Why Do I Wake Up Tired?

Common reasons you may wake up tired One possible reason is that you are not getting enough deep or restorative sleep. You may spend enough hours in bed, but if your sleep is interrupted by stress, noise, light, discomfort, or frequent waking, your body may not reach the deeper stages of sleep it needs.

Snoring or sleep apnea can also leave a person feeling exhausted, even after a full night in bed. Other possible causes include caffeine late in the day, alcohol in the evening, eating heavy meals before bedtime, or dealing with health concerns such as low iron, thyroid problems, allergies, chronic pain, or low mood. I definitely need a darker room to sleep in.

This time of year, when the sun rises very early, I need to wear what I call “blinders” over my eyes to block the light and stay asleep; otherwise, I would be up with the birds!

Simple habits that may help Try looking beyond the clock and focusing on sleep quality. Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet.

Limit screen time before bed, since bright light can affect your body’s natural sleep rhythm. Avoid caffeine later in the day and be mindful of alcohol in the evening, since it can interfere with deeper sleep.

Gentle exercise, time outdoors, and exposure to morning daylight may also help your body maintain a healthier sleep-wake cycle. If you often wake with a dry mouth, headache, or feel sleepy throughout the day, it may be worth paying closer attention to whether something more than your routine is affecting your sleep.

When to seek help If waking up tired has become a regular pattern for weeks or months, or if it is affecting your daily life, it may be wise to speak with a healthcare professional. Ongoing fatigue can sometimes point to an underlying issue that deserves attention. The good news is that once the cause is identified, there are often practical steps that can make a big difference.

What If I Wake Up Remembering a Very Vivid Dream?

If your dreams are especially vivid when you wake up, it may simply mean you woke during REM sleep, the stage when dreaming is most intense. That can make a dream feel unusually real and may also leave you feeling a little groggy at first. Stress, lack of sleep, certain medications, fever, or anxiety can also make dreams more vivid. If you are not just dreaming about running around but actually moving a lot in bed, talking, flailing, or waking up exhausted, it may be worth mentioning to a healthcare professional, since interrupted sleep can sometimes be part of the problem.

I tend to dream very vividly—technicolour, you could say—and often the dreams are wonderfully absurd. In this recent dream, I was with my sister, my mom, a childhood friend, and her deceased mother. We were in a small town we did not know, searching for somewhere to eat, when somehow I became separated from the group.

I wandered endlessly up and down the streets, peering into restaurant after restaurant, hoping to find them. The streets in my dream felt familiar, like somewhere I had been before, though I could not place them.

Then I thought, I’ll just call them on my iPhone—but of course, in the dream, I had misplaced it earlier in the day. I began retracing my steps, remembering that at some point I had even gone to see a doctor in this strange town. I then realized I could call my sister or my friend on my Apple Watch, but without my glasses, the tiny screen defeated me.

In hindsight, I should have just said, “Siri, call my sister,” but apparently Siri did not exist in this dream.

As I continued retracing my steps, there seemed to be more restaurants than anyone could imagine—blocks and blocks of them, upstairs and downstairs. I would stop to study the menus, wondering whether this might be the place where I should sit down and eat. At one point, a waiter appeared with a tray of sample tasters: elk, some kind of unusual ham, and pasta. I tried it, but I could not bring myself to eat it. The ham was far too soft in texture, and I have never cared for wild meat, no matter how gourmet or elegant the dish may be. I have always been a bit of a fussy eater, and there are certain textures and smells I simply cannot tolerate, even in a dream.

Dreams like this are a reminder that the mind does not simply switch off when we sleep. Sometimes it stays busy, colourful, and strangely inventive all night long. Whether vivid dreaming is part of why I wake up tired, I cannot say for certain, but it does make me wonder if some nights are far more active than they seem. Perhaps that is why, even after a full night in bed, restful sleep can still feel just out of reach.

This is just a sample of one of the many dreams I have had over the years. I realize now that I should have written them down and kept them. If I had, there is a good chance people would have thought I had quite the imagination, because my dreams can be so far out there!

Now for a song. While I was writing, one of my favourite ABBA songs, “I Have a Dream,” came on my playlist, and it felt fitting. I certainly have had my share of dreams—many of them vivid, strange, and unforgettable. These days, most of my dreaming happens in sleep, while the youthful dreams of life and possibility seem to visit less often. Still, perhaps that is the mystery of dreaming itself: whether awake or asleep, it reminds us that some part of us is always imagining, searching, and wondering.

Merle Lee Ann Pratt – merleleeannskitchen.com Email: merleleeann@gmail.com

YouTube: @merleleeanskitchen

Note: Parts of this blog were written with the help of Copilot in Word (AI).

This column is sponsored by MacKenzie Funeral Chapel and Crematorium – We will be there when you need us.

130 9th St. E, Prince Albert, SK

Phone: (306) 763-8488 – https://mackenziechapel.ca

by Merle Lee Ann Pratt Merle Lee Ann’s Kitchen | Author of “A Baker’s Dozen”

Why Do I Wake Up Tired?

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