You turned down your friends for a well-deserved night out. Ticked all boxes on your to-do checklist proactively. Went to bed before traffic vanished from the roads. All in the hope of waking up fresh and enthusiastic the next morning.

Yet, you feel tired even after 8 hours of sleep. You don’t want to get out of bed and start the day. Snoozing your alarm thrice, you yell inside your aching head:

“WHY DO I WAKE UP TIRED AFTER 8 HOURS OF SLEEP?”

You’re not alone.

Google shows “sleep" searches went higher than ever in 2023, reflecting a growing number of sleep disorders, especially among Gen Z. It’s clear that a lot of people are wondering why they wake up tired with no energy.

A quality shut-eye sleep is a must for the healthy functioning of body and mind. In this article, we’ll try to understand why you feel tired even after 8 hours of sleep and will offer you innovative solutions.

Why Is Quality Sleep Important?

Trapped in the hustle and bustle of a fast-paced life, your body and mind need a recharge.

Quality sleep offers you a ton of benefits that can help you maintain optimal health and overall well-being.

Physical Health

During a sound sleep, your body releases cytokines. These proteins fight infections and inflammation, boosting your immune system and protecting you from diseases.

Quality sleep also regulates your hormones like insulin and cortisol, helping metabolism, weight management and blood sugar control.

Also, while you’re asleep, your body repairs itself from inside — rebuilding tissues and cells.

Mental Health

Sleep sharpens your focus and boosts your memory, making it easier for you to learn and retain new information.

The phrase “waking up on the wrong side of bed” isn’t a casual excuse. Sleep plays a pivotal role in improving your mood and reducing your stress.

Also, deep sleep triggers creativity and offers clarity for problem-solving. A well-rested person has better reaction time, judgment, endurance, and coordination than someone who’s sleep-deprived.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

“Why am I so tired after sleeping for 8 hours straight? Do I need to sleep for 8 more? What’s the right number? How much sleep do I need?! I’m going crazy right now…”Questions like these show up in our inbox every day.  

Every human is different in terms of age, lifestyle, and overall health. The amount of sleep a person needs varies across different life stages.

Here’s a comprehensive table of sleep recommendations for different age groups:

Healthy sleeping patterns and aiming for the recommended hours based on your age group are essential for maintaining your overall mental and physical well-being.

Why Do You Wake Up Tired After 8 Hours Of Sleep?

8 hours sounds like a golden number that could guarantee you a fresh start. But if that were the case, you wouldn’t be reading this blog, would you?

You’re dutifully logging these eight hours, only to greet the morning with a yawn and a heavy head.

Let’s understand the common reasons behind why you feel tired even after 8 hours of sleep.

Sleep Disorders

Your morning fatigue could be the result of a sleep disorder. These conditions disrupt your sleeping patterns. As a result, you might feel like you’re sleeping for a good amount of time, but your body is not getting the restorative rest it needs.

Some of the most common sleep disorders include:

• Sleep Apnoea: Your breathing repeatedly starts and stops during your sleep.
• Insomnia: You find it difficult to fall or stay asleep for long.
• Restless Legs Syndrome: You wake up due to an irresistible urge to move your legs.

There are many more, and these sleep disorders must be tackled head-on to ensure your sleeping patterns get back to normal.

Diet and Lifestyle Factors

“What you put in your body shows in what you do” — isn’t that what they all say?

It’s true that your diet and overall lifestyle impact your sleep.

If you’re living on an unhealthy diet, you will feel the weight of it under your eyelids, even after sleeping for 8 hours straight.

• Caffeine and Alcohol Consumption: Caffeine or other such substances can make you feel drowsy, so you won’t wake up fresh even after a long rest.
• Unhealthy Food: Consuming processed foods, sugary drinks, and junk food disrupts your digestive system and ruins your sleep.
• No Physical Activity: Without exercise, you won’t get quality shut-eye. You’ll feel fatigued even after a solid nap.
• Irregular Sleep Schedule: Your body's natural sleep-wake cycle is disrupted when you go to bed at irregular and inconsistent times.

You must adjust your diet and lifestyle to get high-quality sleep. That’s the only way to retain your vitality and strength in the long run.

