Human sleep is not uniform. While you are resting, your brain continues to work, and in different modes. Scientists have long studied this using an electroencephalogram and, depending on the waves received, identified several phases of sleep. It is easiest to wake up immediately after the end of the REM sleep phase, during which you dream. Waking up to an alarm at any other time will leave you feeling groggy, even if you slept more than you should have.

Waking up at a good time is not such an easy task. On average, the entire sleep cycle lasts one and a half hours. When setting an alarm, enter the time in multiples of 1.5 and add the 10-15 minutes you need. If you stick to a routine of going to bed and getting up at the same time, it will be easier for you to wake up rested.

Buy a smart alarm clock - a device that calculates the owner’s sleep phase and wakes him up at the most favorable time within a given range.

Excess melatonin

American scientists also became interested in the phenomenon of fatigue after long sleep and conducted studies on volunteers suffering from drowsiness and fatigue. It turned out that all these people had too high levels of melatonin. Normally, this hormone is released in the evening, when it’s time to fall asleep, and is destroyed in the morning. However, the rhythm of life modern man maybe this process. Most people go to bed not at sunset and sunrise, as before, but after shifting this time by several hours. And, having felt drowsy, not everyone immediately goes to bed. Someone is watching the film, someone continues to update their page on the Internet. As a result, natural biorhythms are disrupted. Melatonin is not destroyed in time, and the person does not feel rested.

The best way out of this situation will also be to follow the regime. Go to bed earlier, get up earlier, and be sure to do it at the same time.

If you cannot change the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness in the city, go to nature. Far from the temptations of civilization, it will be easier for you to get used to falling asleep early.

Chronic fatigue syndrome

The scourge of the 21st century is chronic fatigue syndrome. This disease is difficult to diagnose. Also, not every person who feels tired for several days after sleep has this disease. You should be concerned if the feeling of exhaustion after a long sleep does not go away within several months. It is also difficult for you to carry out your work and normal daily activities. The desire to communicate with other people disappears. The patient feels anxious and is constantly depressed. If you notice such symptoms, you should consult a doctor.

Fatigue can be called a symptom of modernity. Long hours and multiple responsibilities may prevent you from getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep, which can leave you feeling tired. But what if you get enough sleep every night and your energy still disappears quickly? You may feel frustrated if you strive to get the most out of your day but still can't wait for the day to end.

What is the secret of fatigue?

The problem may lie in the quality of sleep, not the quantity. There are many factors that affect how you sleep at night. So if you think you got a good night's sleep but still feel tired during the day, there are probably problems you're not aware of.
Many studies have been conducted to find out how sleep quality affects our well-being. Constantly feeling tired can significantly reduce your quality of life and prevent you from enjoying events. Moreover, fatigue makes you moody and irritable. If you're wondering why you're still feeling tired despite getting enough sleep at night, here are some tips possible reasons which explain this.

Insufficient amount of physical activity

We spend a lot of time at our workplaces. For huge amount For people, this means they have to spend up to 8 hours sitting. A sedentary lifestyle can affect our body and mind in more ways than we realize. It is not only unhealthy from the point of view excess weight. This lifestyle is the reason why you feel tired and sluggish. It can also affect your sleep because your body has not produced enough energy for quality sleep.
You may think that daily exercise will only make you more tired. But in fact, they can rejuvenate the body and promote better sleep quality. You can do your daily workouts in the morning, during your lunch break, or in the evening. Either way, they increase your body's need for sleep in a productive and natural way. Also, make sure you take breaks while working. You can break up your sitting time with a short “walk” around the office. This will increase your chances of getting quality sleep.

Dehydration

How much water do you drink per day? Dehydration contributes significantly to feelings of fatigue. Many people don't notice how little water they drink throughout the day because all the liquid they drink is high-sugar drinks or coffee. Naturally, they are not as healthy as water. Dehydration has harmful influence for the whole body. Our organs cannot work as efficiently because the heart sends oxygen to them at a reduced rate, which leads to a feeling of fatigue. Make sure you drink 8-10 glasses of water a day and don't overindulge in sugary drinks as they lead to unnecessary energy crashes.
Since our brain is made up of 85% water, it shows how important it is to stay hydrated for optimal sleep quality. Increasing your daily water intake will help maintain energy longer throughout the day and allow your brain to function better.

