Sleep is an important component of every person's life. It not only helps you relax after a hard day at work, but also renews energy, without which it is impossible to fully exist. But with the arrival of autumn, many of you are probably faced with something that makes you sleepy not only in the evening, but also all the time: at work it is impossible to concentrate on current affairs, and at home you just want to lie down on the sofa, even if it is day outside. What is the reason for such a sleepy state? In fact, there is no clear answer to this question. Experts are inclined towards many factors, which we will talk about today.
The most common reasons why you feel sleepy in the fall
If, with the onset of autumn, you notice that the former energy and cheerfulness have disappeared somewhere, you can’t close your eyes at night, and during the day you feel sleepy, then the reason may lie in the following:
Reduced daylight hours and lack of sunlight
In autumn, the length of daylight hours decreases, as does the intensity of the sun's rays. All this affects the production of the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for regulating circadian rhythms. When there is not enough or too much of it, the general condition and mood worsen.
Along with the disruption of melatonin production, the amount of serotonin in the human body also decreases. But your mood depends on this hormone of pleasure.
That is why during the day, when the weather outside is often cloudy and rainy, and artificial light is on indoors, many people want to sleep.
Freezing
Autumn is associated not only with beautiful yellow leaves, but also with rain and cold. Therefore, if you dress lightly enough and get wet through and through, you can freeze seriously. And when the body temperature drops, it constantly makes you sleepy. This is an absolutely normal reaction of the body.
Overwork
A new season, many projects and plans, various courses, trainings, seminars - all this causes overwork, and with it constant drowsiness. It is the sleepy state that indicates that the body is exhausted and does not have enough good sleep.
Diet
If in the summer you consumed more fruits, berries and vegetables, then in the fall there is a shortage of such products. And when the diet lacks essential vitamins and microelements, drowsiness occurs.
Scientists have found that sleepiness most often occurs due to a lack of vitamin D, which enters the body with food (cottage cheese, cheese, fish, vegetable and butter), as well as under the influence of ultraviolet rays.
Weakening of the immune system
In autumn, along with vitamin deficiency, the immune system is also weakened. When viruses constantly want to penetrate your body, and a weakened immune system is practically unable to defeat them, you just want to go to sleep in order to recover and continue the fight.
Stress and depression
Lack of sunlight and vitamins, cloudy weather, cold - all this often makes you feel depressed and want to sleep. This phenomenon can be called a kind of psychological reaction of the body. In other words, at this difficult moment, a person’s brain wants to protect him from difficulties and simply “turns off.”
Various diseases
In the fall, various diseases worsen and make you sleepy. Lie down on the sofa and fall asleep most often occurs with such ailments as:
- Anemia. Anemia is characterized by the fact that tissues and organs receive less oxygen than they need for their normal functioning. That is why with anemia a person feels a loss of strength and drowsiness.
- Atherosclerosis. In addition to headaches and tinnitus, this disease also causes a desire to get a good night's sleep.
- Vegetovascular dystonia. The blood in the vessels is very poorly repelled by the heart, as a result of which the brain is not sufficiently nourished. And this leads to the fact that a person constantly wants to sleep. It is sleep that preserves energy so that a person can continue to exist.
Drowsiness also occurs with diabetes, heart failure, infectious disease, and oncology.
Causes of weakness and drowsiness
Perhaps one of the most pressing “autumn” questions is how to get rid of weakness and drowsiness. Of course, not everyone suffers from this, but I think these symptoms are familiar to everyone without exception. Already from this fact it becomes clear that there can be many reasons for weakness and drowsiness. The most harmless of them is autumn. Man is part of nature, and in the fall nature falls asleep. And therefore in autumn and winter we need about an hour more time to sleep, or even more. We don’t change our schedule, adjusting it to the changing seasons, and then we are surprised - I sleep as always, but don’t get enough sleep. Naturally, the need for sleep has increased. So, the first way to get rid of weakness and drowsiness is sleep. Sleepy? Sleep. Listen to your body, it won’t give you bad advice.
