Some people cannot sleep lying down. They spin and turn, but they can’t get into the position they need to fall asleep. But as soon as they sit down in a chair with a book or in bed, sleep immediately sets in. In this position, people get enough sleep. So why does a person sometimes sleep while sitting?
If a person has some kind of unpleasant association of falling asleep lying down or has experienced a strong fright while falling asleep in bed, then in this position he begins to become stressed, adrenaline is released into the blood and he cannot fall asleep.
Man sleeps sitting due to heart problems
People who have heart disease are forced to sleep sitting up. In a horizontal position, blood flow to the heart increases, the heart cannot cope, and the blood remains in the lungs. Therefore, a person instinctively takes a position that makes it easier for him to fall asleep and sleep, in this case - semi-vertical. As the disease progresses, the patient needs more and more pillows.
What to do?
Contact a cardiologist and get an ECG and ultrasound of the heart.
Man sleeps sitting due to stomach problems
Sometimes a person sleeps sitting up if he has a pathological condition of the stomach. People who suffer from heartburn sleep half-sitting. If a person lies down, reflux, heartburn occurs, and the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus.
Most often this occurs with a hiatal hernia. If the hole in the diaphragm through which the esophagus enters is too large, a hernia occurs. At the same time, a person often coughs because the esophagus is irritated by gastric juice.
What to do?
Perform an X-ray examination of the esophagus.
Man sleeps sitting due to headaches
It happens that a person has a headache when lying down. This is an alarming symptom. Which indicates that fluid is not leaking from the brain. There are cavities in the brain that are filled with fluid, this fluid constantly leaks out.
Brain cancer
Sleeping while sitting can be a consequence of headaches that occur when lying down.
What to do?
See a doctor and have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain.
Apnea as a cause of sedentary sleep
There may be another reason, more typical for obese people - or holding your breath while sleeping. Sleep apnea occurs more often at night when a person is lying on his back. If the patient is very impressionable, under the influence of stress he may begin to be afraid to fall asleep while lying down.
Sleep while sitting in children
The situation for children is slightly different from for adults. Why does a child prefer to sleep sitting up? Very often, babies take this position due to night terrors that disrupt the process of falling asleep in bed.
Consequences of sedentary sleep
When a child or adult sleeps sitting up for a long period of time (more than one month), it can lead to certain consequences:
- An uncomfortable posture leads to compression of the spinal arteries that supply blood to the brain. This leads to ischemia and disrupts night rest, causing drowsiness and a feeling of weakness after a night's rest.
- Significant pressure on the vertebrae as a result of prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position can lead to changes in the spinal column and cause exacerbations of a number of diseases, including osteochondrosis.
- Similar consequences that occur in older people can cause ischemic stroke.
Among the various signs that warn of the presence of a particular disease, there is such a symptom as daytime sleepiness. The syndrome can be characterized by unpleasant consequences and indicate serious health problems. This phenomenon occurs in many people. However, for some it goes away within the next day, while others live with it for years. This condition indicates a simple malaise, or sleepiness during the day warns of a serious illness.
Thus, the chronic course of hypersomnia can not only be considered a feature of the body, but also be the result of diseases of the central nervous system and damage to brain cells. When detecting and diagnosing many diseases, this sign is of particular importance, therefore it is important to prevent the disease in time.
Daytime sleepiness is a warning about serious illnesses
Many people complain that they constantly want to sleep, regardless of the hour period and location. It makes you sleepy everywhere and always, in the morning and evening, at the workplace or in the gym.
When drowsiness appears during the day, the reasons for this phenomenon may be different.
- diseases;
- insufficient duration of rest;
- use of various means;
- wrong lifestyle.
To normalize well-being, you need to identify the unfavorable source and eliminate it.
Diabetes
This dangerous disease can lead to drowsiness during the day, since due to changes in the balance of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for supplying easily digestible elements inside the cells, it can cause an increase and decrease in the saturation of glucose in the circulatory system. As a result of such changes, chronic lethargy and drowsiness appear at lunchtime.
In addition, damage to the cerebral cortex is possible, the formation of a psychoorganic syndrome, which leads to drowsiness during the day.
Apnea
Often, the symptom of hypersomnia can occur due to apnea in older people. There is also a tendency among overweight people. With this disease, when a person rests at night, the respiratory process stops and due to lack of oxygen, he wakes up.
The man snores, then falls silent. After a while, it vibrates again. During these breaks in the attack, the brain suffers from a lack of oxygen, which causes a sleepy state throughout the day. In addition, high blood pressure is possible in the morning.
Hypertension
The disease often develops in people over 40 years of age who have bad habits and suffer from excess body weight and diabetes. Place of residence and hereditary predisposition also play an important role.
List of symptoms warning of the presence of this disease:
- regular increase in pressure at rest;
- insomnia at night;
- daytime lethargy;
- dizziness;
- nausea.
If such a condition develops, you should immediately contact a doctor.
Hypotension
In the case of a regular decrease in pressure, this will lead to a problem with blood flow to the brain, manifested by:
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- headaches;
- brokenness.
Treatment of the disease is carried out under the supervision of a therapist. 
Anemia
With illness, the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells decreases, as a result of which the supply of oxygen by blood to organs and tissues becomes worse. A person's memory deteriorates, he feels dizzy, and lacks strength and energy. Sometimes fainting happens.
Idiopathic hypersomnia
The disease especially appears in young people. Due to the absence of other factors, which makes one constantly want to sleep during the day, the disease is diagnosed by exclusion.
In this state, a desire to rest during the day is noted. Interested in finding a solution to the problem, the patient complains that he always has a strong desire to rest. It happens that a person tends to sleep while powerlessly awake. In the evening the patient quickly falls asleep.
When you regularly want to go to bed and develop regular fatigue, this condition leads to serious problems.