Poor nutrition

Eating a poor diet can have a significant impact on how you feel throughout the day. If you eat foods high in fat or carbohydrates, this could be why you feel more tired than you should. A healthy, balanced diet can make a huge difference to your body and mind and can be a weapon in the fight against fatigue. There is plenty of research that shows how diet affects your sleep quality, so it's extremely important to improve your diet if you suffer from fatigue.
Eat plenty of foods that will provide you with long-lasting energy. These can include iron-rich red meat, whole grains, nuts, green leafy vegetables and dried fruits. It is very important to diversify your diet, including foods low in sugar, high in fiber and nutrients. A healthy breakfast has important to combat fatigue. Without it, our body goes through a long period of starvation, which forces our body to use its resources and energy faster. A healthy, energy-rich breakfast such as porridge, eggs, wholemeal toast or cereal will give you a burst of energy. Eating at regular intervals throughout the day will prevent further energy dips.

Depression or stress

Another cause of fatigue can be depression or constant stress. We don't always realize that we are suffering from these problems and only see signs such as feeling tired and low motivation. You need to figure out what could be causing you to feel this way. Perhaps there is something in your life that is causing you stress? Or do you feel emotionally overwhelmed? These feelings may be completely normal, but if they persist, it is advisable to consider how you can resolve the problem.
Exercise and dietary adjustments, as well as relaxation techniques, can help you combat stress and depression. It is very important to take care of not only your body, but also your mental state, as emotional stress can greatly affect you.

Blood sugar imbalance

Depending on your diet, an imbalance in blood sugar may be the cause of your lack of energy. Your sugar levels may become destabilized due to dietary changes you make in the past. at the moment. If you eat a lot of processed food products or those that contain a lot of sugar, you may experience regular crashes throughout the day. If this is the case, it is very important to reduce your intake of refined sugar to even out your blood levels. This may mean cutting out refined sugar entirely. The one found in fruits is much healthier. Therefore, avoid refined sugar whenever possible. Even if you consider yourself to have a sweet tooth, try giving up all sweets for a few weeks to see if there is any difference in how you feel.

Health problems

If you are sure that you adhere healthy diet, drink a lot of water, you have no real reason for stress, you exercise regularly but still suffer from fatigue, then the cause may be a health problem that needs to be addressed. There are many causes of extreme fatigue, such as anemia. During this disease, there is a problem with the production of hemoglobin, which is responsible for transporting blood throughout the body. Other causes may include chronic fatigue syndrome, sleep apnea, thyroid problems, glandular fever, and more. Never self-diagnose! It is very important to consult a doctor and discuss any dangerous changes that may be occurring in the body.

Things to remember...

Remember that although you get enough sleep, the quality of it is very important and is key to eliminating fatigue and exhaustion throughout the day. Lifestyle adjustments can bring significant benefits. So try making a few changes to it and see what happens over the course of a few weeks.

Feel tired after a day of work- This is a natural phenomenon and does not cause alarm. But when a person, getting up in the morning after a long normal sleep, feels sluggish, broken, tired, it’s worth thinking about. After all, such a state cannot be called the norm. Weakness, apathy, lethargy, endless fatigue, drowsiness, the desire to lie down, constant anticipation of the weekend - this is familiar to many. We need to look for reasons. Let's look at what could be the reasons for this condition and what needs to be done.

It is both cause and effect. Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complex of symptoms that can be caused by many health conditions. One of the reasons, and perhaps the most important, is psychological. Frequent stressful situations, psychological stress, troubles following one another - all this cannot but affect a person’s health. It’s as if all his strength is draining from him, and sometimes he is unable not only to work, but also to perform some simple actions. A companion to this pathology is migraine.

A psychologist, psychotherapist or even a psychiatrist can help cope with this scourge. It is also necessary to reconsider your life values ​​and priorities. You may not realize that something else is oppressing you and you subconsciously carry it within yourself for many years.

and D

Yes, sometimes the cause of fatigue is quite primitive - a lack of certain vitamins. Vitamin B12 is responsible for the functioning of nerve cells and red blood cells. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to the tissues, without which nutrients cannot be converted into the necessary energy. That's why weakness occurs. Usually, with a deficiency of vitamin B12, diarrhea appears along with weakness, numbness in the fingers and toes, and memory problems arise. Meat, fish, dairy products and eggs will help solve the problem of vitamin B12 deficiency.

It is more difficult with vitamin D. It is a unique vitamin and is produced by the body itself due to exposure to sunlight. 30 minutes of exposure to the sun is enough to get a small portion of vitamin D. This is why a person usually feels more tired in winter than in summer. The level of this vitamin can be checked using a blood test. A fish diet, eggs, and liver can help replenish the missing vitamin. And don’t forget about sunbathing - take a lot of walks.

