Why you’re waking up tired (even after 8 hours of sleep)

Posted by

July 31, 2025

On July 31, 2025

You may not remember waking up, but your body does. It’s like being pulled out of deep sleep repeatedly without fully surfacing, leaving you in a fog by morning.

Balance your last meal with slow carbs, healthy fats and protein; khichdi with ghee and dal or a bowl of curd rice with flaxseed chutney. Think of it as comfort food and nervous system regulation.

You’re not eating enough protein

At this point, you’ve heard enough about protein but it isn’t just for your muscles. Protein plays a crucial role in neurotransmitter function, blood sugar stability and tissue repair while you sleep. Without enough of it, your body struggles to perform overnight repairs, leaving you feeling depleted by morning.

Women, in particular, tend to under-consume protein, especially at breakfast, which creates a compounded energy deficit over time.

Aim for at least 25–30 grams of protein at your first meal. Eggs with paneer, dal cheela with yoghurt or a protein smoothie fortified with seeds and peanut butter. And keep your morning coffee as a post-meal drink.

You’re asleep, but not rested

There’s a difference between sleep duration and quality. Even if you’re clocking eight hours, it may be fragmented, shallow or devoid of deep REM cycles. Undiagnosed sleep apnea, blue light exposure, overheating, alcohol or even a magnesium deficiency can be the underlying causes. If it persists for a long time, give your healthcare provider a call.

Keep your room cool and dark, skip alcohol at night and consider supplementing with magnesium glycinate after dinner. And if snoring or disrupted breathing is an issue, a sleep study might be worth exploring.

Your nervous system never downshifted

Good sleep hygiene doesn’t always translate to actual recovery, especially if your nervous system clocked out long after you did. When the body spends the day in sympathetic overdrive (the fight-or-flight state), it forgets how to switch off. You might fall asleep, but under the hood, your system is still scanning for to-do lists, notifications or vague dread about a conversation you had four days ago (or one you need to have the next day).

You’re left with shallow sleep, scattered dreams and a morning that feels like a hangover without the revelries.

Practices that ease the body into parasympathetic mode—the calmer, rest-and-digest state—can help signal to your system that it’s time to rest. Gentle stretching, five-minute breathwork, a ten-minute yoga nidra session or even a warm shower before bed. None of it needs to be perfect or Instagram-worthy, just consistent enough to remind your body that the day is over.

On paper, these habits to remedy waking up tired are simple enough, but when everything is happening everywhere, all at once, it’s overwhelming. Start with one, then add another, and always consult a doctor if your problem is persistent.