Often, daytime sleepiness can warn of an illness related to the function of the endocrine system. This disease is often accompanied by weight gain, changes in stool, and hair loss.
Also, the patient may feel chills, fatigue, cold, although it will seem that the body has had enough sleep. If the functioning of the endocrine glands is upset, you should contact an endocrinologist.
Daytime drowsiness as an effect of taking medications
Almost all medications affect dreams, disrupt them at night (a person cannot get enough sleep) or cause daytime sleepiness. To maintain proper rest, you should decide with your doctor the time and dosage of the medications you take.
First of all, this applies to drugs that provoke asomnia.
- Beta blockers.
- Bronchodilators.
- Corticosteroids.
- Decongestants.
- CNS stimulants.
- Difenin.
- Thyroid hormones.
Since insomnia often accompanies depression, people who have difficulty falling asleep use antidepressants. It is these drugs that occupy an important place in influencing the structure of dreams.
Amitriptyline, Sinequan, Trazodone reduce the duration of REM sleep and increase the slow-wave dream cycle. Medicines cause a feeling of drowsiness, affecting activity during the day.
During depression, monoamine oxidase inhibitors are prescribed - Tranylcypromine, Phenelzine, which can cause fragmented, restless rest with frequent waking up. Drugs reduce the duration of REM sleep and lead to daytime lethargy.
Results of stress
Severe fatigue and drowsiness at the initial stage is characterized by high excitability, insomnia as a result of the release of adrenaline and cortisol. If the causes of stress persist for a long time, the adrenal glands become exhausted and hormone production decreases.
A rapid loss of strength is observed in persons who suffer from chronic adrenal insufficiency, rheumatic diseases, and with long-term use of glucocorticoids.
Impact of addictions
Alcohol intoxication is quite common. After drinking alcohol, a stage of excitement begins. When it passes with mild intoxication, the dream stage is designated. The person is lethargic, his head feels heavy, he wants to go to sleep.
During smoking, vascular spasms occur, oxygen is poorly supplied to the cerebral cortex, which leads to inflammation and excitation of the inner lining of blood vessels. That’s why almost a third of smokers are sleepy and lethargic.
Diseases of the central nervous system, as a result of changes in the functioning of internal organs
If a person does not know how to deal with lack of sleep at home, it is necessary to undergo an examination to exclude or diagnose diseases of internal organs
Why do you want to sleep during the day, but not at night? You can’t cheer yourself up, even though you’ve spent a sufficient amount of time in bed. Such disorders may be associated with the quality and quantity of night sleep, determined by the following symptoms:
- constant awakenings occur, and then it is difficult for a person to fall asleep;
- Daytime sleepiness leads to frequent bouts of unintentional rest at any time;
- heavy snoring;
- headache;
- inability to move the body after waking up (Parkinson's disease);
- other.
These signs indicate a violation of dream phases.
In men, daytime sleepiness is often associated with apnea (eating heavily in the evening, drinking alcohol, smoking, being overweight). Older people want to sleep in the middle of the day due to reduced REM sleep duration and the need for bed comfort. Fatigue after lunch indicates excessive coffee consumption in the morning.
Drowsiness in children
The problem of children's sleepiness during the day is more common than in adults. This occurs due to greater instability of the central nervous system, high sensitivity to the influence of unfavorable factors. Therefore, a lethargic and sleepy state in infectious diseases occurs early and clearly, and can be the first symptoms of a disease that warns of danger.
In addition, if fatigue and drowsiness suddenly appear, head injury and intoxication must be ruled out. When a child’s problem of drowsiness is not very pronounced, but has a chronic course, then we can assume the following diseases:
- leukemia;
- tuberculosis;
- heart defects;
- hepatitis;
- diabetes.
The list of diseases that occur in children with drowsiness is long, so it is better to get examined.
Diagnostics and treatment measures
Often, you can get rid of drowsiness that is not complicated by illness simply by changing your habits. It is worth paying attention to your lifestyle. If factors such as physical activity before bed, anxiety, stress, nicotine, alcohol are absent, but the problem does not go away, then you need to consult a therapist.
You will need to be examined for obvious sleep disorders, conditions and diseases that lead to excessive sleepiness. Based on the survey and analysis, the specialist will recommend:
- cardiologist;
- neurologist;
- somnologist;
- endocrinologist.
A common method for studying sleepiness is polysomnography, which measures brain waves, body movement, breathing during rest, and the stage and cause of interruptions in sleep at night.
To treat drowsiness, stimulants Amphetamine and Modafinil are prescribed, which allow you to stay awake during the day. Homeopathy therapy is used, which tones the nervous system and helps in the fight against chronic lethargy - Aurum, Anacardium, Magnesia Carbonica.
Medicine does not stand still. For drowsiness, massage of the ears, the area above the eyebrows, fingers, and cervical spine will also help. With a deficiency of vitamins B, C, D in the body, fatigue and apathy appear. Therefore, you need to take vitamin complexes.
Among the folk methods, tea made from rose hips, ginger, infusion of eleutherococcus, and warm milk with honey will help overcome drowsiness. Coping with daytime sleepiness is not easy, but solving the problem in a timely manner will return you to normal life.
In the modern world, constant lack of sleep has become almost the norm. We all from time to time experience an irresistible urge to take a nap for an hour or two after a lunch break or to extend our morning sleep by at least 10 minutes. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with this, unless a person experiences excessive sleepiness, which is observed day after day for no apparent reason. In this case, it is necessary to find out why this condition arose and whether it threatens with dangerous consequences for health.
Why does there be an increased craving for sleep?
In simple terms, increased sleepiness is a condition in which a person constantly feels the need to sleep. Moreover, this includes not only an excessive duration of sleep at night, but also an irresistible desire to fall asleep during the day, which is often accompanied by a feeling of lethargy, fatigue and weakness. This phenomenon is also called hypersomnia. Hypersomnia is divided into psychophysiological and pathological. The reasons that can cause one or another type of hypersomnia are completely different.