Medicines

Many medications have such side effects - apathy, weakness, fatigue, lethargy. However, some manufacturers do not mention this at all. Such medications include antihistamines, which greatly drain energy, but the annotation does not say anything about this. Antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs have the same effect. high pressure. The conclusion is simple - reconsider what you drink, consult a specialist.

Thyroid problems

Typically, such problems are accompanied by weight changes, dry skin or, conversely, excessive sweating, menstrual irregularities, chills, and hair loss. These signs indicate that a disease has occurred. thyroid gland. You'll have to visit an endocrinologist. It is absolutely forbidden to start the disease.

Bowel diseases, heart diseases, diabetes

The inability of the intestines to digest the gluten from grains results in celiac disease. Bloating, diarrhea, discomfort in the joints - all this is accompanied by severe constant fatigue. The body gives a signal - there are not enough nutrients, the intestines are unable to absorb them. Here you will have to give up bread and pasta, pizza, cookies, buns and other things. But this is not enough - you will need to undergo the necessary tests so that the diagnosis is confirmed and treatment is prescribed.

Fatigue and lethargy are also common after a heart attack, especially in the morning. It is necessary to change your diet, eat low-fat foods, and exercise.

Diabetes is an insidious disease that has two ways of wearing you down. When sugar levels are too high, glucose (potential energy) is flushed out of the body. So it turns out: the more you eat, the worse you feel. At the same time, diabetes manifests itself precisely in persistent, debilitating fatigue. And the second way for diabetes is extreme thirst.: a person is constantly thirsty, even gets up at night, which is why sleep is disturbed and fatigue appears. In the case of diabetes, you need a strict diet, without which the disease cannot be defeated, physical exercise, and weight control.

Do you often feel sleepy after waking up in the morning? A good night's sleep can't revive you? , as is known, can be a symptom of several diseases. Sleep is a period of rest when the body can recover from daily and the stresses it has experienced. This is a way of “switching off” and allowing your “batteries” to recharge. IN ideal world you should wake up full of energy after a good . But this is not always the case.

We all need a few minutes to get out of bed in the morning. For some people this may only take a few minutes, but for others it may take much longer, up to several hours, to get out of bed. This is not morning fatigue. The body has just come out of hibernation and, naturally, it will take some time for the body to begin its activities. In addition, many of us are not thrilled at the thought of working in the morning, so slowness and in the morning can have mostly .

What is morning fatigue?

Morning fatigue and at the beginning of the day after waking up has no specific definition as a disease. A worker who has completed his night shift will undoubtedly feel tired in the morning. A more accurate definition of fatigue as a disease would be the feeling of tiredness in the case of normal sleep - about 7-8 hours.

If you went to bed at 10 pm and woke up at 6 am, your performance will gain momentum only at 8-9 am. Some people are energetic at earlier times, while other people don't reach their peak until 10 am. At morning fatigue, a person feels in the first half of the day, which leads to a strong loss of strength in the second half.

Causes of morning fatigue

Morning fatigue is a symptom of many diseases where fatigue is a characteristic symptom. This may also happen during treatment with certain medications. Eventually, symptoms other than fatigue become apparent, pointing more definitively to a possible cause. Nevertheless, common reasons Morning fatigue is often overlooked because it can persist for months or years while no other underlying symptoms appear.

The main causes of morning fatigue:

difficulty breathing at night;

snore;

acid reflux;

alcohol and stimulants;

night fasting;

difficulty breathing during sleep.

Breathing problems during sleep are often associated with certain medical conditions. These can range from nasal congestion and sinusitis to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (chronic bronchitis and emphysema) to heart failure. One of the most commonly ignored problems is sleep apnea. With sleep apnea, a person stops breathing for short periods, which causes repeated awakenings at night in order to restore normal breathing patterns, which in turn affects on sleep quality.

Tips to avoid snoring

Try to lose weight. A few kilograms can make a difference important role and even solve your snoring problem.

Do not use alcohol or sleeping pills

Try sleeping on the side that is comfortable for you.

Heartburn in a dream

The backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus is called gastroesophageal reflux disease. The main symptom is heartburn. At night, processes in the stomach are more active. The backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus is facilitated by sleeping on your back, which causes heartburn. For this reason, patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease experience worsening symptoms at night and during sleep.

