What to do if you constantly want to sleep

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Stop dreaming about a pillow! These simple tips will help you cheer up.

How to wake up here and now

1. Take a break

If you are nodding at the workplace, get up and walk, for example, to the buffet. You don't have to buy a bun or a full meal, just chill out.

Boredom often leads to drowsiness. It's not for nothing that we yawn with an annoying interlocutor and fall asleep during a dull movie. Therefore, we dilute the monotonous work with short breaks.

2. Eat an apple

The right snack will help to cheer up. Ideal for:

• apples;
• spinach;
• complex carbohydrates (oat or buckwheat porridge, green beans, zucchini);
• bitter chocolate;
• ginger.

In the fight against drowsiness, experts also recommend avoiding overeating and completely eliminating fatty foods from the diet.

Elena Tsareva, somnologist

Food by itself can increase the body's activity, especially if the diet is followed. Spices (ginger, pepper) and complex carbohydrates are more active than fatty, hard-to-digest foods. Long-known adaptogens such as ginseng and eleutherococcus can also be included in the list of food stimulants. If you do not have allergies, then they may well enter the diet.

3. Take a nap

Daytime sleep improves performance. A study by Georgetown University showed Power naps may boost right brain activity: while we are asleep, the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for memory and logical thinking, is less active, that is, it is restored. Therefore, after a day's rest, we become more active and absorb information easier.

The nap should be short. Experts believe that in order to recover, it is enough to take a nap of 15–20 minutes. And if you drink a cup of coffee before that, the result will be even better.

It is also important to consider the time of daytime sleep. Doctors advise not to doze in the evening. This can lead to nighttime sleeplessness. The fact is that in the dark, we produce melatonin, which is responsible for deep sleep. Therefore, if we doze after sunset, the mode of production of this substance gets confused. As a result, we toss and turn in bed all night.

4. Turn on the light

Increased sleepiness usually comes with reduced daylight hours. Sunlight, falling on the retina, regulates the production of melatonin, that is, in fact, sets our biological clock.

So to cheer up, open your blinds or curtains. And if it's dark outside, turn on the light. The brighter the better.

5. Open the window

Fresh air will instantly help you to invigorate. Just open the windows and ventilate the room. Lack of oxygen is one of the causes of drowsiness. If you have time and opportunity, feel free to go for a short walk.

6. Wash with cold water

Washing with cold water will also help relieve fatigue. This is stressful for the body, so you will find energy for a while.

7. Have a cup of coffee

Researchers at Cardiff University have proven that caffeine actually increases a person's level of activity.

The fact is that the so-called adenosine accumulates in our brain - it is he who is responsible for fatigue. It turned out that caffeine is similar to this substance. And, getting into the bloodstream, it replaces adenosine. That is why coffee invigorates for a while.

What to do if you still want to sleep

1. Get enough sleep

Sometimes it is possible to resort to the help of coffee, but it is more effective and healthier to get enough sleep. Rest at night should be complete. The norm for an adult is 7-9 hours.

Experts recommend taking care not only of the duration of sleep, but also of its quality.

Give up stimulants (coffee, energy drinks) and think about the causes of daytime sleepiness. If it’s a lack of sleep, you need to get enough sleep on a regular basis, not on weekends. And of course, improve your sleep conditions. Everything is important here: the bed, pillow, mattress, the bedroom itself, air temperature, humidity, air freshness, the presence of allergens and, of course, light.

Elena Tsareva somnologist

2. Relax

Have you rested enough, but still nodding off? Perhaps the point is overstrain: physical or psychological. Prolonged stress leads to fatigue and loss of energy. This is a kind of defense reaction of the body. In this case, experts advise to correctly alternate between rest and work.

3. Eat right

To improve your performance, you need to establish not only sleep patterns, but also think about nutrition. It is enough to follow the simple advice of dietitians:

• Eat at the same time.
• Don't overeat.
• Balance your diet: include protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates in your diet.
• Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Drink plenty of water.

4. Make an appointment with a doctor

If you follow your sleep and diet regimen, play sports, but you still want to sleep all the time, then the reason is deeper. Sleepiness can be a sign of pregnancy or a serious medical condition. So see your doctor.