The causes of the psychophysiological variety of hypersomnia can be called conditionally normal: they are quite understandable and in most cases do not cause concern. As a rule, increased daytime sleepiness occurs in men and women due to a banal lack of sleep at night. In addition, chronic fatigue, which appears due to strong and regular physical and psychological stress, can also cause excessive sleepiness during the day. Also, a constant desire to sleep may be associated with forced use of potent medications that depress the nervous system (for example, antipsychotics, tranquilizers, analgesics, sedatives and antiallergic drugs).
The physiological need to sleep and severe weakness often occur in pregnant women in the first trimester of the prenatal period. And finally, it has been proven that during the autumn and winter periods the amount of sunlight received is significantly reduced, which often results in lethargy, apathy, a constant feeling of fatigue and an excessive desire to sleep.
Sign of pathology
The pathological causes of drowsiness are very extensive. In this case, a strong need for sleep, which occurs in a person even during the day, is not so much an independent phenomenon, but rather a warning that some kind of disease is developing in the body. The list of diseases that may cause increased daytime sleepiness includes the following pathologies:
- infections, including those causing brain diseases (meningitis, encephalitis);
- brain hypoxia;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system (coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypotension);
- abnormalities in the functioning of internal organs (liver cirrhosis, renal failure);
- mental disorders (schizophrenia, neurasthenia, depression);
- diseases of the nervous system (narcolepsy and cataplexy);
- head injuries and brain hematomas;
- intoxication of the body;
- endocrine disorders (especially often observed in women during menopause);
- apnea.
This is not a complete list of reasons why a person may have an increased need to sleep. Only specialists can find out exactly why this happens. To make an accurate diagnosis, the doctor will take into account whether the patient still has any signs of certain diseases.
How does oversleeping occur?
The increased need for sleep can only be determined with an individual approach. A long-term increase in average daily sleep duration by 20-25% indicates that a person has hypersomnia. Thus, the time of night sleep increases to approximately 12-14 hours. It was noted that daytime sleepiness occurs more often in women than in men.
Although the signs of this condition directly depend on the cause that caused it, it is still possible to identify some characteristic symptoms. As a rule, excessive daytime sleepiness is accompanied by an almost irresistible desire to take a nap during the day, decreased performance and poor concentration. At the same time, the much-desired daytime nap does not bring proper relief, but only increases the feeling of fatigue and weakness. In addition, when waking up after a night's sleep, a person often experiences so-called “sleep intoxication” - a condition in which it is impossible to quickly engage in usual vigorous activity.
Chronic daytime sleepiness, along with a constant feeling of weakness, fatigue, also accompanied by dizziness and nausea, almost certainly warns that a disease is developing in the body, which requires immediate diagnosis and adequate treatment. Thus, the combination of the described symptoms often accompanies the occurrence of such a serious pathology as vegetative-vascular dystonia. With narcolepsy, the desire to fall asleep generally takes a person by surprise in the most inappropriate place or time for this. Therefore, experts advise not to delay the examination if you have been experiencing increased daytime sleepiness for a long time for no apparent reason, and be sure to find out why this is happening. Only in this case will it be clear how to get rid of the disturbance in the rhythm of life.
Diagnosis of excessive sleepiness
The primary task of a doctor who is approached by a patient suffering from constant weakness and drowsiness is to conduct a complete survey and identify other possible signs of a particular disease. The specialist will definitely take into account whether the patient has any concomitant disease, clarify the daily routine and find out how long the patient has been bothered by this condition. A question about the presence of traumatic brain injuries will also be required. In most cases, during the initial examination it is possible to identify only presumptive causes of the pathological drowsiness, so the specialist refers the patient for further examinations. The most informative diagnostic methods for such disorders are computed tomography (CT) of the brain and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The patient may also need ultrasound diagnostics of the brain and polysomnography.
Polysomnography is a study performed during sleep and allows you to identify certain breathing disorders (for example, sleep apnea). It is advisable to conduct a sleep latency test immediately after polysomnography. This test helps determine whether a person has narcolepsy or sleep apnea. In addition, the severity of sleepiness is clarified using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. By the way, for initial diagnosis, this test can even be performed independently at home, although this, of course, does not cancel a visit to the doctor.
Often the patient is recommended to undergo a comprehensive examination, including examination by specialized specialists - a cardiologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, psychiatrist and others. This will help determine whether frequent daytime sleepiness is associated with the development of any disease. The accuracy of the diagnosis will determine how effective the treatment will be.
How to eliminate the constant tendency to sleep?
While giving here tips on how to get rid of excessive fatigue and the constant desire to take a nap at the most inopportune moment, we will not describe drug treatment. Serious illnesses that cause a strong need for sleep should be diagnosed and treated under the close supervision of a qualified professional. In addition, treatment in each case is individual and depends on the cause that caused weakness and constant drowsiness.
If no pathology is identified during the examination, and the sources of the sleepy state are exclusively psychophysiological, then first of all it is necessary to influence the causes of the disturbance in the rhythm of life. As a rule, non-drug treatment in this case will be aimed at stabilizing lifestyle and may include following several simple recommendations:
- Ensure yourself a healthy and full night's sleep. At least for a while, it’s worth giving up something that can cause increased fatigue that doesn’t go away even during the day. For example, from a long evening watching a TV series or household chores that are not so urgent. By the way, it has been proven that regularly spending time on gadgets immediately before a night's rest significantly worsens the quality of sleep.
- Exercise. It could be anything - jogging in the morning, gymnastics, swimming, fitness. Physical exercise helps keep the body in good shape and helps get rid of excessive drowsiness, lethargy and fatigue.
