IF you feel tired all the time, there’s a likely explanation that can easily be fixed.
Dr Karan Raj (an NHS doctor) has identified a common reason why people feel sleepy all the time.
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The Tik Tok medic says it’s all to do with circadian rhythms, otherwise known as the “body clock”.
Human’s natural internal body clock creates hormones that cause us to feel sleepy or wakeful, depending on the light outside.
It can also leave you feeling numb if it isn’t your fault.
Dr Raj explained one of the reasons for his success to his 4.4million followers. “social jetlag”.
He said: “If you’re tired all the time it could be social jetlag.
“You go to bed late on weekends, and wake up late too, trying to catch up on sleep you missed during the week.
“Sleep doesn’t work that way. Your body is attracted to routine.
“Your internal clock, also circadian rhythm, tells you when you should wake up and when you should feel sleepy.
“If you keep messing with that clock, and make big changes to your sleep and wake time, you’re going to feel drowsy and disoriented.”
Dr Raj says that it is harmful to catch up on sleep after a hectic week.
Millions of people have done it. They don’t get enough sleep at night due to socialising, juggling their lives and then play catch up with long weekends.
When your alarm clock rings at 7am Monday morning, the cycle begins again.
You might be sleeping when the sun rises, but you’re likely to stay up later than your body needs.
These shifts in light and dark exposures force you to reset your circadian rhythms frequently.
Dr Raj advised that you try to not shift the time when you go to bed or wake up by more than two hours, even on weekends.
This means you must get up by 9 am on Saturdays and Sundays.
Dr Raj advised: “Just like time zone differences when you travel, the bigger the change on your sleep schedule, the bigger the effect on your body.”
Research has shown that if you go back to your weekend sleep schedule, it can cause tension and anxiety. It can also slow down your brain’s ability to process information.
However, sleep deprivation doesn’t just make you feel tired and grumpy.
It can lead to weight gain by increasing hunger hormones and raising the risk of mental illness or accidents on the road.
It can indirectly cause many changes in the body, some of which could be fatal.
Research has shown that not getting enough sleep can increase your risk of developing diabetes or heart disease.
It is unfortunate that sleeping late on weekends does not offset the negative effects of poor sleep throughout the week.
One study from the University of Colorado Boulder divided participants into two groups. Both groups were left without sleep for seven days, with only one group able to make up the difference over the weekend.
All participants, regardless of their group, gained weight and had worse predictors of diabetes (measured by insulin sensitivity).
However, despite the warnings of doctors about getting enough sleep, many people don’t prioritize their sleep.
You may feel tired sometimes, which could indicate a medical condition like sleep apnoea (or diabetes), chronic fatigue syndrome (or cancer), or even insomnia.
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