Why do I still feel tired after sleeping for a long time?

Some time ago, a topic on the Internet caused a heated discussion: Why do you still feel tired after sleeping for a long time? Many netizens took this opportunity to share their experiences of "not being able to fall asleep" and "not sleeping well".

Source: Weibo screenshot

The "China Sleep Research Report 2023" shows that nearly half of the people sleep less than 8 hours on average, and the overall sleep quality needs to be improved . Modern life is fast-paced, and various pressures are sweeping over each of us. Sleep disorders can be said to be a common problem of the entire era.

In this context, many sleep aids have appeared on the market, claiming to help us get deep sleep. So what is deep sleep? Why do some people sleep deeply while others sleep lightly? Today, I will explain it in detail.

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1

The secret of deep sleep

Sleep is regular, and people's nighttime sleep includes two types: non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Among them, non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) is divided into 4 stages, stages 1 and 2 are called "light sleep", and stages 3 and 4 are called "deep sleep". Because REM sleep often experiences dreams, it is also called "dream sleep".

Deep sleep, light sleep and REM sleep constitute multiple sleep cycles. A sleep cycle is the process of transitioning from light sleep to deep sleep and REM sleep and continuously cycling . The duration ranges from 70 to 120 minutes, with an average duration of about 90 minutes. Based on 8 hours of sleep per day, we will probably go through 4 to 5 sleep cycles per night.

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That is to say, everyone will experience deep sleep and light sleep. In the deep sleep stage, the human body will secrete growth hormone, which plays an important role in body growth and bone and muscle repair. It is also an important period for our memory and energy recovery. In the light sleep stage, the brain is relatively active and easy to wake up.

For those who have sleep disorders, their deep sleep time accounts for a small proportion, while the light sleep time accounts for a large proportion, which is commonly known as "light sleep" . They will wake up at the slightest disturbance. Therefore, even if they sleep for a whole night, the body cannot recover well because of the short deep sleep time.

So why do these people have shorter deep sleep periods?

2

Factors that affect sleep quality

>>>> Light stimulation

Once it gets dark, the human body will automatically secrete melatonin, increasing people's tendency to sleep. However, modern people still face computer and mobile phone screens at night, continuously receiving strong light stimulation, which will lead to less melatonin secretion and shorter secretion time, which in turn causes insufficient sleep time, easy waking up in the middle of the night or shallow sleep.

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>>>> Irregular sleep schedule

For example, staying up late, sleeping for different lengths of time every day, and not having fixed sleeping and waking times will all affect the body's development of good sleeping habits, which in turn affects the quality of sleep.

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>>>> Physical Illness

For example, obesity. Studies have shown that a body mass index (BMI) greater than 28 kg/m^2 is an important risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Respiratory disorders are also a major factor affecting sleep. In addition, cerebrovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, central nervous system and systemic infectious diseases, epilepsy, and secondary cardiovascular diseases can also affect normal sleep quality.

3

How to achieve deep sleep

What can we do to improve deep sleep?

First of all, we should get enough deep sleep time . According to the law of sleep cycle, one sleep cycle is calculated as 90 minutes. After sleeping for 5 cycles, our sleep time should be 7.5 hours. For teenagers and middle-aged and elderly people, they can increase or decrease sleep time according to their physical needs.

Secondly, we should develop good sleeping habits , such as sleeping peacefully after going to bed, not doing other things, not watching electronic devices, drinking coffee, etc. We can also create a comfortable sleeping environment for ourselves, avoid too strong smells and light stimulation, and keep the bedroom temperature appropriate.

In addition, studies have shown that exercising during the day can also help you fall asleep at night , but be careful not to exercise vigorously before going to bed to prevent your body temperature from being too high and affecting your sleep.

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Some people may ask, how to judge whether you have enough deep sleep time? It's very simple, just look at your state during sleep and after waking up.

If you rarely wake up during sleep, or wake up very rarely, and feel refreshed and not tired after waking up, it means that you have enough deep sleep. Even if you sleep for a short time, but wake up refreshed, it means that you have high-quality sleep~

On the contrary, if you sleep for a long time but wake up easily during the process, and feel tired and lack energy after waking up completely, it means that your deep sleep time is not enough.

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Nowadays, sleeping freely and having a good night's sleep has become a luxury for many people. Why has it become so difficult to just have a good night's sleep?

I hope that after reading this article, you will have a clearer understanding of how to get a good night's sleep. If you have bad habits that are not conducive to sleep, adjust them quickly and change your bad living habits so that you can have high-quality sleep~