- Take vitamins and eat right. It is especially important to compensate for the deficiency of micro- and macroelements during seasonal periods of vitamin deficiency. Often a constant desire to sleep, even during the daytime, arises precisely because of this reason. Particularly harmful in this regard is a lack of iron, which causes anemia (lack of hemoglobin) and, as a result, an increased feeling of fatigue, weakness and the desire to sleep. Sometimes no additional treatment is required after a course of vitamins.
- Ventilate the room more often. In a stuffy room, the brain begins to experience oxygen starvation, which is why the need for sleep appears. The flow of fresh air will help get rid of lethargy.
- Use “invigorating” methods. These include washing your face with cold water and drinking a cup of black coffee. However, the latter should not be abused, because this drink is not considered healthy. You can replace it with green tea, which invigorates no worse than caffeine due to its high theine content.
- If the feeling of fatigue and drowsiness persists, if possible, you need to give your body a rest for at least 15-20 minutes. After a short “quiet hour,” performance may well return to its previous level.
When figuring out why you have a constant desire to nap, pay attention to whether you are currently taking any medications that cause this condition. Read the annotation: it may list increased drowsiness as a side effect. In such a situation, you should consult a doctor. Most likely, he will choose another treatment for you. In any case, the desire to sleep should go away on its own after you stop taking the drug. If this does not happen, then the reason for your sleepy state lies in something else. Women should remember that some time before menstruation and during menstruation, the desire to fall asleep at the most inopportune moment intensifies, and this is not a sign of a serious illness. Additionally, an excessive need to sleep can be one of the early symptoms of pregnancy.
So, the most important thing when you experience an increased feeling of fatigue and a constant desire to sleep is to find out why this is happening to your body. It is quite possible that the sources of this condition are quite harmless and temporary. But if this state of affairs continues for too long, this is a good reason to contact a specialist.
Sleep is an important physiological process necessary for the functioning of the body. During sleep, all of its functional systems are restored and tissues are pumped with vital energy. It is well known that a person can live much less without sleep than without food.
The normal amount of sleep for an adult is 7-9 hours every day. A person's need for sleep changes as they age. Babies sleep constantly - 12-18 hours a day, and this is the norm. Gradually, sleep duration decreases until it reaches adult levels. On the other hand, older people also often have an increased need for sleep.
It is also important that a person belongs to the type of representatives of the animal kingdom for whom night sleep and daytime wakefulness are normal. If a person cannot spend the time necessary for proper rest every night in sleep, then such a syndrome is called insomnia or insomnia. This situation leads to many unpleasant consequences for the body. But the opposite situation also brings no less problems - when a person wants to sleep more than the allotted time, including during the daytime, when a person is prescribed by nature to stay awake and have an active lifestyle.
This syndrome can be called differently: hypersomnia, somnolence, or, more commonly, drowsiness. It has many reasons, and finding the right one in each specific case is very difficult.
First, let's define the concept of drowsiness more precisely. This is the name of the condition when a person is overcome by yawning, heaviness presses on the eyes, his blood pressure and heart rate decrease, consciousness becomes less acute, and actions become less confident. The secretion of the salivary and lacrimal glands also decreases. At the same time, a person becomes terribly sleepy, he has a desire to sleep right here and now. Weakness and drowsiness in an adult can be a permanent phenomenon, that is, haunt a person all the time he is awake, or transient, observed only at a certain time.
Why do you always want to sleep?
First of all, it is worth noting that constant sleepiness negatively affects a person’s entire life. He sleeps on the move, cannot fully perform his work duties, do household chores, and because of this constantly comes into conflict with others. This in turn leads to stress and neuroses. In addition, drowsiness can directly pose a danger to the person and others, for example, if he is driving a car.
Causes
It is not always easy to answer the question of why a person wants to sleep. The main factors that cause drowsiness can be divided into those that are caused by a person’s unhealthy lifestyle or external causes, and those that are associated with pathological processes in the human body. In many cases of drowsiness, there are several causes at once.
Natural factors
People react differently to natural phenomena. For some they have no noticeable effect, while others are very sensitive to weather changes. If it rains outside for several days in a row and there is low pressure, then the body of such people reacts to these circumstances by lowering blood pressure and vitality. As a result, a person may feel drowsy and tired on such days; he may fall asleep while walking, but when the weather improves, his usual vigor returns. Other people, on the contrary, may react in a similar way to extreme heat and stuffiness.
Also, some people are susceptible to a syndrome in which a decrease in daylight hours causes the body to release hormones necessary for sleep much earlier than planned. Another reason explaining why a person constantly sleeps in winter is that in winter our body has access to fewer vitamins obtained from fresh vegetables and fruits, the consumption of which is known to improve metabolism.
Lack of night sleep
Constant lack of sleep is the reason that seems the most obvious. And in practice, daytime sleepiness caused by poor night sleep is the most common. However, many people tend to ignore it. Even if you think you are getting enough sleep, this may not actually be the case. And if a person did not sleep well at night, then there is a high probability that his eyes will close during the day.
Night sleep may be incomplete, its phases may be unbalanced, that is, the period of REM sleep prevails over the period of slow sleep, during which the most complete rest occurs. In addition, a person may wake up very often at night and may be distracted by noise and stuffiness in the room.
A common pathology that often disrupts the quality of night sleep is apnea. With this syndrome, the patient experiences insufficient oxygen supply to the body's tissues, resulting in intermittent, restless sleep.
It should also be taken into account that over time a person needs more and more sleep. Consequently, if at twenty years old a person can sleep six hours a day, and this will be enough for him to feel vigorous, then at thirty years old the body is no longer so resilient, and it requires more complete rest.
However, daytime sleepiness is not always a consequence of inadequate night sleep or insomnia. Sometimes a situation occurs when a person cannot get enough sleep at night, although he sleeps well. This means a general pathological increase in the daily need for sleep in the absence of night sleep disturbances.