Heartburn may be severe enough to wake you up or prevent you from falling asleep. Even if you don't wake up feeling heartburn, it can still lead to unhealthy sleep. Overeating, excess alcohol, and late-night snacking can all contribute to the development of stomach problems.

Ways to fall asleep without alcohol and sleeping pills

Try giving up alcohol and sleeping pills and see if your sleep quality improves.

Make sure you go to bed around the same time every night.

Maintain the temperature in the room and ventilate it before going to bed.

If you are unable to fall asleep without using a substance, you may be addicted and need proper rehab.

Hunger at night

Sleeping on an empty stomach is not easy. The feeling of hunger can cause discomfort and if the body needs nutrition it will interfere with sleep. Although it is not recommended to eat before bed, especially if you suffer from acid reflux, you should get enough energy during dinner. There is no need to overeat.

How to avoid hunger at night while sleeping

The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime. Try drinking a glass of water an hour before bed if you think you're hungry.

To normalize sleep, you can limit yourself to taking sedatives plant origin. The drug showed high efficiency "Nervo-Vit", which includes:motherwort , valerian , Melissa , vitamin CAndcyanosis blue , which in turn has calming properties. In terms of sedative activity, cyanosis in the experiment exceeds valerian officinalis by 8-10 times. Stimulates the function of the adrenal cortex, regulates lipid metabolism. Blue cyanosis helps relieve epilepsy attacks. Cyanosis saponins inhibit the development of atherosclerosis. Blue cyanosis is quite rare and difficult to cultivate. medicinal plant, however, it is successfully grown in the fields of Parafarm LLC, located in the ecologically clean Kameshkirsky district of the Penza region. Adults take 2-3 tablets 3 times a day with meals, duration of use - 2 weeks. is a natural concentrate of biologically active compounds, proteins, macro- and microelements. These are 20 amino acids with different properties, 28 microelements, provitamin A, vitamins B, D, P, PP, K, flavonoids, phytoncides, enzymes.Royal jelly – activates the activity of the digestive organs, normalizes blood pressure, increases the content of iron, red blood cells, and hemoglobin in the blood. The composition of this drug is also enhanced by a complex of antioxidants: dihydroquercetin and vitamin C. Dosage: adults, 1 tablet 2 times a day with meals, duration of use - 3-4 weeks.

“I fall asleep while walking”, “I sit at lectures and sleep”, “I struggle with sleep at work” - such expressions can be heard from many people, however, as a rule, they evoke jokes rather than compassion. Drowsiness is mainly due to lack of sleep at night, overwork, or simply boredom and monotony in life. However, fatigue should go away after rest, boredom can be dispelled by other methods, and monotony can be diversified. But for many, drowsiness from the activities taken does not go away; the person sleeps enough at night, but during the daytime, constantly holding back a yawn, he looks for where it would be “more comfortable to sit down.”

The feeling when you irresistibly want to sleep, but there is no such opportunity, frankly speaking, is disgusting, capable of causing aggression towards those who prevent you from doing this or, in general, towards the entire world around you. In addition, problems do not always arise only during the daytime. Imperative (irresistible) episodes during the day create the same obsessive thoughts: “When I come, I’ll go straight to sleep.” Not everyone succeeds in this; an irresistible desire may disappear after a short 10-minute sleep, frequent awakenings in the middle of the night do not allow rest, and nightmares often occur. And tomorrow - everything will repeat again from the beginning...

The problem may become the butt of jokes

With rare exceptions, watching day after day a lethargic and apathetic person constantly trying to “take a nap”, someone seriously thinks that he is not healthy. Colleagues get used to it, perceive it as indifference and indifference, and consider these manifestations more of a character trait than a pathological condition. Sometimes constant drowsiness and apathy generally become the subject of jokes and all sorts of jokes.

Medicine “thinks” differently. She calls excessive sleep duration hypersomnia. and its variants are named depending on the disorder, because constant sleepiness during the day does not always mean a full night’s rest, even if a lot of time has been spent in bed.

From the point of view of specialists, such a condition requires research, because daytime drowsiness, which occurs in a person who seems to have slept sufficiently at night, may be a symptom of a pathological condition that is not perceived by ordinary people as a disease. And how can one evaluate such behavior if a person does not complain, says that nothing hurts him, he sleeps well and, in principle, is healthy - just for some reason he is constantly drawn to sleep.

Outsiders here, of course, are unlikely to help; you need to delve into yourself and try to find the reason, and, perhaps, contact a specialist.

