WHY AM I TIRED ALL THE TIME?

WE ALL HAVE DAYS THAT DRAG; BUT IF YOU'RE TIRED MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, IT COULD BE FOR ONE OF THESE REASONS.

- LAUREN BEDOSKY

It's perfectly normal to feel groggy on waking. It's simply a phenomenon known as 'sleep inertia'; it || requires some time for your energy to kick in and your body and brain to feel awake.

"Hardly anyone feels fantastic when they first wake up," says Dr Scott Kutscher, a neurologist and an associate professor of sleep medicine at Stanford University.

However, people typically perk up over the next 30 to 60 minutes, he says.

So if you're constantly tired several hours after leaving your bed, you might have a problem.

! HOW TO KNOW IF FEELING TIRED ALL THE TIME IS A PROBLEM

We all have days – or even weeks – when we can’t seem to perk up. An unusually heavy workload, a jump in riding mileage, travel, or any number of other factors can make your energy plummet.

Unfortunately, figuring out when tiredness is a problem can be tricky. “Tiredness is a subjective experience, so it’s up to each person to feel for themselves when tiredness is interfering with their life,” Kutscher says.

If you notice that you’re more tired than normal, look at your diet and lifestyle habits. “Diet is very important, and sometimes forgotten as a reason why people may feel tired all the time,” says Dr Eric Ascher, a family medicine physician. “Sometimes, adjusting the diet to focus less on sugar and processed foods will improve fatigue.”

Staying well-hydrated throughout the day and prioritising good sleep hygiene may help too.