Overwork
Our life goes by at a frantic pace and is filled with everyday bustle that we don’t even notice. Household chores, shopping, car travel, everyday problems - all this in itself takes away our energy and strength. And if at work you still have to do the most complex and at the same time boring things, sitting for hours in front of a monitor screen and looking at numbers and graphs, then the brain eventually becomes overloaded. And it signals that he needs rest. This, among other things, can be expressed in increased drowsiness. By the way, brain overload can be caused not only by visual, but also by auditory stimuli (for example, constant work in a noisy workshop, etc.).
Drowsiness caused by this reason is relatively easy to eliminate - just take a break, a day off, or even go on vacation to put your exhausted nerve cells in order.
Stress and depression
It’s a completely different matter when a person is tormented by some problem that he cannot solve. In this case, at first the person will be full of energy, trying to overcome life's obstacles. But if he fails to do this, then apathy, weakness and fatigue come over the person, which can be expressed, among other things, in increased drowsiness. The sleepy state is a protective reaction of the body, because in sleep it is more protected from the negative effects of stress.
Drowsiness can also be caused by depression - an even more severe damage to a person’s psyche, when he is literally not interested in anything, and around him, as it seems to him, there is complete hopelessness and desperation. Depression is usually caused by a lack of neurotransmitter hormones in the brain and requires serious treatment.
Taking medications
Many medications, especially those intended to treat neurological and mental disorders, can cause drowsiness. This category includes tranquilizers, antidepressants, and antipsychotics.
However, just because the drug you are taking is not in this category does not mean it cannot cause drowsiness as a side effect. Drowsiness is a common side effect of first-generation antihistamines (tavegil, suprastin, diphenhydramine) and many medications for hypertension.
Infectious diseases
Many people are familiar with the feeling of the flu or acute respiratory infections, especially those accompanied by a high temperature, when it’s cold and you want to sleep. This reaction is due to the body’s desire to use all available energy in the fight against infection.
However, lethargy and drowsiness may also be present in infectious diseases that are not accompanied by severe symptoms, such as pathological respiratory phenomena or high fever. It is quite possible that we are talking about an inflammatory process somewhere deep in the body. This condition even has a special name - asthenic syndrome. And often the cause of drowsiness is asthenic syndrome.
It is characteristic of many serious diseases, both infectious and non-infectious in nature. However, drowsiness is not the only sign of asthenic syndrome. It is also characterized by symptoms such as extremely rapid fatigue, irritability and mood lability. Also, asthenic syndrome is characterized by signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia - surges in blood pressure, pain in the heart, chilliness or sweating, discoloration of the skin, headaches, tachycardia, abdominal pain and digestive disorders.
Hormonal imbalances
Many of the hormones produced in the human body affect the activity of physiological and nervous processes. If they are deficient, a person will feel drowsiness, fatigue, weakness, and loss of strength. This can also lower blood pressure and weaken the immune system. These hormones include thyroid hormones and adrenal hormones. In addition to drowsiness, these diseases are also characterized by symptoms such as loss of weight and appetite, and decreased blood pressure. Similar symptoms may appear in the hypoglycemic form of diabetes.
The cause of doubt in middle-aged and elderly men may also be a lack of the sex hormone - testosterone.
Diseases that cause decreased blood flow to the brain or intoxication of the body
In many diseases of the internal organs, the brain lacks oxygen. This can also cause a phenomenon such as daytime sleepiness. Such diseases include cardiovascular pathologies and lung diseases:
- ischemia,
- atherosclerosis,
- heart attack,
- hypertension,
- arrhythmias,
- bronchitis,
- asthma,
- pneumonia,
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
With liver and kidney diseases, various toxic substances can enter the bloodstream, including those that lead to increased drowsiness.
Atherosclerosis
Although this disease is considered to be characteristic of the elderly, however, recently relatively young people are also susceptible to it. This disease is expressed in the fact that the vessels of the brain become clogged with lipids deposited on the walls of the vessels. Drowsiness in the case of this disease is just one of the symptoms of cerebrovascular insufficiency. In addition to drowsiness, the disease is also characterized by memory impairment and noise in the head.
Osteochondrosis
Recently, a disease such as osteochondrosis of the cervical spine has become widespread among people, especially those who engage in sedentary work. Every second person suffers from this disease in one form or another. Meanwhile, few people know that with this disease, not only pain in the neck is often observed, but also spasm of the cervical arteries. The situation is well known when many people who sit for a long time in front of a monitor screen, especially in an uncomfortable position, cannot concentrate properly. However, they do not even suspect that this disease is the cause of their problems. And from the inability to concentrate while performing one’s work duties, consequences arise such as rapid fatigue and the desire to quickly go to bed, that is, drowsiness.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the causes of drowsiness in women. During the first stage of pregnancy (up to 13 weeks), a woman’s body experiences an increased need for sleep. This is a normal physiological reaction caused by hormonal changes and the fact that a woman needs to gain strength for the upcoming process of childbirth. So it is not surprising if a pregnant woman can sleep 10-12 hours a day. In the last two trimesters, sleepiness is less common. In some cases, it may indicate some abnormalities during pregnancy - for example, anemia or eclampsia.
Anemia, vitamin deficiencies, dehydration
A lack of blood in the circulatory system (anemia), as well as a lack of hemoglobin, also often lead to a deterioration in the blood supply to brain tissue. With anemia, a person often feels like his eyes are heavy and he wants to sleep. But this, of course, is not the only symptom of the disease. With anemia, dizziness, weakness and pallor are also observed.
A similar situation is also observed when there is a lack of certain vitamins and microelements in the body, or when the body is dehydrated. Dehydration occurs as a result of loss of water and electrolytic compounds. Often results from severe diarrhea. Thus, often the cause of drowsiness is simply a lack of certain substances in the body.
