Are You Tired All Day, But Can't Sleep At Night?

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Are You Tired All Day, But Can't Sleep At Night?

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Are You Tired All Day, But Can't Sleep At Night?

posted: Sep. 05, 2018

Are You Tired All Day But Can’t Sleep At Night?

Are you tired during the day, but then can’t fall asleep at night? Do you lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering why you were falling asleep at work? Do you wake up more tired than when you went to sleep?

Do you look at the clock and calculate how many hours of sleep you could get if you fell asleep right now? If you do, you’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Insufficient sleep is a public epidemic. An estimated 50-70 million U.S. adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder.”

The CDC recommends school-age (5-10 years) sleep 10-11 hours, teens (10-17 years) sleep 8.5 - 9.5 hours, and adults sleep 7-9 hours per night. Of course, everyone is individual. Some people need more sleep, and others need less sleep. One thing is certain: If you are not getting the proper amount of sleep you need, there are health risks.

Barring a health condition that may cause an inability to sleep, stress is the greatest cause of insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symtoms: Difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, and feeling tired upon waking.

Some of the consequences of insomnia are: Sleepiness during the day, general tiredness, irritability, and problems with concentration and or memory.

According to Dr. James Wilson, author of the book Adrenal Fatigue: 21st Century Syndrome, 80 percent of people will suffer adrenal fatigue at some point in their lives. Adrenal glands help your body handle and deal with stress. The more stress you experience, the more your adrenal glands have to work. There is a point when the adrenal glands become over-worked. When this happens, it is very bad for you and your health.

This is a condition called, “Adrenal fatigue.” The adrenal glands secrete cortisol, a powerful hormone that is responsible for gluconeogensis and activating anti-stress and anti-inflammatory pathways. Cortisol prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation.

Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects including a quick burst of energy for survival reasons, heightened memory functions, a burst of increased immunity, lower sensitivity to pain, and it also helps maintain homeostasis in the body.

Everyone needs to have a rest or “no stress” period so functions can return to normal. When constant stress is present, high cortisol levels remain in the blood stream. High cortisol levels cause many health problems including: Impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decreased bone density, decrease in muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and increased abdominal fat (which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body.)

Some of the health problems associated with increases stomach fat include: heart attack, stroke, metabolic syndrome, increased “bad” cholesterol (LDL), and decreased “good” cholesterol (HDL).

But things can get worse...If the overload of stress continues without adequate rest, the adrenals become exhausted and actually become resistant to the stress. This can result in hemorrhaged adrenal glands, high insulin levels, atrophied thymus glands, biochemically devastated bodies, a total collapse of body function, or a collapse of specific organs or systems.

So what can you do? Stress reduction is a must, and since it is virtually impossible to eliminate all stress from life, you should take measures to minimize it and re-charge your body.

Two ways to reduce stress are yoga and meditation. Here are the results from a recent study, according to Science Daily: The participants were randomized into two groups. The meditation group was taught the 12-minute yoga practice that included Kirtan Kriya, which was performed every day at the same time for 8 weeks. The other group was asked to relax in a quiet place with their eyes closed while listening to instrumental music on a relaxation CD, also for 12 minutes daily for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken at the beginning of the study and again at the end of the 8 weeks.

“The goal of the study was to determine if meditation might alter the activity of inflammatory and antiviral proteins that shape immune cell gene expression,” said Lavretsky. “Our analysis showed a reduced activity of those proteins linked directly to increased inflammation.”

In other words, this form of yoga practiced 12 minutes a day, everyday for 8 weeks, seemed to reduce harmful stress ( a very good result).

Also, recent research also shows that telling fewer lies can lead to a healthier life. In a study, researchers used 110 males and females, between 18 to 71 years old. Fifty-five were told to stop lying completely for 10 weeks and the other half were given no special instructions about lying. They went to a laboratory each week to complete health and relationship questionnaires and to take a polygraph test assessing the number of major and minor lies they had told that week.

According to researchers, the group who stopped lying complained less of headaches, sore throats, tenseness, anxiety and other problems than those who were given no instructions. Results also showed that the non-lying participants had improved close personal relationships and smoother social interactions.

The research has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but was presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting.

Researchers also mentioned that lying can cause a great deal of internal stress.

And don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.