Sleep Quality

It doesn’t really matter how long you doze off for. It’s more about the quality of sleep. This will dictate how you feel when you wake up.

Many factors can diminish your sleep quality. Some are:

• Noise: Ensure that there are no loud or disruptive noises where you sleep — it’s critical for your sleep quality.
• Light: Don’t expose yourself to bright light, especially before you doze off, as it can suppress the production of melatonin — a hormone that helps regulate sleep.
• Temperature: Don’t sleep at an excessively hot or cold place. Quality sleep comes from comfort.
• Stress and anxiety: Overthinking before going to bed or suffering from mental and emotional stress can make it harder for your thoughts to go silent and let you sleep.

Your sleep quality is just as important as the time you spend in your bed.

Deficiencies 

Your body needs certain nutrients to regulate your ability to doze off and sleep soundly. For example:

• Iron: Your body needs iron to carry oxygen throughout. Without it, your body will suffer from fatigue and weakness.
• Magnesium: Magnesium helps your muscles relax and make you comfortable falling and staying asleep.
• Vitamin D: A Vitamin D deficiency can cause sleep issues and a feeling of tiredness when you wake up.

Ensure your body doesn’t suffer from any deficiencies to avoid waking up tired and restless.

Stress

Suffering from stress can make it very hard for you to fall and stay asleep in the long run. Moreover, even if you manage to get a good 8 hours off the clock, you won’t feel rejuvenated.

It’s important to maintain your stress levels to improve the quality of your sleep. You can do that by:

• Practicing relaxation techniques
• Engaging in regular exercise
• Seeking professional help
• Developing healthy coping mechanisms
• Avoiding stressful activities before bed

Anxiety

Anxiety keeps you up at night. You might find it difficult to get a hold of the Sandman and doze off to a peaceful sleep.

Sleep is good for your anxiety, as it helps restore your mental energy while offering you an escape.

But if your mind is constantly awake, worrying about the day's events, you may not get enough sleep or have trouble sleeping soundly.

Anxiety is something that should be addressed to enable a healthy sleeping routine. It’s necessary for your physical and emotional well-being.

Screen Time

The time you spend researching holidays, scrolling your social media, or playing with your friends on your tablets or gaming consoles affects your sleep more than you probably imagine.

The blue light emitted from electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops can suppress melatonin production.

Elongated and irregulated screen times can affect your sleeping patterns, especially before bed.

You should:

• Avoid using electronic devices in bed. Instead, read a book or listen to deep sleep, relaxing music or a podcast — anything that doesn’t need a screen.
• Turn off screens at least an hour before bedtime. Your body will have more time to produce melatonin and prepare for sleep.
• Use blue light filters on your devices. Some devices come with built-in blue light filters, and some apps can do the same.

Your Sleep Environment

Your bedroom or sleep environment affects your sleep quality significantly.

To get the most out of your 8-hour adventure, you should ensure your bedroom is:

• Dark: This can be done with blackout curtains or an eye mask to block out any light.
• Quiet: Get earplugs or a white noise machine if you live in a noisy area.
• Cool: Maintain room temperature between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Comfortable: Ensure that your mattress and pillows are ergonomic and comfortable.

Methods For Improving Sleep Quality

We’ve identified the problem. Now let’s explore a comprehensive set of solutions that can viably improve your sleep quality. Here’s a summary:

Let’s look at each option to evaluate the utility of each.

Magnesium Citrate

Magnesium Citrate works as a muscle relaxant and increases neurotransmitter production.

It’s a natural sleep booster that is highly absorbable and available in capsules, powder and gummies.

Studies suggest magnesium supplementation can improve sleep quality, reduce the time it takes for you to fall asleep and increase overall sleep duration.

You can get your hands on Novomins Night Time Gummies here — a dietary supplement curated to help you get a quality slumber. 

They have a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating, based on 633 reviews on Reviews.io.  Customers report it helps them improve their sleep and mood and mitigates their anxiety issues. 