Use of drugs, alcohol and smoking
After taking a significant dose of alcohol, a person becomes sleepy - this effect is well known to many. What is less known is that smoking can also lead to a deterioration in the blood supply to brain tissue. Many drugs also have a sedative effect. This should be kept in mind by many parents who are concerned about the sudden excessive sleepiness of their teenage children. It is possible that the change in their condition is associated with the use of narcotic drugs.
Mental and neurological diseases
Sleepy states are characteristic of many mental illnesses, as well as personality disorders. What diseases of the nervous system and psyche can cause doubt? These diseases include:
- schizophrenia,
- epilepsy,
- apathetic stupor,
- vegetative seizures and crises,
- psychoses of various types.
Hypersomnia can also be a side effect of treating diseases with pharmaceuticals. In cases of brain dysfunction associated with traumatic brain injuries, encephalopathies of various origins, and increased intracranial pressure, this symptom can also be observed. The same can be said about infectious tissue diseases associated with higher nervous activity - encephalitis, meningitis, polio.
There are other types of hypersomnia, predominantly of a neurological nature - idiopathic hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin syndrome.
How to get rid of drowsiness
When it comes to drowsiness, identifying the causes is not always easy. As is clear from the above, the causes of drowsiness can be varied - from an uncomfortable bed on which a person spends the night, to serious, life-threatening pathological conditions. Consequently, it is very difficult to find a universal recipe that would help a person cope with the problem.
The first thing that is recommended to do is to start with changing your lifestyle. Analyze whether you sleep well enough, whether you devote enough time to rest and relaxation, whether you should take a break, take a vacation or change your occupation?
Primary attention should be paid to night sleep, because the reasons for constant drowsiness may lie in its lack. The fullness of a night's sleep largely depends on the biorhythms developed over centuries, dictating to the body that it is necessary to go to bed after sunset, and to get up with its first rays. But, unfortunately, many people have learned to successfully ignore the instincts inherent in nature, and go to bed at a completely inappropriate time for this - well after midnight. This is facilitated by both the huge busyness of the modern city dweller and the availability of various entertainment activities (for example, television programs) in the evening. It is worth remembering that this is a bad habit that you should get rid of. The earlier a person goes to bed, the longer and deeper his sleep will be and, therefore, the less likely he will feel tired and sleep-deprived during the daytime. In some cases, taking sleeping pills or sedatives is recommended, but they should only be used after consulting a doctor.
In addition, there is a great way to increase your resistance to blues and stress - this is sports and physical exercise, walking and hardening. If you have a sedentary job, then you should take breaks to stretch or take a walk or do a set of physical exercises. Even daily morning exercises can increase your vitality so much that the constant desire to sleep during the day will go away on its own. Contrast showers, dousing with cold water, swimming in the pool are all great ways to always feel invigorated.
You must not forget to ventilate the room where you constantly sleep or work, since stuffy and hot air, as well as a lack of oxygen in it, contributes to loss of strength and lethargy.
You should also review your diet to include natural sources of vitamins and minerals, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as foods that stimulate the production of endorphins, such as chocolate. Natural drinks such as green tea also have an excellent refreshing effect.
What vitamins can you take if you have increased doubtfulness? First of all, these are vitamin B1, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is especially common during the winter months.
However, what should you do if you have tried all the ways to overcome your sleepiness and failed? Perhaps the issue is a metabolic disorder and a lack of neurotransmitters in the brain - serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphins, or a lack of production of thyroid or adrenal hormones, a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body, or hidden infections. In this case, you cannot do without undergoing thorough medical research. Depending on the detected pathology, various treatment methods can be used - taking medications (vitamin complexes, antidepressants, antibiotics, microelements, etc.).
Which specialist is best to contact if you suffer from severe drowsiness? As a rule, such problems are solved by a neurologist or neuropathologist. There are also doctors who specialize in sleep disorders - somnologists. In most cases, a specialist doctor will be able to figure out why you want to sleep during the day.
What not to do if you notice excessive sleepiness
Self-administration of medications is not advisable, as is the constant use of stimulants, such as coffee or energy drinks. Yes, a cup of coffee can cheer up a person if he did not sleep well and requires increased attention and performance. However, constant stimulation of the nervous system with the help of caffeine or other energy drinks does not solve the problem, but only eliminates the external symptoms of hypersomnia and forms the mental dependence on stimulants.
Constant feeling of fatigue and drowsiness can significantly affect a person’s lifestyle and performance. Such symptoms can indicate both serious illnesses, which result in a malfunction of the body, and external factors that are indirectly related to the problem.
Therefore, if even after a long sleep you still feel tired, and during the day you really want to sleep, then you should analyze the situation and, if necessary, seek help from a specialist.
Main causes of chronic fatigue
| Causes of fatigue and drowsiness | How to get rid of the problem |
| Lack of oxygen | Get out into the fresh air or open a window to increase the flow of oxygen. |
| Lack of vitamins | It is necessary to normalize nutrition so that the body receives a sufficient amount of nutrients from food. If necessary, you should start taking vitamin complexes or dietary supplements. |
| Poor nutrition | You need to reconsider your diet, remove fast food from it, eat more vegetables and fruits. |
| Vegetovascular dystonia | It is worth practicing breathing exercises, yoga, and using hardening methods. |
| Weather | You need to drink a cup of coffee or green tea and do work that will lift your spirits. |
| Iron-deficiency anemia | It is necessary to eat foods rich in iron. If necessary, take iron-containing medications: Hemofer, Aktiferrin, Ferrum-Lek. |
| Bad habits | It is worth stopping drinking alcohol or reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke. |
| Chronic fatigue syndrome and depression | In order to get rid of the problem, you need to change your lifestyle and take tranquilizers prescribed by your doctor. |
| Endocrine disruption | To get rid of it, you need to take hormonal drugs. |
| Diabetes | It is necessary to take medications or insulin injections. |
External factors and lifestyle
Often the cause of constant drowsiness in women can be external factors that affect the body. These can be either natural phenomena or an incorrect lifestyle.
