Sometimes, you’ll find yourself feeling tired all day. You might feel your eyes closing at the office, dozing off during class, or just fighting the urge to take a nap in the middle of a busy day.
Finally, bedtime arrives. Instead of instantly falling into a deep slumber, you find yourself tossing and turning, insomnia driving you mad. If you were so tired all day, why are you having such a hard time falling asleep?
Believe it or not, this is not uncommon. There are many factors that can contribute to feeling tired and not being able to fall asleep, and that’s what we’re exploring today.
Key takeaways
- Feeling tired but unable to fall asleep can be attributed to many factors.
- Being tired and sleepy isn’t the same thing.
- You can adopt habits into your lifestyle that help combat sleepless nights.
- CBD may help you to fall asleep
Why can’t I fall asleep even though I’m tired?
If you struggle to fall asleep even if you feel tired, there are many reasons this might be happening. From your circadian rhythm being off, to stress or health issues, there are many things that can cause sleepless nights.
Let’s get into some of the reasons you may not be able to fall asleep when feeling tired and explain the deeper issues behind them.
What is sleep debt?
Sleep debt is kinda like racking up your credit card debt way too much, but with sleep. When the difference between how much sleep you need and how much you get is significant, it can cause a sleep deficit.
For example, a person who sleeps five hours a night accumulates a debt of three hours of sleep (assuming they should be getting eight hours of sleep). Over time, this debt adds up. After five days of getting five hours of sleep, your sleep debt adds up to 15 hours.
What is a large sleep debt?
When you aren’t getting enough sleep over a large period of days, weeks, or months, it can add up to a large sleep debt (like unimaginable credit card bills). The more sleep debt you accumulate, the more your overall brain and body function may deteriorate.
Over time, sleep debt may negatively affect your overall health and sleep schedule, leading to a feeling of tiredness that seems impossible to combat.
You may feel tired throughout the day, lose your ability to stay focused and productive, make it more difficult for your brain to process and store information, and may even weaken your immune system.
What is the circadian rhythm?
Think of the circadian rhythm as your body’s built-in clock. It’s the 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s functioning, which ultimately run in the background to carry out fundamental processes and functions.
The sleep-wake cycle is one of the most important parts of the circadian rhythm. Because your body is aligned with light and dark, the night portion of the circadian cycle is brought out when the sun goes down.
A healthy circadian rhythm can support consistent and restorative sleep, but when disrupted or thrown off, can cause issues like trouble falling asleep, as well as mental and physical repercussions to general health and well-being.
How to fix or reset circadian rhythm
If you struggle with an unbalanced circadian rhythm, there are a few habits you might want to try adapting into your lifestyle. Here are some of our tips:
- Have a routine. Setting a schedule and sticking to it can help your body keep up with your natural circadian rhythm.
- Doing physical activity can help with melatonin production, which is the hormone that aids you in falling asleep.
- Avoiding alcohol and caffeine in the evening may help you fall asleep since they’re both stimulants.
- Limiting screen time can be helpful since the blue light from cellphones and computers could restrict the production of melatonin.
CBD circadian rhythm
Although studies aren’t conclusive yet concerning CBD and its effect on the circadian rhythm, many people turn to CBD to help them fall asleep.
What is circadian misalignment?
The term “circadian misalignment” is actually a plethora of circumstances that may lead to an unbalanced sleep and wake cycle. Experimental studies are still ongoing to determine what exactly this all entails, and the effects of it, which may include nutrition habits, changes in mood, and unstable sleep cycles.
Sleepy vs. tired
Difference between sleepy and tired
We often think that feeling sleepy and tired is the same thing, but they aren’t.
Feeling sleepy is the sensation you get when you’re dozing off, eyelids fluttering, and feeling like you could nod off at any minute. Usually, the longer you put off sleeping when you feel drowsy, the more intense the sleepiness feels.
This is the result of the hormone adenosine, which modulates sleep and gradually builds up during the day so you’re ready to sleep as soon as it’s bedtime.
On the other hand, feeling tired doesn’t necessarily mean you feel sleepy. Instead, you may feel physically, mentally, or emotionally drained. Rather than needing sleep, you may feel like you just need to chill out and rest for a bit, without the need for sleep.
Are tired and sleepy the same thing?
Tired and sleepy aren’t the same: tiredness doesn’t mean you want to sleep, but rather that you want to rest, while sleepiness means your body is begging you to doze off.
Does CBD help with sleep?
While scientists are still working to figure out how exactly CBD impacts sleep, we do know that CBD affects a network of endocannabinoid receptors throughout the body that are connected to control functions that include pain, memory, sleep-related chemicals, and metabolism.
