Do you have extreme morning fatigue?
We’ve all been there – those days when even the thought of getting out of bed when your alarm goes off is overwhelming. But for some of you, this could be happening every day. Extreme fatigue in the morning is the worst!
When you start your day with morning fatigue, it’s hard to muster up any motivation to carpe diem.
Fortunately, there’s been a lot of research looking into the reasons behind this morning exhaustion. In this post, I’ll explore each of them in-depth. By the end, you should have the knowledge you need to improve that morning fatigue! Read on to learn about:
- The most obvious cause – not enough sleep – and how to get more
- Other influences disrupting your zzz’s
- A hormone imbalance making it difficult to seize the day
What exactly is morning fatigue?
There’s no long, scientific explanation for morning fatigue. Fatigue in its most general sense is the difficulty or inability to initiate activity. You may experience this in three ways:
- A feeling of weakness.
- Not able to take part in activities.
- Struggle with concentration, memory, and/or emotional stability.
The time of day this happens is unique to you. However from what I see in my clinic, most people experience their most intense levels of fatigue either first thing in the morning or in the late afternoon.
For many, fatigue in the morning makes it extremely difficult to get out of bed. This could mean endless presses of the snooze button. For others it could mean a dependency on coffee to get going – although there is a chance that coffee is causing your fatigue.
But the bottom line is: Morning fatigue is a sense of weakness, an inability to take part in activities, or challenges with concentration, memory, or emotional stability that is most apparent first thing in the morning.
The most obvious cause: not enough sleep
Are you sleeping for less than 7 hours per night?
Is your sleep disrupted?
If you’re answering yes to either of the above questions, your extreme tiredness in the morning could simply be caused by a lack of restful sleep. That’s because lack of sleep has substantial negative effects on sleepiness, motor, and cognitive performance and mood, as well as on some metabolic, hormonal and immunological variables. (1)
Perhaps even more alarming, regularly getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night is associated with severe negative health outcomes, including:
- Weight gain and obesity,
- Diabetes,
- Hypertension,
- Heart disease and stroke,
- Depression,
- Increased risk of death.
Sleeping less than 7 hours per night is also associated with an impaired immune function, increased pain levels, impaired performance, increased errors, and a greater risk of accidents. (2)
In a study done on Australian teenagers, it was found that going to bed later and sleeping until later in the day was associated with negative health outcomes like an elevated body-mass index (BMI). Additionally, those that went to bed later also spent more time in front of the television and less time doing physical activity. (3) There aren’t studies showing if these results are the same for adults. However anecdotally, I can certainly vouch that when I stay up late, I almost always engage in more screen time and rarely hit the gym the next morning.
Research aside, I think it is safe to say that your body has evolved over many thousands of years to align itself with the light-dark cycle of your geography. Therefore, it is in your best interest to ensure that your 7-9 hours of sleep occur when it is dark outside. Moreover, night shift workers are at increased risk to develop fatigue, psychological and cardiovascular symptoms, and stress maladaptation/intolerance. (4, 5, 6)
How do you know you’re getting enough sleep?
This can be nearly impossible to determine subjectively. Instead, I recommend tracking. Below, I’ve listed 4 easy steps to help you determine your optimal amount of sleep.
- Track your sleep duration – you’ll do this for every day of the experiment
- Test your reflexes – go to humanbenchmark.com and test your reflexes for the first three days.
- Add 30 to 60 minutes of sleep for 30 days. Many of you will not be able to sleep in longer. Therefore, going to bed earlier is often the only way to increase sleep duration.
- Test your reflexes (again) – go to humanbenchmark.com and test your reflexes after 30 days of longer sleep duration and see how they’ve changed. If they’ve improved, you’re on the right track!
- See how you feel – do you feel better now that you’re getting more sleep? Probably! Track your symptoms as you go through the experiment to determine how much better you feel with extra sleep.
Smartwatches, FitBits, and similar devices make sleep tracking easier. These devices can even help you determine how restful and restorative your sleep is on a night-to-night basis.
Ideally, you combine both reflex testing and sleep tracking with your electronic device to get an objective look at how you are sleeping each night. If you find that your sleep needs improvement, alter one variable at a time. That way you know what is or is not having an effect on your sleep.
Other tips for improving morning fatigue
Some people do well eating a smaller dinner (especially those with digestive issues). People who tend to have low blood sugar do better with a bedtime snack. In general, though, it’s best to go to bed neither overly full nor hungry. You should ensure your diet isn’t too low carb or low fat, as these types of diets can also lead to trouble sleeping.
Cut out caffeine and alcohol as they both can influence sleep. Remember that if you are currently drinking a lot of coffee, it’s best to wean yourself off rather than cutting it out cold turkey. You should also check out my post on whether your morning coffee is helping your energy or making you tired!