Oxygen
Very often drowsiness overcomes in enclosed spaces with large crowds of people. The reason for this is very simple - lack of oxygen. The less oxygen enters the body, the less it is transported to the internal organs. Brain tissue is very sensitive to this factor and immediately reacts with headache, feeling tired and yawning.
It is yawning that signals that the body is trying to obtain additional oxygen. from the air, but since there is not too much of it in the air, the body may fail. In order to get rid of drowsiness, you should open a window, a window, or just go outside.
Weather
Many people notice that before the rain they feel drowsy and tired. This is explained quite simply. Before weather conditions worsen, the atmospheric pressure decreases, to which the body reacts by lowering blood pressure and slowing the heartbeat, as a result of which the supply of oxygen to the body decreases.
Also, the cause of fatigue and drowsiness during bad weather can be a psychological factor. The monotonous sound of rain and the lack of sunlight are depressing. But most often the problem worries weather-dependent people.
Magnetic storms
Until recently, magnetic storms were considered an invention of astrologers. But after modern equipment appeared, science can observe the state of the sun and report that a new flare has occurred on it.
These flashes are sources of colossal energy that hits our planet and affects all living things. Sensitive people at such moments experience drowsiness, a feeling of fatigue and weakness. Increased or decreased blood pressure or increased heart rate may also occur.
In order to get rid of unpleasant symptoms, you need to spend more time in the fresh air and take medications prescribed by your doctor to normalize your blood pressure.
Hardening will help prevent hypersensitivity to magnetic storms.
Place of residence
The human body reacts very sensitively to climate change. If a person finds himself in the north, where the amount of oxygen is less than in the area of his usual residence, he may experience a feeling of fatigue and drowsiness. After the body adapts, the problem will go away on its own.
This is also a problem for residents of megacities, where air pollution is normal. The reduced amount of oxygen in this case causes unwanted side effects.
Lack of vitamins and microelements
Constant fatigue and drowsiness in women may be due to a lack of vitamins in the body. Vitamins are responsible for transporting and obtaining oxygen. To replenish their levels, you need to eat right or take additional vitamin complexes.
Vitamins and microelements, the lack of which causes a feeling of fatigue and drowsiness:
Poor or unhealthy diet
Women on strict mono-diets often complain of poor health, fatigue and drowsiness. This is all due to a lack of vitamins and microelements, which must be supplied to the body in sufficient quantities.
The body is not able to produce some of them on its own and must receive them from the outside. Therefore, people who want to lose weight need to take this fact into account and give preference to diets in which the diet is varied.
Drowsiness can also be caused by poor nutrition, eating fast food or fatty foods.
To process unhealthy food, the body spends additional energy. This creates an additional load on the digestive system, which negatively affects the functioning of all organs and can subsequently cause a negative reaction in the form of constant fatigue and drowsiness.
Another reason for fatigue and drowsiness in women: overeating, in which the body finds it difficult to cope with the excess amount of food entering the body.
Bad habits
One of the most harmful habits that can cause poor health and drowsiness is smoking. When nicotine and accompanying harmful substances enter the body, vasoconstriction occurs, as a result of which blood begins to flow more slowly to the brain. And since it transports oxygen, the brain begins to experience hypoxia (lack of oxygen).
In turn, alcohol negatively affects the liver, as a result of which a person’s condition worsens, a constant feeling of fatigue and a desire to lie down arises. Drugs can also disrupt liver function.
Drugs that cause drowsiness
In some cases, increased drowsiness in women may occur as a side effect after taking medications of various pharmacological groups:
Diseases and condition of the body
In some cases, the cause of drowsiness and constant fatigue can be various disturbances in the functioning of the body.
Hormonal disorders
Women are very dependent on hormonal levels. In addition to drowsiness and poor health, symptoms such as unmotivated aggression, tearfulness, and insomnia may occur. Women experience sleep disturbances, body weight changes and loss of interest in sex. Also, increased hair loss or frequent headaches may indicate hormonal imbalances.
There are various reasons for hormonal changes, which include:
- Puberty, during which reproductive function is formed;
- Menopause associated with the decline of reproductive function;
- Premenstrual period (PMS);
- Pregnancy;
- Postpartum period;
- Taking hormonal contraceptives;
- Frequent stressful situations;
- Violation of lifestyle and bad habits;
- Strict diet;
- Obesity;
- Abortion or gynecological diseases;
- Physical exercise.
Treatment of hormonal disorders depends on the causes of their occurrence. In some cases, it is enough to change your lifestyle or get rid of bad habits.
Hormonal drugs may be prescribed as drug treatment. But if they themselves cause drowsiness, then it is possible that the medications were chosen incorrectly and the dose of hormones in them exceeds the necessary one.
Also, to get rid of hormonal problems, you may need to normalize your weight., for which a woman should start eating right and making sure that her diet contains a sufficient amount of vitamins and microelements.
Nervous exhaustion
Nervous exhaustion has a huge number of symptoms, so recognizing it is not so easy. It can manifest itself in the form of intellectual impairment, depression, pain in the heart, tachycardia, surges in blood pressure, numbness of the limbs and a sharp change in body weight.
Nervous exhaustion is almost always accompanied by a feeling of constant weakness and drowsiness in women. With this disease, women experience memory problems and are unable to assimilate the most basic information, which negatively affects the quality of life and work process.
The cause of nervous exhaustion is most often overwork. With this disease, the body spends much more energy than it can accumulate. Nervous exhaustion occurs as a result of mental and emotional stress, prolonged lack of sleep and bad habits.
