, as we get older the hours of sleep decrease, phase 1 and 2 appear more and sleep will be more fragmented.
I wake up tired: why does this happen to me even though I sleep?
Now that we know better how sleep is produced and developed, let’s see what factors can alter it and cause you not to get a good night’s rest. We will see that the causes can be multiple, linked to mental disorders, physiological alterations or following an inadequate routine.
1. Sleep disorders
Sleep is a basic need for survival. Thus, alterations in this process generate affectations in the subject’s functionality, being then considered to have a mental disorder without organic causes that justify it. There are different disorders classified within this category, the most prevalent of which is insomnia, which is defined as a difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep or waking early and not returning to sleep; andand hypersomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness.
In the two conditions mentioned, we observe sleepiness or daytime fatigue that affects different areas of the person’s life such as occupational, academic or social. There are also other alterations that can affect our rest and make us feel tired such as: sleep disorders related to breathing, these would be apneas or hypoventilation; circadian rhythm disorders, the pattern of hours of rest is altered; narcolepsy that appears an irrepressible need to sleep or parasomnias.
The latter disorders, parasomnias, are classified as: non-REM sleep awakening disorders such as sleepwalking, in which the subject gets out of bed and walks, and night terrors, in which there is a sudden awakening with terror; nightmares, defined as unpleasant dreams of long duration; REM behavior disorder, in which there are repeated awakenings during sleep related to vocalizations and/or motor behavior; and restless legs syndrome, in which there is a need to move the legs and a feeling of discomfort.
2. Sleep hygiene disturbance
By sleep hygiene we mean both factors related to lifestyle and factors related to the environment where the subject sleeps. Thus, the individual may not rest well and feel tired the next day if he/she does not follow an adequate daily routine, such as doing intense sports shortly before going to bed, eating a large amount of food for dinner, taking long naps, or the conditions of his/her bedroom are not adequate, such as too much light, noise and very high or low temperature.
Therefore, it will help to get more rest, it will help to get more rest to establish good, healthy habits during the day, a good nighttime routineIt is important to have a good nighttime routine and to try to make the bedroom conditions as favorable and adequate as possible.
3. Alcohol consumption
We know that alcohol is a drug and as such acts by affecting the functioning of the brain. It has been proven that this substance affects sleep being an exclusion criterion to be able to diagnose a sleep disorder, that is to say that the effects that we will be able to observe will be similar to those linked to alterations such as insomnia or hypersomnia, such as the feeling of tiredness.
As it is a sedative, tranquilizing drug, we can believe that it will help to sleep but far from being so in the long run, when the subject consumes it repeatedly, we observe a worse rest since the time of duration of the REM phase is greater, observing a greater brain activity.and more brain activity is observed.
4. Nocturnal anxiety
Have you ever been tired, wanting to sleep but not being able to do it? This is typical when we have nocturnal anxiety. The subject is physically tired but the mind is still active ruminating and unable to stop thinking about the same ideas.
In the same way that happens to subjects with obsessions, wanting to stop having a thought, trying to eliminate it, only makes it repeat itself more often, since denying us a thought makes it come back repeatedly to our mind.Since denying ourselves a thought makes it come back repeatedly to our mind and as a consequence in this circumstance we cannot fall asleep or rest. It is recommended to achieve a decrease in brain activity by using relaxation or breathing techniques.
5. Consumption of medicines or psychotropic drugs
In the same way that it happens with the drugs or as we have seen with the alcohol, in the case of the drugs, an alteration in the brain activity can also be observed. an alteration in the pattern of sleep can also be observed, which can have repercussions on this.and can have repercussions on sleep. Drugs are therapeutic drugs and as such will also produce changes in brain function and activity.
In addition to the drugs prescribed to treat other pathologies that alter sleep as a side effect, it has also been seen that psychotropic drugs that are specific to treat sleep problems, such as benzodiazepines with tranquilizing effects, can maintain their effects beyond the hours of sleep and produce drowsiness during the day, affecting the normal functioning of the subject. It has also been observed that if these drugs are abruptly discontinued, rebound insomnia may appear, where the individual shows greater sleep problems than initially.
6. Depressive disorder
One criterion that can be met in depressive disorder is the appearance of sleep disturbances, both insomnia and hypersomnia.For this reason we can observe that depressed subjects may show tiredness or a feeling of not having rested together with other symptoms characteristic of the depressive disorder.
It has also been observed that some antidepressants such as the serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which is one of the most widely used, can produce sleep disturbances such as insomnia as side effects.
7. Asthenia
Asthenia is a medical term used to refer to a chronic and pathological tiredness that affects the functionality and life of the patient. that affects the functionality and life of the subject who suffers from it. The patient feels extremely tired and fatigued, making it difficult to develop their daily activity and this can be reduced even by half, unable to get to do everything he did before. The causes can be multiple, both organic and psychological.
This feeling of tiredness and lack of energy, which must be maintained for 6 months in order to make the diagnosis, is accompanied by other symptoms such as: alterations in mental abilities, such as impaired attention, memory or concentration; sexual dysfunctions, such as decreased desire and excitatory capacity; altered appetite, eating less or it can also be linked to other mental disorders such as anxiety or personality disorder.