It’s a different matter when a person notices that he sleeps a lot, at least 8-9 hours a day, but still does not get enough sleep, and weakness and drowsiness accompany him throughout the day. There is most likely cause for concern here. If you feel cold and gain weight, the cause of these symptoms may be hypothyroidism. This is a disease of the thyroid gland, quite serious, but quite amenable to correction with modern means.
Another common cause of weakness and drowsiness is chronic fatigue. You should not think that this is the same as ordinary fatigue, only longer. Chronic fatigue is a borderline condition that, if left untreated, will certainly lead to illness. It is based on a violation of the immune system, and it is the system that is responsible for protecting the body from diseases. A failure in the immune system never goes unpunished, but whether it results in an autoimmune process, cancer or a chronic disease depends on the state of the body and individual characteristics.
By the way, the presence of a chronic disease, any one, in itself leads to weakness and drowsiness. Chronic diseases weaken the body, and it is not surprising that it feels lousy, although a person often cannot determine what exactly is hurting him, since such diseases tend to be hidden. Such symptoms can be caused by any source of infection - from a rotten tooth to an inflamed uterine appendage. There is no point in guessing here, but it is worth undergoing a medical examination to accurately find the source and eliminate it.
Vitamin deficiency is another cause of weakness and drowsiness. Vitamin deficiency is seasonal, in our area usually in the spring, but not always. If a person eats an unbalanced diet, he may experience a lack of vitamins at any time of the year. Do you feel weak and tired? Review your diet. Get rid of fast food and heavy foods, eat fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and after just a week of this diet, you are guaranteed a surge of strength and vigor.
Why is autumn drowsiness dangerous?
It seems to many that the desire to hibernate is an absolutely harmless phenomenon. But in fact, such a problem can have bad consequences. After all, it is during this period that a person loses his taste for life, and his performance decreases. In addition, autumn drowsiness is not only harmful to the body, but also life-threatening. It often happens when a sleepy person gets seriously injured at work or even gets into a terrible accident after falling asleep at the wheel. Therefore, it is very important to regularly monitor your well-being and take timely measures to feel invigorated, even when it is cloudy, cold and damp outside.
What to do when you constantly feel sleepy
Combating seasonal sleepiness is not only possible, but also necessary. After all, this will not only improve the quality of your life, but will also prolong it. Doctors advise following some recommendations:
- Spend time outdoors as often as possible, especially in sunny weather. Walking in the park and in the forest, where the air is filled with purity and nutrients, will help you get rid of your sleepy state. Also make sure there is enough light in the room.
- Try to get enough sleep. Be sure to go to bed and wake up at the same time.
- Play sports. Morning exercises are just right. Various exercises will make your body beautiful and elastic, and also fill you with energy for the whole day.
- Don't overwork yourself. It is advisable to spend 5 minutes every hour to warm up and walk around the office. A 15-minute nap during the day is also very beneficial. It will help you regain your strength and continue working. Dedicate your weekends only to relaxation. Take a walk in the park, have a picnic, take an interesting excursion, or just read your favorite book.
- Carefully review your diet. If it doesn't have enough vitamins and minerals, be sure to replenish them.
Sources of useful substances are apples, grapefruits, pomegranates, lemons, oranges, bananas, nuts, dairy products, meat, fish. Banana and nuts contain tryptophan. This substance stimulates the production of melatonin and serotonin.
- In cold weather, you should not give preference to your favorite, but “cold” clothes. At this time, it is very important that the body is sufficiently warm. Therefore, when going outside, dress according to the weather.
- If it's cloudy and windy outside, create sunny and warm weather inside yourself. Smile more often and look at the world with a positive attitude, then depression and drowsiness will be banished as if by hand!
You should not endure a drowsy state, which only spoils your life. Use the recommendations above and find positivity in autumn.
Invite autumn into your home, into your soul
As you know, there is cyclicity and continuity in nature, day follows night, one season follows another. And human life, as a part of nature, certainly obeys its rhythms. Therefore, autumn changes in our existence, consisting in the appearance of fatigue, sadness, and some lethargy, are a natural phenomenon. And, therefore, it is not worth resisting this with all your might.