Relaxation Techniques

When you’re overthinking, stressing out or exhausted, your mind makes it difficult for your body to fall asleep. These relaxation techniques can help quiet your mind:

• Meditation: Mindfulness meditation calms the mind, reduces stress and improves sleep quality and duration.
• Muscle Relaxation: Tensing and releasing muscle groups one by one can help you get into a state of deep relaxation.
• Deep Breathing Exercises: Slow, controlled breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, making you relaxed and comfortable with your surroundings.
• Guided Imagery: Imagining and visualising calming scenes and motifs can quiet the mind and ease you into sleep.

Sleep Tech

Sleep tech is making news, and for the right reasons. Many companies offer innovative tools to track sleep and optimise bedtime routines.

Some of the most commonly used are:

• Sleep Trackers and Monitors: These are devices you can wear on your wrist or put on the bedside table to track your sleep stages, heart rate and movement. 
• White Noise Machines and Sleep Apps: White noise machines block out distractions and create a calming sleep environment. Apps with nature sounds, guided meditations, and sleep stories can also help you relax.
• Smart Beds and Pillows: You can adjust the temperature, firmness and position of your sleeping companions to enhance your comfort and sleep quality.
• Nap Pods: Designed for quick power naps, these compact, soundproof booths provide a space to relax during the day.

Using Sleep Mode On Your Phone

Many smartphones have a built-in sleep mode that dims the screen, reduces notifications and filters out blue light in the hours before bed.

Now you can create a more sleep-friendly environment and signal to your brain that it's time to wind down and doze off.

What Does The Research Say About Waking Up Tired After 8 Hours Of Sleep?

Credible research and studies by experts provide tips to promote healthy sleep habits and improve the quality of your sleep:

• Consistent Sleep Schedule: The Sleep Foundation recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends.
• Daylight Exposure: They also suggest aiming for at least 30 minutes of exposure to natural light each day to influence your body’s circadian rhythm.
• Limit Naps: Another Sleep Foundation post suggests limiting nap times. If you decide to nap, limit it to 20 minutes and schedule it for eight or more hours before your bedtime.
• Comfortable Sleep Environment: The Sleep Foundation also instructs us to make sure that our sleep environment is quiet, dark and cool.
• Healthy Diet: Studies also suggest that a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meat may support better sleep health.

Signing Off

Sleep might feel pointless if you still feel exhaustion, headaches and tiredness even after sleeping for 8 hours. 

To fix the problem, take care of any sleep disorders, reduce screen time, improve your sleep environment and adjust your lifestyle and diet. You can also utilise sleep tech to your advantage, along with other products and applications that can help you sleep soundly. 

If you’re struggling with feeling tired despite getting enough sleep, consider exploring the Novomins sleep aid range. Our products, including magnesium citrate gummies, are designed to support relaxation and sleep. 

Our experts suggest using Magnesium Citrate as a supplement. It can help regulate your neurotransmitters, relax your muscles and promote the production of melatonin, improving your overall sleep quality and quantity. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I still tired after getting good sleep?

Lack of exercise, dehydration, mental health struggles or even hormonal imbalances can steal your energy and make you feel tired after getting a good sleep. 

Why do I never wake up feeling refreshed?

Sleep disorders, poor sleep hygiene, chronic stress, or even an underlying health condition could be the reason why you’re not feeling refreshed. 

Why am I always tired even though I get enough sleep?

Nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress, hidden health issues or your diet may be the reason behind your tiredness and post-sleep exhaustion. 

What are sleep cycles?

Sleep cycles are a psychological process that occurs in your brain once you doze off. Each cycle takes you through four stages, from light snoozing to deep slumber and dreamy REM sleep. Adults typically cycle through 4-6 of these mini-resets each night.

Sources

• Good Sleep for Good Health
• How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
• Sleep FAQs
• How Much Sleep Do I Need?
• Does Magnesium Help You Sleep?
• Healthy Sleep Habits
• Wondering Why You’re Tired After 8 Hours Of Sleep? Here’s Why — Plus What To Do.
• 20 Tips for How to Sleep Better
• The Year in Sleep: 37% of Us Slept Worse in 2024
• Google searches for 'sleep' reached an all-time high in 2023, new study notes