When people wake up, it is by design that we all wake up refreshed and ready for the new day’s tasks. If you sleep a normal sleep cycle, or between 7 and 8 hours and wake up drowsy or repressed, then there may be a whole set of problems that you may not be aware of. Here are 7 symptoms to take notice of to figure out why you may be waking up tired.

Waking up Tired

1. Waking up tired/with a bad taste in your mouth

This is a symptom of a gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or asymptomatic heartburn. Several studies have gone to show that 1 in 4 people who say they sleep poorly without cause have one or both of these forms of acid reflux. Most do not realize that they suffer from this because they do not see the symptoms on a regular basis, usually because they are unconscious when it occurs. What happens is an acid reflux causing the body to become awakened while the brain stays mostly unconscious. This can occur several times over the course of the night and causes slight interrupts in the sleep cycle, leaving people tired and unaware of the cause of their sleeplessness.

2. Tossing and turning/waking up to use the bathroom

This is a primary concern for most older adults, causing sleep deprivation due to needing to use the bathroom during the night, only to return to bed to lie awake. According to the national sleep foundation, roughly 3 in 5 adults are sleep deprived because of frequently using the bathroom in the middle of the night. Normally the body concentrates on keeping the bladder under control, but over time we lose that control due to a decline in antidiuretic hormones.

3. Jaw feels sore, teeth are wearing down slowly

This is a fairly common problem, caused by grinding teeth in your sleep on a subconscious level. Known formally as Bruxism, the cause is essentially when you clench down the jaw during a sleep cycle, interfering directly with deep sleep by mitigating needed relaxation.

4. Waking up in a different position/wrapped in covers

This is a sign of restless leg syndrome or periodic limb movement disorder – a recent development in sleep studies. There is still some questioning to be accounted for before doctors determine the root cause of this phenomenon, but generally it is concluded that it is linked to a lack of deep, restful, REM sleep.

5. Waking up with a very dry mouth/bad breath

This is a direct causation from mouth breathing or snoring, caused by obstructed airways in your sleep. This is a concern for a number of people, interrupting truly deepened sleep as a result of breathing ailments. This may also occur due to dry mouth.

6. Sleeping fits, general exhaustion, and throat/neck pains

These are symptoms of a disorder known as Sleep Apnea, a greater blanket definition of unconscious airway obstructions. Roughly 20 million Americans suffer from this, a large number of who do not even realize it. Similar to snoring problems and other airway blocking disorders, this interrupts sleep via lack of oxygen to the entire body.

7. Sleeping enough but still feeling tired

This is a problem having to do with many modern conveniences used before going to sleep. Any sort of bright screened device or using light very late at night can cause disruptions in the circadian rhythms by shutting off the melatonin production within the brain. Even with a small light in your room, you can disrupt your sleep cycles. Screens and modernized televisions all emit a bright blue light – something that scientists have noted as particularly damaging to the sleep cycle. Electromagnetic frequencies emitted by technological devices make for a lower quality sleep in general.

It is all too likely that if you have trouble sleeping and experience one or more of these, it would be in the best interest to seek out treatment for the more serious problems you may face. However, there are other changes that can be made before you go to sleep so you stop waking up tired: shutting off computers or screens an hour before you sleep and generally removing or covering any lights emitted in the room will go very far in making for a comfortable and deeper sleep.

Additional Sources:

Wall Street Journal

Medical News Today

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