Reasons for being tired
There are many reasons you may be feeling tired. Too many late nights out, hours-long shifts, busy schedules, too much studying and not getting enough sleep can all lead to feeling tired.
Feeling tired can be due to psychological, physical, or lifestyle causes.
Psychological causes of tiredness are not uncommon and may lead to poor sleep or insomnia. Studies have concluded that symptoms from common things like stress from work or home life, emotional distress like a break-up or getting fired, and diagnosbale disorders can cause you to feel tired and exhausted.
Some feelings of fatigue may be caused by physical ailments. While we’re not able to make any medical claims, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider to ensure there aren’t any underlying medical issues that may be causing you to feel tired throughout the day.
Having a healthy lifestyle is important to combat daytime tiredness and nighttime insomnia. Drinking too much alcohol, exercising too much or too little, drinking too much caffeine, long or nighttime work shifts, and recurring daytime naps may mess with your body’s natural sleep cycle.
How lack of sleep affects your health
When you’re sleep-deprived, your body notices. You may feel tired or sleepy throughout the day, experience frequent yawning, feel more irritable, or suffer from daytime fatigue.
Studies show that a lack of sleep may negatively impact your overall health, including the central nervous system, immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, cardiovascular system, and endocrine system.
Check with your healthcare provider or a medical professional for regular check-ups, especially if you’re feeling tired or not getting enough sleep.
How to aid sleep
Stick to a sleep schedule
Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule may help you feel less tired during the day. Keeping the same bedtime schedule whenever possible (even on weekends), may possibly keep your circadian rhythm in check.
Keep your habits consistant: for example, as soon as bedtime nears, take a shower, put on comfy PJs, brush your teeth, turn off the lights, and climb into bed without distractions.
Diet and water intake
Keeping a nutritious diet and making sure you drink enough water to keep you hydrated could help you fall asleep. Healthy eating habits can encourage healthy sleeping patterns, so talk to a nutritionist or doctor to see what kind of diet works best for you.
No matter what, make sure you stay hydrated and healthy by drinking lots of water and avoiding highly-processed foods and tons of added sugars.
Create a restful environment
Your bed should be a sanctuary for sleep. Create a healthy sleep environment by making sure it’s a place you feel comfortable and relaxed.
To do this, you can try keeping noise levels down, using white noise, taking TVs and computers out of the bedroom, and using your bed just for sleeping - not for lounging around all day.
Limit napping
While a nap can be helpful every once in a while, constant and repetitive napping may cause your sleep cycle to be thrown off. Avoiding naps during the day often is a great way to keep your sleep cycle healthy so you can get those hours in once the sun has set.
Mindfulness and stress-relieving practices
Practicing mindfulness, meditation, stress-relieving practices, and other sleep techniques may do wonders for your sleep schedule. Choose activities that you find soothing and relaxing, whatever that looks like for you.
Maybe reading is your thing, a little nighttime stretching, journaling, deep breathing, meditation, or listening to white noise or ASMR.
Include physical activity into your daily routine
Whether you’re at the gym, taking a yoga class, or just going for a walk around the block, having an exercise routine may be beneficial to your sleep cycle. Keeping an active lifestyle is important for overall health and well-being.
Nutrients that support sleep and lower cortisol levels
Keeping your nutrient intake in check may be helpful in helping you fall asleep and feel less tired during the day. Nutrients like magnesium, melatonin, Vitamin B, Omega-3, and Vitamin D may be helpful. Other compounds and adaptogens like CBD, CBN, L-theanine, ashwagandha, and valerian might also be beneficial.
Make sure to talk to a medical professional before trying any products containing nutrients or compounds that claim to help with sleep.
FOCL has a line of products that are made for those who struggle with sleep and daytime tiredness.
FOCL Night is a great place to start. The blend of premium hemp CBD and other botanicals like passion flower, valerian, ashwagandha, hops cones, and Griffonia simplicifolia may help relax and repair your mind, reduce inflammation and stress, support a healthy rest cycle and assist in the production of melatonin and serotonin.
For those looking for a blend of CBD and other cannabinoids, check out FOCL Premium Full Spectrum CBD + CBN Sleep Gummies. Each gummy is packed with 25mg of CBD and an additional 15mg of CBN that helps support sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day without dozing off at the desk.
FOCL Sleep Drops are another great CBD and CBN option. Just one full dropper of this tincture under the tongue will have you counting sheep in no time. Made using only clean and simple ingredients to support a restful night’s sleep, this oil has a soothing lavender and peppermint aroma and taste that makes every drop feel like a nighttime treat before you drift off into dreamland.