Signs of drowsiness are not difficult to detect in yourself; they are quite “eloquent”:

• Fatigue, lethargy, loss of strength and constant obsessive yawning - these signs of poor health, when nothing hurts, prevent you from plunging headlong into work;
• Consciousness becomes somewhat dull, surrounding events are not particularly exciting;
• The mucous membranes become dry;
• The sensitivity of peripheral analyzers decreases;
• Heart rate decreases.

We should not forget that the sleep norm of 8 hours is not suitable for all age categories. For a child under six months of age, constant sleep is considered normal. However, as he grows and gains strength, his priorities change, he wants to play more and more, to explore the world, so he has less and less time to sleep during the day. For older people, on the contrary, the older a person is, the more he needs to not go far from the sofa.

Still fixable

The modern rhythm of life predisposes to neuropsychic overloads, which, to a greater extent than physical ones, can lead to sleep disorders. Temporary fatigue, although manifested by drowsiness (which is also temporary), quickly passes when the body rests, and then sleep is restored. M It can be said that in many cases people themselves are to blame for overloading their body.

When does daytime sleepiness not cause concern for your health? The reasons may be different, but, as a rule, these are transient personal problems, periodic “emergency situations” at work, a cold, or rare exposure to fresh air. Here are a few examples when the desire to organize a “quiet hour” is not considered a symptom of a serious illness:

• Flaw night sleep, caused by banal reasons: personal experiences, stress, caring for a newborn, a session with students, an annual report, that is, circumstances to which a person devotes a lot of effort and time to the detriment of rest.
• Chronic fatigue which the patient himself speaks about, meaning constant work (mental and physical), endless household chores, lack of time for hobbies, sports, walks in the fresh air and entertainment. In a word, the person got caught up in the routine, he missed the moment when the body recovered in a couple of days, with chronic fatigue, when everything has gone so far, perhaps, in addition to rest, long-term treatment will also be needed.
• Fatigue makes itself felt more quickly when there is insufficient oxygen supply to the body, why the brain begins to experience starvation ( hypoxia). This happens if a person works for a long time in unventilated rooms and spends little time in the fresh air in his free time. What if he also smokes?
• Lack of sunlight. It is no secret that cloudy weather, the monotonous tapping of raindrops on the glass, the rustling of leaves outside the window greatly contribute to daytime drowsiness, which is difficult to cope with.
• Lethargy, loss of strength and the need for longer sleep appear when “the fields are compressed, the groves are bare,” and nature itself is about to plunge into sleep for a long time - late autumn, winter(it gets dark early, the sun rises late).
• After a hearty lunch there is a desire to lay your head on something soft and cool. This is all the blood circulating through our vessels - it strives for the digestive organs - there is a lot of work there, and at this time less blood flows to the brain and, along with it, oxygen. So it turns out that when the stomach is full, the brain is starving. Fortunately, this doesn't last long, so the afternoon nap passes quickly.
• Fatigue and sleepiness during the day may appear as a protective reaction of the body with psycho-emotional stress, stress, prolonged anxiety.
• Reception medicines, first of all, tranquilizers, antidepressants, neuroleptics, sleeping pills, certain antihistamines that have a direct effect or side effects lethargy and drowsiness can cause similar symptoms.
• Mild cold which in most cases is tolerated on your feet, without sick leave or drug treatment (the body copes on its own), is manifested by rapid fatigue, so during the working day it tends to fall asleep.

• Pregnancy in itself, of course, it is a physiological condition, but one cannot ignore the changes occurring in a woman’s body, primarily related to the ratio of hormones, which are accompanied by sleep disturbances (it is difficult to sleep at night, and during the day there is not always such an opportunity).
• Hypothermia– decrease in body temperature as a result of hypothermia. From time immemorial, people have known that when they find themselves in unfavorable conditions (blizzard, frost), the main thing is not to succumb to the temptation to rest and sleep, but they are incredibly prone to sleep from fatigue in the cold: a feeling of warmth often appears, a person begins to feel that he is in good health. a heated room and a warm bed. This is a very dangerous symptom.

However, there are conditions that are often included in the concept of “syndrome”. How should we perceive them? In order for the presence of such a disease to be confirmed, you need not only to undergo some tests and go to some kind of fashionable examination. A person, first of all, must identify his problems and make specific complaints, but, unfortunately, in most cases people consider themselves healthy, and doctors, to be honest, often brush aside the “insignificant claims” of patients about their health.

Disease or normal?

