Waking Up Tired: What It Means & What To Do, From Sleep Specialists

Some people spring out of bed ready to take on the day while others...don't. If you fall into the camp of dreading your alarm clock, you might be wondering why you wake up feeling so tired. Here are a few potential reasons and how to overcome them, from sleep and health experts.

Everyone has days when all they can think about after waking up is getting back in bed. Here are some of the most common causes of morning drowsiness:

While sleep inertia only lasts for a few minutes for some people, others feel it for longer. It's worth tuning into how long it tends to last for you so you can give yourself grace and start your day with tasks that are less mentally demanding.

If you regularly wake up during a time that falls outside your chronotype—say, if you naturally want to wake up at 11 a.m. but you need to be at your job by 8 a.m.—you'll naturally feel a little sleepy in the morning.

Inconsistent sleep-wake times confuse your body's circadian rhythm and can lead to drowsiness upon waking—even if you spent enough time asleep the night before.

However, if you continually wake up sleepy after what should have been a full night of rest—or feel like your morning fatigue is interfering with your life—it might be time to visit a sleep specialist to see if there's an underlying issue to address.

Kennedy recommends reducing alcohol intake and ditching nicotine entirely if quality sleep is something you're working on. She adds that certain medications can also affect how tired you feel upon waking, so it's important to take those into account too.

Of course, waking up tired can also be a sign that you got too little—or too much—sleep the night before. Everyone needs a different amount of sleep to feel their best, but seven to nine hours will be a healthy range for most adults.

While there's no one tip that'll make you wake up feeling energized every day (though wouldn't that be great?), sticking with the following healthy habits will give you the best chance of minimizing sleep inertia and morning sleepiness:

Crafting an energizing morning routine that you look forward to can make it easier to get up day after day. Doing a few rounds of breathwork, exercising outside, and taking a cold shower are all ways to wake the body up without firing up the coffee pot.

Wonderful as it may be, pressing the snooze button won't actually do anything to improve your sleep. On the contrary, experts say that it will only make you more groggy when you do eventually get out of bed. Cut down on the temptation by placing your phone or alarm clock on the other side of your bedroom. Forgoing the snooze will help you stick to a consistent wake-up and leave more time in the mornings for your energizing routine.

In the hours leading up to bedtime, try not to use stimulating electronics like phones and laptops (or wear a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses if you do). Swap scrolling with a relaxing nightly habit like taking a warm bath, doing a mindful meditation, or getting lost in a good book. Steering clear of heavy foods, caffeine, and alcohol before bed will also work wonders to improve the quality of your sleep and your mornings.

If waking up more energized is your goal, nonhormonal supplements like mbg's sleep support+ will be your best bet.* Taking a hormonal supplement like melatonin nightly—especially in high doses—can cause grogginess and fatigue upon waking. Hormonal supplements also won't do much to improve overall sleep quality, whereas sleep support+ has been shown to promote longer, deeper sleep without the side effects.*

There are a handful of reasons you might wake up feeling tired from time to time—most of which are nothing to worry about. To set your body up for more energized mornings, try getting up at the same time every day, ditching the snooze button, practicing good sleep hygiene, and taking a nonhormonal sleep supplement.*