Why Do I Wake Up Tired After 8 Hours of Sleep? Discover the Reasons

Our bodies are wired to feel rested after we have 8 hours of sleep — well, in theory. How much sleep do we need? An average adult needs from seven to nine hours of sleep daily, the Sleep Foundation suggests. Some people are short sleepers and might need fewer hours; it is all unique. We often think that the leading cause of sleep inertia in adults is the lack of hours of sleep they have had. In reality, the percentage of adults who sleep less than seven hours remains below 40%, and the trend has remained the same since 2013. Ideally, the number of those undersleeping should be at zero, but this data suggests that the issue may be attributed to something else. A report by the National Sleep Foundation indicates that 55% of people who feel sleepy believe that it stems from poor sleep quality, not quantity. 

We need to understand why we’re waking up tired even after getting enough sleep. Some of it stems from health issues, while some problems are a result of our poor sleep routine. However, once we know what stops us from feeling rested, we can improve sleep quality and get that good night's sleep.

What Stops Us From Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

How well we sleep depends on multiple factors, some of which we may be unaware of. The sleep-wake cycle often determines whether we have restorative sleep or wake up frequently (aside from the depth of stage 3 and the duration of our REM sleep). We dream in sleep stages: non-REM (NREM), which has the three phases called N1, N2, and N3, and REM sleep. We go through them during the night between 4 and 6 times, with each lasting around 90-110 minutes: 

Stage 1. NREM. It’s a light phase when we start to drift off.

Stage 2. NREM. This is a deeper sleep stage that makes up a large portion of the cycle.

Stage 3. NREM. It’s when we have the deep sleep necessary for our restoration.

Stage 4. REM. REM, meaning Rapid Eye Movement, is the stage when we have the most vivid dreaming because our brain activity increases.

What can cause chronic sleep deprivation?

• Medical conditions and sleep disorders. A lot of people have health issues that either lead to sleep disorders, such as apnea, or to more general problems, including anemia or diabetes.
• Mental health issues. We can’t sleep well if our mind is in a state of emotional distress — whether we are diagnosed with something like depression or PTSD or simply have been noticing a higher level of stress, it all influences our sleep.
• Sleep hygiene. Poor sleep hygiene, including exposure to blue light and caffeine before bedtime, can disrupt sleep patterns and reduce sleep quality.
• Sleep environment. Some people live with noisy neighbors, while others have uncommon sleep habits (sleeping during the day, for instance), which makes it harder to get good quality sleep without waking up.

Medical Conditions and Sleep Disorders

We tend to underestimate the role of underlying health conditions on our sleep quality. Sleep apnea likely holds the top spot among underdiagnosed medical conditions. It is estimated that 20% of people are affected by this sleep disorder, and about 85% of people with this condition don’t know that they have it. Men are more likely to have sleep apnea when they approach middle age and if they develop a higher BMI. With this condition, their breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Many people with sleep apnea snore or gasp during their sleep. 

Restless legs syndrome is another culprit — studies show that it occurs in 7% of the global population, predominantly in women. This sleep disorder causes a person to feel sensations like crawling or tingling in the legs, prompting them to move their legs. People with RLS often find temporary relief by moving their legs, but the discomfort usually returns when they rest again. 

Some other medical conditions that aren’t directly related to sleep can still influence how we sleep. 

• Hypothyroidism. It slows down the body’s metabolism, often leading to persistent tiredness and sluggishness even after a full night’s sleep.
• Anemia. Iron deficiency anemia can cause RLS or other disorders, but even without them, it can lead to fatigue and lack of energy.
• Diabetes. Fluctuating blood sugar levels can cause nighttime awakenings, frequent urination, and restless sleep.
• Chronic pain conditions. Sleeping when one’s body suffers pain and discomfort is difficult, and it can make sleep fragmented. 

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Solutions: More Than Just Sleep Medicine

If you have medical conditions or sleep disorders that negatively impact your sleep, you can only manage the symptoms before addressing the underlying health issue. Before doing everything else, make sure you are actually getting seven to nine hours of sleep.

• Find a good sleep specialist. If you snore loudly, feel the urge to move your legs, or feel excessively tired during the day, reach out to your sleep specialist and ask for a comprehensive evaluation. Diagnosing conditions like sleep apnea or RLS early can significantly improve both sleep and overall health.
• Follow treatment plans. For sleep apnea, treatments may include CPAP therapy or lifestyle changes such as weight management and reducing alcohol intake. For RLS, medications, iron supplements, or relaxation techniques may be recommended. Adhering to the treatment given by your sleep doctor is the key, but it requires consistency.
• Manage pain proactively. Some sleep disorders come with chronic pain. In some families, the idea of “holding up” until the pain is severe teaches individuals to ignore their pain cues, which leads to poor sleep quality. Instead, treat chronic pain as you would any other health problem. Explore the option of physical therapy or massage, stretching, or relaxation techniques. If you need pain medication, talk to your doctor to develop a long-term strategy.

Mental Health and Sleep Problems

Our mental health and our sleep have a bilateral impact. Conditions such as anxiety and depression worsen the sleep quality, either leading to insomnia or excessive sleepiness, both of which can exacerbate the emotional costs of poor sleep. Anxiety may trigger racing thoughts and constant self-doubt, which become more pressing at night. 

Furthermore, people with bipolar disorder tend to suffer from sleep disturbances. During manic or hypomanic episodes, individuals may sleep very little and not feel tired. Depressive episodes, in contrast, make them feel drained no matter how much they sleep. However, these irregular sleep patterns can happen even between episodes. 