Lethargy, drowsiness, and daytime fatigue can result from various pathological conditions, even if we do not consider them as such:

1. Apathy and lethargy, as well as the desire to sleep at inappropriate times, appear when neurotic disorders and depressive states, which are within the competence of psychotherapists, it is better for amateurs not to meddle in such subtle matters.
2. Weakness and drowsiness, irritability and weakness, loss of strength and decreased ability to work are often noted in their complaints by people suffering from sleep apnea(breathing problems during sleep).
3. Loss of energy, apathy, weakness and drowsiness are symptoms , which nowadays is often repeated by both doctors and patients, but few have seen it written down as a diagnosis.
4. Often lethargy and a desire to sleep during the day are noted by patients whose outpatient records include such a “semi-diagnosis” as or , or whatever else such a condition is called.
5. I would like to stay longer in bed, sleep both at night and during the day for people who have recently had infection - acute, or having it in a chronic form. The immune system, trying to restore its defenses, requires rest from other systems. During sleep, the body inspects the condition of the internal organs after the illness (what damage has been caused by it?) in order to correct everything if possible.
6. Keeps you awake at night and makes you sleepy during the day "restless legs syndrome". Doctors do not find any specific pathology in such patients, and night rest turns into a big problem.
7. Fibromyalgia. Due to what reasons and circumstances this disease appears, science does not know for sure, since, apart from excruciating pain throughout the body, disturbing peace and sleep, doctors do not find any pathology in the suffering person.
8. Alcoholism, drug addiction and other abuses in the status of “former” - in such patients, sleep is often disrupted forever, not to mention the conditions after abstinence and “withdrawal”.

The already long list of causes of daytime sleepiness that occurs in people who are considered practically healthy and able to work could be continued, which we will do in the next section, identifying as causes conditions that are officially recognized as pathological.

The cause is sleep disorders or somnological syndromes

The functions and tasks of sleep are programmed by human nature and consist of restoring the body’s strength spent during daytime activities. As a rule, active life takes 2/3 of the day, about 8 hours are allotted for sleep. For a healthy body, in which everything is safe and calm, life support systems are working normally, this time is more than enough - a person wakes up cheerful and rested, goes to work, and in the evening returns to a warm, soft bed.

Meanwhile, the order established since the origin of life on Earth can be destroyed by problems invisible at first glance, which do not allow a person to sleep at night and force him to fall asleep on the move during the day:

• • (insomnia) at night very quickly forms signs indicating that a person is not doing well: nervousness, fatigue, impaired memory and attention, depression, loss of interest in life and, of course, lethargy and constant drowsiness during the day.
  • Sleeping beauty syndrome (Kleine-Levin) the reason for which still remains unclear. Almost no one considers this syndrome a disease, because during the intervals between attacks, patients are no different from other people and do not resemble patients. This pathology is characterized by periodically occurring (intervals from 3 months to six months) episodes of long sleep (on average, 2/3 days, although sometimes a day or two, or even longer). The most interesting thing is that people wake up to go to the toilet and eat. In addition to prolonged sleep during exacerbations, other oddities are noticed in patients: they eat a lot without controlling this process, some (males) exhibit hypersexuality, become aggressive towards others if they try to stop gluttony or hibernation.
  • Idiopathic hypersomnia. This disease can plague people up to 30 years of age, so it is often mistaken for healthy sleep youth. It is characterized by daytime drowsiness, which occurs even in situations that require high activity (study, for example). Despite a long and full night's rest, awakening is difficult, a bad mood and anger do not leave the person who “got up so early” for a long time.
  • Narcolepsy– a rather severe sleep disorder that is difficult to treat. It is almost impossible to get rid of drowsiness forever if you have such a pathology; after symptomatic treatment, it will manifest itself again. Surely, most people have not even heard the term narcolepsy, but sleep specialists consider this disorder to be one of the worst variants of hypersomnia. The thing is that it often does not give rest either during the day, causing an irresistible desire to fall asleep right at the workplace, or at night, creating obstacles to uninterrupted sleep (inexplicable anxiety, hallucinations when falling asleep, which wake up, frighten, provide a bad mood and loss of strength during the coming day).

