Have you ever found yourself tossing and turning at night and wondering, “Why can’t I sleep even though I’m tired?”
At the end of a long day, you’re exhausted and get to bed early to try and get to sleep, only to spend hours tossing and turning.
Sadly, this is an all-too-common problem, one that many people face. Tiredness is your body’s way of signaling that you need to rest, but it can still be hard to fall asleep, no matter how tired you are.
Below, we’ll answer the question, “Why can’t I sleep even though I’m tired?” and help you understand what stops you from falling asleep even when you’re exhausted. Once you know the answer, you’ll be able to take steps to make sure you can always get sleep when you’re tired!
Why Can’t I Fall Asleep Even Though I’m Tired?
To answer this question, you first need to understand the difference between “tired” and “sleepy”.
When you are “tired”, your body and mind may be exhausted from a long day of work or play. You may have burned through all your available energy and now are ready to rest, to give your body a chance to recover from your day’s labors. You’ll feel a heaviness in mind and/or body, a sensation you know as “tired” or “fatigued”.
But those aren’t the same thing as “sleepy”.
Sleepiness is actually your body’s way of letting you know that sleep is going to occur. Your eyes start to feel heavy, your body relaxes, you begin to yawn, and you feel yourself start to nod off. This is when you are likely to fall asleep.
The problem is: you’re often not tired and sleepy at the same time.
Tiredness typically occurs when you’re low on energy (calories), or at the end of a long day when you can finally mentally relax. Sleepiness, on the other hand, can occur all throughout the day. It’s controlled chiefly by your circadian rhythm.
As you well know, the circadian rhythm is like your internal clock that helps you to wake up and fall asleep. It’s affected by things like sunlight, darkness, and your built-in biological clock, and it regulates your sleep patterns. It raises or lowers your body temperature, increases or decreases production of sleep hormones like melatonin, and helps you drift off to sleep.
When you’re “tired”, you may think it’s your body sending signals that it’s time to get to sleep. However, this is often not the case. Your body is just letting you know that you’re running low on energy, so it needs to rest (not sleep) and relax. Maybe it’s a signal that you need to eat some food to fill up your energy tank.
But if you misinterpret these tired signals as “sleepy” signals, that’s when you can end up lying awake in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Your body hasn’t given you the signals that you’re ready to sleep, so you won’t end up falling asleep without your circadian rhythm shifting you into sleep mode, no matter how tired you are.
That’s why it’s so important that you pay attention to how you’re feeling—whether you’re tired or sleepy.
As explained above, tiredness is often a “heavy” feeling, where your body has little to no energy and you feel the need to sit or lie down or relax. Sleepiness, on the other hand, is characterized by heavy eyelids, itchy eyes, yawning, even aching muscles. These are the signals that your body may be getting ready to power down for the night and get to sleep.
How can you encourage tiredness to transition into sleepiness? The best thing you can do is engage in activities that keep you relaxed and comfortable, that put your body and mind into the right state for sleepiness to settle in.
If you’re tired and not yet sleepy, the last thing you want to do is raise your activity level—both mental and physical. Your body is low on energy, but your mind hasn’t yet fully shut down. If you do something that stimulates your mind or causes your body to produce more energy (such as exercise or playing an active game), you could interfere with your circadian rhythms. You’ll still be just as tired, but your body won’t be able to get into the sleepy state because of your energy increase. The result: being tired but unable to fall asleep.
A few things that can help you relax and get into that “sleepy” state include:
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Listening to soft, relaxing music
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Drinking a cup of hot chamomile or lavender tea
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Reading a book
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Journaling
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Meditating
When you start feeling tired, go through your nightly routine (brushing teeth, getting into PJs, etc.) so that you’ll be ready when the sleepiness hits!
Why Can’t I Fall Asleep Even Though I’m Tired? Use Sleep Slim Tea Now!
If you’re struggling to fall asleep at night, you may need an extra helping hand. Sleep Slim Tea can make a world of difference in pushing you over the edge from “tired” to “sleepy” naturally!
Sleep Slim Tea is an all-natural and organic supplement made with amazing plant-based ingredients that will encourage better sleep quality and help you feel drowsier faster at night. For example, it contains magnolia bark extract, which helps to increase activity of the neurotransmitter GABA that helps your brain to shut down at night. It’s also made with Ashwagandha, an amazing superfood ingredient that can induce deep, restful sleep. It even contains pure melatonin, delivering this important sleep hormone directly to your body to help stabilize your sleep cycle.
All in all, Sleep Slim Tea is a natural solution to a common problem, one you and so many others are struggling with. If you ever find yourself asking, “Why can’t I fall asleep even though I’m tired?” you might need Sleep Slim Tea to help you transition from tired to sleepy and finally fall asleep!
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