Dealing with Sleep Inertia: Tips and Strategies for Waking Up Refreshed

Have you ever woken up in the morning and have felt like your body is going at normal speed but your brain is having a hard time keeping up? This can also happen after a nap that you take in the afternoon. When you thought taking a nap would make you feel more rested and alert, it has left you feeling sluggish and even more tired.

This is called sleep inertia. It is when you experience disorientation or drowsiness immediately upon waking up. Sleep inertia is not a sleep disorder. It usually occurs after a long sleep or a nap that is over thirty minutes long. A sleep inertia episode can last anywhere from 15-60 minutes. Sleep inertia can last up to two hours which is called prolonged sleep inertia. Symptoms of sleep inertia are grogginess, having the desire to fall back asleep, impaired cognitive ability, impaired visual attention, and impaired spatial memory.

Causes Of Sleep Inertia

The exact known cause of sleep inertia is unknown. There are a few things that play into factors as to what can cause sleep inertia. Sleep inertia tends to be more likely if you are woken up suddenly or abruptly. It is also more likely if you haven’t slept for very long and are woken up in the first part of your sleep cycle. People who suffer from sleep inertia tend to have higher levels of delta waves, which are the electrical waves in the brain that are associated with deep sleep. Slower brain reactivation can also be a cause for sleep inertia. Slow blood flow to parts of the brain can also delay waking after sleeping.

You are more likely to suffer from sleep inertia if you are already sleep deprived.

If you have high levels of adenosine which is a neurotransmitter it can also cause sleep inertia. Adenosine builds up during your non-REM sleep and can cause the feeling of sleepiness.

Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, or idiopathic hypersomnia. Sleep apnea disrupts the quality of sleep. Symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, gasping, pauses in breathing, teeth grinding, frequent night urination, and insomnia.

Conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and seasonal affective disorder can also cause sleep inertia. Disruptions in your sleep cycle or circadian rhythm can make you more prone to sleep inertia.

When To See A Health Professional

Sleep inertia is not a sleep disorder on its own. Sleep disorders can be the cause of sleep inertia though. If you notice that your sleep inertia is starting to occur more often than not it may be time to speak with a doctor about it. A doctor may suggest that you keep a sleep journal so they can look for a pattern in your symptoms. Your doctor may also want to do a sleep study. A sleep study may be done if your doctor suspects any underlying sleep conditions could be the cause of your sleep inertia. If you are having trouble coming out of the grogginess after sleep, or it is starting to get in the way of your daily activities, then you will want to reach out to your doctor so that they can help you.

Tips For Dealing With Sleep Inertia

There are lots of things you can do on your own to battle sleep inertia. One is to start with your sleep hygiene. This is making sure you have a set sleep schedule. It is important to make sure you are getting enough sleep each night, usually between 7 and 9 hours depending on your stage of life. Avoid screens, or blue light, one to two hours before you plan to go to sleep.

Make sure your bedroom is comfortable. This may mean making sure you have a comfortable mattress, pillow, and sheets. It is also important to keep your bedroom at a cooler temperature. Wearing appropriate pajamas is also important for quality of sleep.

It is also important to exercise. Exercising only 30 minutes a day has been shown to help increase your quality of sleep. You don’t have to do strenuous exercise to get sleep benefits, it can be a walk.

There are some diet changes you can also make to help improve your quality of sleep. Make sure you don’t eat anything that may give you digestive problems too close to bedtime. No big meals within an hour of bedtime, so your body has time to digest. Try to avoid caffeine or alcohol before bed.

Drinking caffeine upon waking up can help you battle sleep inertia. Caffeine can boost your body into wakefulness.

Napping can also be beneficial to fight off sleep inertia. This only works if you aren’t already sleep deprived. It also only works if your nap is about 10-20 minutes long. Longer than 30 minutes of a nap increases your chances of suffering from sleep inertia.

When you wake up, getting into natural daylight can also help your body be ready to wake up. This could be the natural sunrise, or a fake natural light lamp. Get your circadian rhythm on track. Your circadian rhythm is your body’s natural clock of when you should be awake versus asleep. Your circadian rhythm influences your sleep inertia.

Change how you wake up. Alarms can be loud and jarring. Switching to a sunrise alarm clock which wakes you up with gradual light that increases with time, and gentle sounds can help you ease out of sleep easier, and help you wake up faster.

Another way to battle off sleep inertia is to wash your face immediately upon waking up.

Sleep inertia usually doesn’t happen often. If it isn’t happening often and it isn’t affecting your daily life you are probably fine. If you see that it is affecting your daily activities you may want to speak with a healthcare provider in case there is an underlying issue going on. Getting your sleep disorders treated can help the sleep inertia go away.