Why Am I Tired All The Time?
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If you are always tired, stress could be affecting your sleep. Chronic stress can affect your sleep, making you tired. Stress can trigger neural pathways that excite pre-optic neuron activity. The neurons fire more often, causing brief periods of wakefulness. Stress-induced neural activity can contribute to wakefulness during the night, a problem because sleep is critical for cognitive and physical health (Morrison et al., 2022). Beyond serving as a period of rest, sleep is a complex process during which the brain performs critical and restorative functions.
1. Memory consolidation: During sleep, particularly during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and deep sleep stages, the brain revisits and replays the day's events. This replay enhances connections, reorganizing and stabilizing the information so it can be easily recalled later. This process is crucial for learning, as it helps transform short-term learning into lasting knowledge, enabling effective retrieval when needed (Yale School of Medicine, 2022).
2. Waste removal: The brain is one of the most metabolically active organs, and like any active system, it produces waste. During sleep, a remarkable system called the glymphatic system is activated, which facilitates the removal of metabolic waste and toxins associated with neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's, that accumulate during the day (Reddy & van der Werf, 2020).
3. Growth Hormone Release: During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormone, which plays a critical role in cell growth, regeneration, and repair. This hormone helps repair tissues, build muscle, and maintain bone health (Van Cauter & Plat, 1996).
4. Tissue Repair: Sleep is a restorative period where the body repairs damaged cells and tissues. It is vital for skin cells, muscle tissue, and other bodily systems that undergo wear and tear during the day (Brinkman et al., 2023; Morrison et al., 2022). Sleep supports the synthesis of proteins necessary for cell structure and function. These proteins are vital for cellular repair processes and the production of new cells.
5. DNA Repair: Sleep allows for the repair of DNA damage accumulated during the day due to oxidative stress and environmental factors. This process helps prevent mutations and supports genomic stability (Mourrain & Wang, 2019)
6. Immune Function: The immune system is active during sleep, identifying and eliminating pathogens, and facilitating the production of cytokines – proteins that play a vital role in immune responses and cell signaling (Garbarino et al., 2021).
Adequate sleep is essential for maintaining optimal cell function, regeneration, and overall health. Chronic sleep deprivation can impair these physiological processes, leading to increased susceptibility to illness, slower recovery from injury, and various long-term health issues. Therefore, prioritizing is crucial for overall well-being. You need a restful night's sleep to maintain a healthy mind and body. If stress affects your sleep, checking in with a healthcare provider or health coach is a good idea to improve stress measures and sleep hygiene.
References
Brinkman, J. E., Reddy, V., & Sharma, S. (2023) Physiology of sleep.: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482512/
Garbarino, S., Lanteri, P., Bragazzi, N. L., Magnavita, N., & Scoditti, E. (2021). Role of sleep deprivation in immune-related disease risk and outcomes. Communications Biology 4, 1304 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02825-4
Morrison, M., Halson, S. L., Weakley, J., & Hawley, J. A. (2022). Sleep, circadian biology and skeletal muscle interactions: Implications for metabolic health. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 66, 101700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101700
Mourrain, P., & Wang, G. X. (2019). Sleep: DNA repair function for better neuronal gging?. Current Biology, 29(12), R585–R588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.018
Reddy, O. C., & van der Werf, Y. D. (2020). The sleeping brain: Harnessing the power of the glymphatic system through lifestyle choices. Brain Sciences, 10(11), 868. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110868
Van Cauter, E., & Plat, L. (1996). Physiology of growth hormone secretion during sleep. The Journal of Pediatrics, 128(5 Pt 2), S32–S37. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3476(96)70008-2
Yale School of Medicine (May 10, 2022). Sleep’s crucial role in preserving memory. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/sleeps-crucial-role-in-preserving-memory/
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