Instead, it is better to invite autumn into your home and soul. Let the autumn colors into your home: place a burgundy-colored pillow on the sofa, throw on a blanket with a golden tint, and buy an orange towel.
You can create an autumn atmosphere with the help of special lighting. Light a salt lamp or candles in the evenings, while enjoying the colorful twilight and silence. Turn on calm music, use aromatic oil.
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How to distinguish the autumn blues from depression?
How do you understand that the autumn blues hide behind a protracted depression and why you shouldn’t confuse these concepts? Depression is a mental disorder that requires treatment and does not go away on its own. Blues are a seasonal phenomenon that can be quickly resolved with the above methods.
If you notice that the autumn blues last more than 2-3 weeks, your sleep is disrupted and you don’t feel cheerful, you should consider consulting a doctor. Depression is also indicated by problems with weight - sudden weight loss or gain, sleep - insomnia or sleeping for more than 10 hours and a constant feeling of despondency. If you have such signs, you should not let the situation take its course. Take care of yourself and your health!
Why are so many angry in the morning?
Most likely, these are “owls”. There are about 60% of them among us. 20% each of “larks” and “pigeons”. “Owls” have their own biological clocks that lag behind the astronomical ones. The alarm clock says 7 am, but the person’s internal clock says 3 am. On the contrary: when it’s 12 at night, he still has 9 pm - the time to be active... Advice is to get up at the same time every day and not allow yourself to sleep for more than 2 hours on weekends. Exceeding the limit causes jet lag. And to adapt to a rhythm shift of 1 hour, the body needs a day. That's why, after sleeping half a day on the weekend, many people start the work week with Sunday insomnia and weakness on Monday morning.
How to be cheerful all day?
Ideally, you should wake up after completing a full sleep cycle. It lasts from 90 to 100 minutes. Then you will feel invigorated, even if you get up half an hour before your alarm clock. If in the middle, weakness and fatigue are guaranteed. That is, theoretically, the duration of sleep should be a multiple of approximately 1.5 hours. But in practice it is difficult to catch this moment. Therefore, you can not adapt to the rhythms, but adapt them to yourself. If you get up at the same time for two weeks (including weekends!), you will wake up 5-10 minutes before the alarm goes off, having slept well.
Invite autumn into your body
Autumn is harvest time. Enjoy the gifts of nature characteristic of this time. Fill your body with nutrients contained in grapes, plums, nuts, apples.
This year's fresh wheat flour bread, fresh cheese or cottage cheese are good choices for breakfast or dinner. Perhaps your family has dishes or foods that you prefer to eat in the fall. For example, watermelons. Their joint use by all family members will unite him and give him the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the autumn season.
This will also be facilitated by preparing cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cabbage, compotes and jam for the winter, to which it is recommended to involve children. This is a great opportunity for generations to come together and appreciate the tastes, colors and aromas of autumn.
Move in the autumn rhythm
We should also welcome autumn on the move. Cooler, rainier and windier weather keeps us from spending as much time outside as we do in the summer. But this does not mean that you need to give up movement.
If sunbathing was important in the summer, then walks in the forest or park can replace them. Admire the riot of colors of autumn nature, collect leaves and chestnuts, listen to the sound of the wind and rain.
Why is it difficult to wake up?
Lack of sleep leads to cardiovascular and endocrine disorders. During sleep, a hormone responsible for burning fat is produced. If you don't sleep, you get fat.
Our government has eliminated one reason... Before that, every day we got up 1.5 hours earlier than nature should have. The other two - less vitamins in the diet and less natural light outside - can also be eliminated. Among the vitamins, B vitamins are especially useful (cereals, buckwheat, oatmeal, pasta, nuts, meat and dairy products, fish). If your day resembles a polar night (we leave for work and it’s still dark, but when we arrive it’s already dark), you risk not only regularly nodding off and snoring at meetings, but also becoming a victim of seasonal depression. Therefore, immediately after waking up, turn on a bright light. This is how the body produces hormones that are responsible for improving mood. By the way, the abundance of sunlight is one of the explanations that southern peoples are more expressive and more satisfied with life.