• Pickwick syndrome(experts also call it obese hypoventilation syndrome). The description of Pickwickian syndrome, oddly enough, belongs to the famous English writer Charles Dickens (“Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club”). Some authors argue that it was the syndrome described by Charles Dickens that became the founder of a new science - somnology. Thus, having nothing to do with medicine, the writer unwittingly contributed to its development. Pickwickian syndrome is predominantly observed in people who have an impressive weight (4th degree of obesity), which puts a huge strain on the heart, puts pressure on the diaphragm, complicates breathing movements, resulting in blood thickening ( polycythemia) And hypoxia. Patients with Pickwick's syndrome, as a rule, already suffer from sleep apnea, their rest looks like a series of episodes of stopping and resumption of respiratory activity (the starving brain, when it becomes completely unbearable, forces breathing, interrupting sleep). Of course, during the day - fatigue, weakness and an obsessive desire to sleep. By the way, Pickwick's syndrome is sometimes observed in patients with less than fourth degree obesity. The origin of this disease is not clear, perhaps a genetic factor plays a role in its development, but the fact that all sorts of extreme situations for the body (traumatic brain injury, stress, pregnancy, childbirth) can become an impetus for sleep disorders, in general , proven.

A mysterious illness that also stems from a sleep disorder - hysterical lethargy(lethargic hibernation) is nothing more than a protective reaction of the body in response to severe shock and stress. Of course, drowsiness, lethargy, and slowness can be mistaken for a mild course of a mysterious illness, manifested by periodic and short-term attacks that can occur in the daytime anywhere. Lethargic sleep, which inhibits all physiological processes and lasts for decades, certainly does not fit into the category we are describing (daytime sleepiness).

Is drowsiness a sign of a serious illness?

A problem such as constant drowsiness accompanies many pathological conditions, so there is no need to put it off for later; perhaps it will turn out to be the symptom that will help find the true cause of the ailment, namely a specific disease. Complaints of weakness and drowsiness, loss of strength and bad mood may give reason to suspect:

1. – a decrease in the content, which entails a drop in the level of hemoglobin, a protein that delivers oxygen to cells for respiration. Lack of oxygen leads to hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which is manifested by the above symptoms. Diet, fresh air and iron supplements help get rid of this kind of drowsiness.
2. , , some forms - in general, conditions in which cells do not receive the amount of oxygen necessary for full functioning (mainly, red blood cells, for some reason, cannot carry it to their destination).
3. below normal values ​​(usually blood pressure is taken as normal - 120/80 mmHg). Slow blood flow through dilated vessels also does not contribute to the enrichment of tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Especially under such circumstances, the brain suffers. Patients with low blood pressure often experience dizziness, they cannot tolerate attractions such as swings and carousels, and they get carsick. Blood pressure in hypotensive people it decreases after intellectual, physical and psycho-emotional stress, with intoxication, and lack of vitamins in the body. Hypotension often accompanies iron deficiency and other anemias, but people suffering from (VSD of hypotonic type).
4. Thyroid diseases with a decrease in her functional abilities ( hypothyroidism). Insufficiency of thyroid function naturally leads to a drop in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormones, which gives a rather varied clinical picture, including: rapid fatigue even after minor physical activity, memory impairment, absent-mindedness, lethargy, sluggishness, drowsiness, chilliness, bradycardia or tachycardia, hypotension or arterial hypertension, anemia, damage to the digestive organs, gynecological problems and much more. In general, the lack of thyroid hormones makes these people quite sick, so you can hardly expect them to be highly active in life; they, as a rule, always complain about loss of strength and a constant desire to sleep.
5. Pathology of the cervical spine cerebrospinal fluid (hernia), which leads to feeding the brain.
6. Various hypothalamic lesions, since it contains areas that take part in regulating the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness;
7. Respiratory failure with(decreased oxygen levels in the blood) and hypercapnia(blood saturation carbon dioxide) is a direct path to hypoxia and, accordingly, its manifestations.

When the reason is already known

Chronic patients in most cases are well aware of their pathology and know why symptoms that are not directly attributed to a specific disease periodically arise or are constantly accompanied by:

• , disrupting many processes in the body: the respiratory system, kidneys, and brain suffer, resulting in a lack of oxygen and tissue hypoxia.
• Diseases of the excretory system(nephritis, chronic renal failure) create conditions for the accumulation of substances in the blood that are toxic to the brain;
• Chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dehydration due to acute digestive disorders (vomiting, diarrhea) characteristic of gastrointestinal pathology;
• Chronic infections(viral, bacterial, fungal), localized in various organs, and neuroinfections that affect brain tissue.
• . Glucose is a source of energy for the body, but without insulin it will not enter the cells (hyperglycemia). It will not be supplied in the required quantity even with normal insulin production but low sugar consumption (hypoglycemia). Both high and low glucose levels threaten the body with starvation, and, therefore, feeling unwell, loss of energy and the desire to sleep more than expected.
• Rheumatism, if glucocorticoids are used for its treatment, they reduce the activity of the adrenal glands, which cease to ensure the patient’s high vital activity.
• Condition after an epileptic seizure ( epilepsy) the patient usually falls asleep, waking up, notes lethargy, weakness, loss of strength, but absolutely does not remember what happened to him.
• Intoxication. Stunning of consciousness, loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are often among the symptoms of exogenous (food poisoning, poisoning with toxic substances and, most often, alcohol and its surrogates) and endogenous (cirrhosis of the liver, acute renal and hepatic failure) intoxication.