It’s important to get adequate amounts of physical exercise for proper sleep. Make sure to pay special attention not only to exercise but also the time that is spent being sedentary. Try a standing or treadmill desk, take the stairs, and walk more!
If you struggle to fall asleep, ensure your electronic devices have the blue light blocker enabled. You can download one for free here. In the hours before bed, try your best to limit your exposure to bright lights. That’s because bright lights (and electronic devices) block melatonin secretion. Read about how artificial lighting makes you tired.
The less obvious causes of morning fatigue
The hormone cortisol is intimately tied to your body’s circadian rhythm. High cortisol levels throughout the day help to produce a sense of wakefulness. Low cortisol levels at night assist you in falling asleep. Irregularities in your cortisol rhythm and/or levels are commonly tied to fatigue. If an abnormality in your cortisol hormone occurs in the morning, it’s likely you’re going to be extremely tired. I’ll explain exactly what occurs below.
Cortisol 101
Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced in your body’s adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue occurs when cortisol levels are low. But did you know that cortisol follows a specific rhythm every day?
About half an hour after you wake up, your cortisol levels should surge to levels 50-75% higher than they were while you were asleep. (7) This phenomenon is called the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and suppression of this could be the reason you can’t get out of bed in the morning. Check out the image below for more clarity on the CAR.
The cortisol awakening response
The first dot on the image shows the cortisol level upon waking. The green dots indicate a suppressed (low) cortisol awakening response. The blue dot represents an elevated cortisol awakening response. The grey dots represent a normal cortisol awakening response. If you have a suppressed/lowered CAR, you’re not going to have an easy time getting out of bed in the morning.
It is the CAR that gives you the morning surge of energy to get out of bed. When it doesn’t occur, you’re going to want to stay under the covers. That morning surge of cortisol helps prepare your body with energy to start the day. Remember, cortisol has a profound effect on your blood sugar.
The surge of cortisol in the morning pulls sugar out of your cells and deposits it into your blood. This raises your blood sugar which helps to give you the energy to complete morning tasks. Rewinding the clock to the days of your paleolithic ancestors, the cortisol awakening response could also be what kept you alive. If you awoke to danger, having sugar in your blood to use as energy to run away could have been the difference between living and dying.
High CARs were observed in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, visceral obesity, and women with metabolic syndrome. In contrast, low CARs were observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and high blood pressure. (8) (9)
If you’ve tried my recommendations to improve your morning fatigue without success, your morning cortisol levels could be to blame. An altered cortisol awakening response is generally a response to your body undergoing a stress response. Remember, stress isn’t what you think it is. The stresses that affect your cortisol levels are generally hidden stresses.
How to improve your cortisol awakening response
The light-dark cycle affects cortisol: Darkness suppresses cortisol production and exposure to sunlight increases it. To get a healthy surge of cortisol, make sure you expose yourself to the sun (or a full spectrum light) as soon as you wake up.
For those of you living at latitudes resulting in minimal hours of sunlight during the winter, look into purchasing a full spectrum light. Expose yourself to this light for 10 minutes after you wake up. This will simulate exposure to the sun which should help cause a surge of cortisol. In the evening, you’ll want to do the opposite – avoid exposure to bright lights as best you can.
If you find that light therapy is not improving your morning tiredness, low circulating levels of cortisol could be to blame. I recommend seeking out a knowledgeable Functional Medicine practitioner to help you assess and treat your cortisol levels.
If no one is available in your area, looking to the food you eat is the logical next step. The food you eat plays a profound effect on your cortisol levels. In fact, in my practice, I see blood sugar irregularities as the #1 cause of both morning fatigue and adrenal fatigue.
To make matters worse, you could have a blood sugar imbalance causing your morning fatigue and not even know it! If your fatigue isn’t getting better after altering your sleep habits, be sure to check out my eCourse, Stop Feeding Fatigue. In this course, I show you how to determine exactly which foods are causing your fatigue and which foods give you energy!
Ok, now you know my best strategies for improving your morning fatigue!
Want to know more? Learn how to have a fatigue-free body!
What is insomnia? I have a difficult time going to sleep (3+ hrs) and going back once awakened. And although I don’t drink much fluids after dinner, I still wake up at least 3-4 times to urinate. My mind does race when trying to relax so unless I preoccupy myself with television I will just stir constantly.
Hey, Kirk,
Here’s what Up To Date defines insomnia as:
Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or waking up early in the morning and not being able to return to sleep. In general, people with insomnia sleep less or sleep poorly despite having an adequate chance to sleep. The poor sleep may lead to trouble functioning during the daytime.
Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours slept because “sufficient sleep” can vary from one person to another. Sleep requirements may also decrease with age.
Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint in the United States. While almost everyone has an occasional night of poor sleep, approximately 10 percent of adults have long-term or chronic insomnia.
(Source)