Sleep is almost everyone's favorite resting activity. During sleep, you will rinse all the traces of fatigue from yesterday, and hope to wake up more enthusiastic. But instead of waking up refreshed, you may even get more tired. Why does the body get tired when you wake up?

The most common cause of waking tiredness

If you feel that you have slept well for 8 hours but still feel tired when you wake up, this may be due to your disorganized sleep pattern. The reason is, the body already has its own alarm called the circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms regulate every aspect of our life from within, especially helping your body know when to wake up and go to sleep.

The way the circadian rhythm works follows a pattern of changing habits, physical activity, mental activity, behavior, and even the light conditions of your environment in a 24 hour cycle. This body's biological clock also helps regulate hormone production, body temperature, and various other bodily functions.

Sleep is a way for your body's circadian clock to reset automatically. Dim atmosphere and cold weather at night will trigger the brain to release two hormones that trigger sleepiness, namely melatonin and adenosine, to indicate that it's time for you to sleep. These two hormones will continue to be produced throughout the night to keep you asleep, and usually start to stop being produced around 6-8 in the morning.

On the other hand, there are many things that can change the work of the circadian rhythm. One of the most common are poor sleep habits. The habit of staying up late or sleeping late, playing cellphones before bed, room temperature is too hot, and sleeping with the lights on can mess up your circadian rhythm. As a result, your sleep quality is poor. Body fatigue and headaches after waking up are common side effects of this change in circadian rhythm.

Body fatigue and headaches after waking up may also be caused by dehydration and low blood sugar after not getting any food intake for 8 hours of sleep.

Several conditions can cause the body to get tired after waking up

1. Back and forth midnight urination

Richard M. Foxx, MD, a specialist in endocrinology, gynecology, and aesthetics in California, says that the habit of urinating back and forth at midnight can disrupt your circadian rhythm and sleep cycle, causing the body to get tired when you wake up the next day.

This habit is generally influenced by increasing age, but it can also be based on several medical conditions such as urinary tract infections, kidney infections, anxiety disorders, and diabetes.

2. Restless sleep, lots of movement

Some people may have a "messy" sleep habit, aka they can't stay still. Last night you may lie straight, but the next morning your head is at the end of the bed and the pillow is thrown to the floor.

This can indicate that you have restless leg syndrome or restless leg syndrome (RLS). Usually, people who have RLS experience tingling, tickling, burning, itching, or discomfort in their legs or other parts of their body. Moving her limbs will reduce the discomfort a little, in the hope that she can sleep a little more peacefully.

But ironically, this habit of shaking your legs can actually disrupt your sleep. Maybe you will wake up more often in the middle of the night or even continue to be trapped in the "chicken sleep" phase, aka still half asleep-half awake, so that your body becomes tired when you wake up in the morning.

3. Drink alcohol before bed

Many people think that drinking alcohol can help you sleep well. Though this is wrong. Drinking alcohol before bed leads to restful sleep only at the beginning of bedtime. In fact, you will be more likely to wake up in the middle of the night, which cuts off your sleep time.

These changes to your sleep cycle and circadian rhythm can also cause you to experience nightmares, which can exacerbate the habit of waking up in the middle of the night. In the end, the body feels more tired when you wake up plus headaches and dehydration due to the hangover effect of alcohol. Women are even more prone to this effect than men.

4. Gritting your teeth while sleeping

The habit of grinding your teeth while sleeping, aka bruxism, can make you tired when you wake up. This is caused by the jaw and mouth muscles that keep moving and tightening during sleep. This condition will obviously make you feel tired when you wake up because you continue to expend energy without you knowing it.

For that, immediately consult your doctor about this problem. Signs bruxism will be seen clearly during the examination and the doctor will provide the best treatment to overcome it.

5. Have sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by stopping breathing for a moment or repeatedly during sleep due to a blocked airway. This condition can cause a person to snore while sleeping.

Sleep apnea causes stress on the body and makes it impossible to rest well.

How to deal with tiredness when you wake up

The best way to deal with feeling tired when you wake up is to prevent it. Here are some things you can do to treat the condition.

1. Consuming herbal teas, such as chamomile tea, a few hours before bedtime to relax the body.
2. Soaking in a warm bath 30 minutes before bedtime helps loosen tense muscles after a day of activities. This can also help you get better quality sleep.
3. Not playing gadget one hour before bedtime because the blue light radiation it produces will disrupt your circadian rhythm.
4. Turning off the lights while sleeping can help you sleep better. The slightest amount of light can send a signal to the body to continue working because some hormones are very sensitive to this light.
5. Being consistent with your bedtime can help you wake up feeling refreshed. Implementing sleep hours and sticking to them can make your sleep cycle regular so that the body also works together to implement when it's time to work and when it's time to rest.
6. Set the room temperature at a size of 18-22 degrees Celsius to make sleep better.

If you still feel tired when you wake up even though you have done various ways to prevent it, consult your doctor to find out the exact cause and get the right treatment.