Any pathological process localized in the brain may lead to oxygen starvation its tissues, and, therefore, to the desire to sleep during the day (which is why they say that such patients often confuse day with night). Diseases such as head vessels, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, dyscirculatory disease, brain tumor and many other diseases, which, along with their symptoms, are already described on our website, impede blood flow in the brain, leading it to a state of hypoxia.

Drowsiness in a child

Many of the conditions listed above can cause weakness and drowsiness in a child, however You cannot compare newborns, infants up to one year old and older children.

Almost round-the-clock hibernation (with breaks only for feeding) in babies up to one year old is happiness for parents, if the baby is healthy. During sleep, it gains strength for growth, forms a full-fledged brain and other systems that have not yet completed their development until the moment of birth.

After six months, the duration of sleep in an infant is reduced to 15-16 hours, the baby begins to be interested in the events happening around him, shows a desire to play, so the daily need for rest will decrease with each month, reaching 11-13 hours by the year.

Drowsiness in a small child can be considered abnormal if there are signs of illness:

• Loose stools or prolonged absence;
• Dry diapers or diapers for a long time (the child has stopped urinating);
• Lethargy and desire to sleep after a head injury;
• Pale (or even bluish) skin;
• Fever;
• Loss of interest in the voices of loved ones, lack of response to affection and stroking;
• Long-term reluctance to eat.

The appearance of one of the listed symptoms should alert parents and force them to call an ambulance without hesitation - something must have happened to the child.

In an older child, drowsiness is an unnatural phenomenon if he sleeps normally at night and, as it seems at first glance, is not sick. Meanwhile, children's bodies better sense the influence of invisible unfavorable factors and respond accordingly. Weakness and drowsiness, loss of activity, indifference, loss of strength, along with “adult diseases” can cause:

• Worm infestations;
• Traumatic brain injury (), which the child chose to remain silent about;
• Poisoning;
• Astheno-neurotic syndrome;
• Pathology of the blood system (anemia - deficiency and hemolytic, some forms of leukemia);
• Diseases of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory system, pathology of the endocrine system, occurring latently, without obvious clinical manifestations;
• Lack of microelements (iron, in particular) and vitamins in food;
• Constant and prolonged stay in unventilated areas (tissue hypoxia).

Any decrease in daily activity, lethargy and drowsiness in children are signs of ill health, which should be noticed by adults and become a reason to see a doctor, especially if the child, due to his youth, cannot yet correctly formulate his complaints. You may just have to enrich your diet with vitamins, spend more time in the fresh air, or “poison” the worms. But it’s still better to be safe than sorry, isn’t it?

Treatment of drowsiness

Treatment for drowsiness? It may be, and is, but in each specific case it is separate, in general, it is treatment of a disease that causes a person to struggle with sleep during the day.

Considering the long list of causes of daytime sleepiness, it is impossible to give any universal recipe for how to get rid of drowsiness. Perhaps a person just needs to open the windows more often to let in fresh air or walk outside in the evenings and spend weekends in nature. Maybe it's time to reconsider your attitude towards alcohol and smoking.

It is possible that it will be necessary to streamline the work and rest schedule, switch to healthy eating, take vitamins or conduct ferrotherapy. And finally, get tested and undergo an examination.

In any case, you don’t need to rely too much on medications, but it’s human nature to look for the easiest and most shortcuts to resolve all issues. It’s the same with daytime sleepiness, because it’s better to buy some medicine, take it when your eyes start to stick together, and everything will go away. However, here are a few examples:

It is difficult to give one universally satisfying recipe for combating daytime sleepiness to people who have completely different problems: thyroid disease, cardiovascular pathology, respiratory or digestive diseases. It will also not be possible to prescribe the same treatment to those suffering from depression, sleep apnea or chronic fatigue syndrome. Everyone has their own problems, and, accordingly, their own therapy, so it’s clearly impossible to do without an examination and a doctor.

Video: drowsiness - expert opinion