You should not ignore the signs of the disease, since treatment started on time will help avoid many problems in the future.
In order to get rid of nervous exhaustion, it is first necessary to reduce both emotional and physical stress on the body. It is worth normalizing your diet, changing your occupation and paying special attention to sleep.
Among medications, nootropics can be prescribed: Nootropil, Pramistar and tranquilizers: Gidazepam, Nozepam. Sedatives in the form of valerian or Persen will also be useful.
Depression
Often the cause of drowsiness is depression, which is classified as a number of mental disorders. In this case, a person develops a depressed and depressed state. He does not experience joy and is unable to perceive positive emotions.
A person with depression feels tired. Such people have low self-esteem, they lose interest in life and work, and also limit physical activity.
The combination of all these symptoms leads to the fact that in the future such people begin to abuse alcohol, drugs, or even commit suicide.
In order to get rid of depression, you need the help of a psychiatrist or psychotherapist who may prescribe tranquilizers or sedatives. Also, the support of loved ones and relatives plays a big role in this case.
Vegetovascular dystonia
Vegetovascular dystonia is a fairly common diagnosis. At the same time, some doctors consider it not an independent disease, but only a symptom of other problems in the body. In this case, disturbances occur in the autonomic nervous system, which is fraught with dizziness, a feeling of constant fatigue, drowsiness, poor health, fluctuations in blood and intracranial pressure.
People with vegetative-vascular dystonia need to harden themselves, strengthen blood vessels and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Simply put, the brain, for some, often unknown reasons, is unable to properly control its organs. It is almost impossible to get rid of such a problem with the help of medications. But at the same time, there is a way out. Breathing techniques, massages, swimming, and limited physical activity give good results.
Iron-deficiency anemia
Hemoglobin is a component of red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen. This is a complex iron-containing protein that is capable of reversibly binding to oxygen and transporting it into tissue cells.
When there is a lack of iron, a disease called iron deficiency anemia occurs.
In this case, the hemoglobin level is below normal, the person experiences a constant feeling of fatigue, drowsiness, and dizziness. This condition often occurs in pregnant women.
For that To replenish iron levels in the body, you need to eat right, eat red meat, offal, buckwheat porridge and vegetables. It is also necessary to pay special attention to food preparation and not to overcook dishes.
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease characterized by elevated blood sugar levels resulting from insufficient production of insulin by the pancreas.
Diabetes is accompanied by symptoms such as drowsiness, a feeling of constant fatigue, dry mouth, a constant feeling of hunger, muscle weakness and severe itching of the skin. At the same time, the disease is fraught with a host of additional complications, disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system and visual organs.
High blood sugar levels can be detected by performing a blood test. To do this, you need to take blood from your finger on an empty stomach and quickly determine the amount of sugar using a test strip and glucometer.
Endocrine disruptions
A dysfunction of the thyroid gland very often causes such symptoms. According to statistics, 4% of the population of our planet suffers from autoimmune thyroiditis. In this case, the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland.
If you are worried about a constant feeling of fatigue and drowsiness, but there are no chronic diseases, and the rest is long enough, then you should first contact an endocrinologist.
Various tumors of the thyroid gland can also occur, which interfere with its normal functioning. If a malfunction of the thyroid gland is suspected, the doctor may prescribe an ultrasound examination and hormone analysis.
In the future, the functioning of the thyroid gland is corrected by taking hormonal medications., such as L-thyroxine. If the cause of poor health is an inflammatory process, then corticosteroids in the form of Prednisolone can be prescribed.
Chronic fatigue syndrome, symptoms and treatment
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a relatively new disease that mainly affects residents of megacities. It can be triggered by chronic illnesses, heavy emotional and mental stress, which leaves virtually no time for exercise and walking, viral diseases or prolonged depression. Regular stressful situations can also cause the development of this syndrome.
A person with chronic fatigue syndrome, in addition to constant drowsiness and a feeling of fatigue, may experience attacks of aggression that occur without specific motives, sleep disturbances, and memory problems. A person wakes up in the morning unrested and immediately feels overwhelmed and tired.
In this case, you should consult a doctor and determine the causes of chronic fatigue syndrome. If the cause is chronic diseases, then it is necessary to immediately begin their treatment.
In other situations, they will help cope with chronic fatigue syndrome:
- Right way of life. Normalization of sleep plays a special role in this case. Healthy sleep should last at least 7 hours, and you need to go to bed no later than 22-00;
- Physical exercise. It is necessary to remember that people who spend a long time at the computer need to go to the gym or walk in the fresh air for a long time. Well, for those who have to spend a long time on their feet, massage or swimming will help;
- Normalization of nutrition. In order for a sufficient amount of vitamins and microelements to enter the body, it is necessary to eat properly, introduce vegetable and fruit salads, cereals, and soups into the diet. It is worth giving up fast food, alcohol, and carbonated drinks.
How to get rid of drowsiness
In order to get rid of drowsiness and a constant feeling of fatigue, you first need to lead a healthy lifestyle, monitor your weight and nutrition. People who have dedicated their entire lives to work need to periodically change their environment and try to spend their weekends active and fun.
You need to pay special attention to your health, If you identify symptoms of any disease, consult a doctor and begin treatment to avoid the disease becoming chronic.
To get rid of drowsiness You can drink a small amount of natural coffee or strong tea. In this case, tinctures of lemongrass or ginseng can also be useful. They have excellent tonic properties and help you quickly cheer up. But it must be remembered that people with high blood pressure are not recommended to use them.
In the winter-spring period, when food becomes poor in vitamins, it is worth thinking about taking vitamin complexes that will help compensate for the lack of these substances in the body. These products include: Supradin, Duovit, Vitrum, Revit. A doctor or pharmacist will help you choose the right drug.
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