Many people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) admit that sleep is one of their top problems. PTSD causes vivid nightmares, making even the thought of dreaming problematic. Plus, the nervous system may remain in a state of hyperarousal, and an individual feels on guard all the time, even without sleep problems — this drains energy fast.

Solutions to Stop Feeling Tired

Just like with medical disorders of a non-psychological kind, mental health challenges often require a comprehensive, well-thought-out plan. 

• Seek professional assistance. Therapy, counseling, or psychiatric support are the most effective for managing conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. If you’re not sure where to begin, consult with your family doctor to get started.
• Consider medication. Not all mental health problems require medication, but they can help out in many cases, especially with stabilizing sleep patterns. If you struggle to stay asleep after drifting off, medications can be a valuable contribution to a better sleep cycle.
• Experiment with relaxation techniques. Meditation and breathing exercises are known solutions to higher levels of stress. Even five minutes before bed can help improve our mental state by eliminating tension. Try deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and basic stretching to unlock your “relax vibes.”
• Consider journaling or “brain dumping.” To make sure we don’t carry our restless thoughts into our dreams, journaling can be a great solution. It shouldn’t be fancy or long. Even a few lines about your day or listing the main things bothering you serve as a chance to create a free space in your head. And that free space is precisely what you need for good sleep.
• Transform mental stimulation. Instead of reading a sad book that will make you feel more miserable, pick a light-hearted read specifically for your sleep. If you enjoy listening to music, choose something you will like, but avoid songs with lyrics about themes that might bother you.
• Open up to gratitude and positive reflection. Think or talk out loud about the good things that happen to you during the day. While it may seem like a small thing, it can serve as an effective reset button to start your night on a pleasant note.

Poor Sleep Hygiene — A Common Suspect

Let’s be honest for a second: Do you go to sleep and wake up with your smartphone in your hand? If you answered “no,” then you may be one of the few individuals out there who still haven’t fallen victim to this harmful habit. And this problem is just the tip of the iceberg.

Most people today don’t have good sleep hygiene. We sleep in the same place we work and chill in, don’t have a healthy sleep schedule, and drink caffeine before bed. Having this many issues piles up and confuses our mind. When our body doesn’t know when it’s time to rest, we stay alert when it’s time to unwind and vice versa. Establishing a relaxing bedtime routine and avoiding stimulating activities before bed can help improve our sleep quality.

Solutions: Develop Better Sleep Habits

By changing our approach to sleep, we can turn our bedtime routine from something boring to the best part of our day.

• Set a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day helps regulate your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally. This means that, sadly, we cannot sleep in on the weekends — if you get up at 8 AM on Monday but wake up at 2 PM on Saturday, you might be damaging your routines. A regular sleep schedule will help you get restful sleep without the costs of the sleep inertia that will usually come from breaking the habits.
• Limit screen time before sleep. No matter how enticing those TikTok videos are, they will need to wait. Just as we need to set a work-life balance, we also need to establish a similar balance with our sleep and waking times. If an hour before bed without a phone feels like too much, start with 5 minutes. Busy yourself with something else, like a fidget toy or a book (again, nothing too nerve-wracking!). Phones expose us to blue light, which can make it harder to fall asleep.
• Create a sleep-only environment. Prepare your room and bed for sleep. Dim the lights, open the windows, and hide all distractions. Make your bed into a place where you want to see your dreams.
• Create a pleasant bedtime routine. Think about what would make you actually want to start going to bed. Perhaps you wish to light a candle and journal in your sleep diary. Or maybe you want to listen to your favorite classical music that you never had the chance to focus on. The goal is to view this moment as something worth readjusting priorities for.
• Reduce long daytime sleep. If you can’t fall asleep at night, try to limit your daytime sleep. While power naps are helpful and won't disturb your sleep at night, sleeping for long hours during the day can damage your night resting quality. When you don’t try to “steal” your daytime, it'll be easier to stay asleep during the night.

Sleep Environment: Roommates, Caffeine, and Sport

The comfort of our sleep is limited by the resources available to us. It means our neighbors and roommates can make or break the routines we have — if they are noisy and don’t respect our sleep schedule, we feel as if our rest is always under threat. We feel tired and angry and cannot get those precious 8 hours of sleep. It may turn into constant tension and nervousness. 

If we have too little space to create a division between our sleeping and working zones, the lines between “asleep” and “awake” also blur. Many people, since starting to work from home, have been working in their beds or near them. So, when they try to shift into a resting headspace, it feels nearly impossible. 

Our diet plays a crucial part in falling asleep. Aside from caffeinated drinks like tea or coffee, we sometimes consume other products that disrupt our sleep cycles. For instance, some foods can feel too heavy before we drift off to sleep, and we wake up during the night feeling restless — or even if we don’t wake up, we might feel tired after sleep because our bodies were overwhelmed processing the food we ate. 

And then, there’s the matter of physical activity. Most of us don’t move enough during the day. Not because we can’t, but because our careers usually lead to a sedentary lifestyle. When we finish our workday, we are tired enough without going through the motions of exhaustive exercises. Since we typically associate physical activity with something unpleasant and focused mostly on maintaining our physique, it becomes another box to check. However, even minimal physical activity can help us feel more relaxed, softening the accumulated edges of stress and the buzzing tension beneath. Getting movement makes it easier to have seven to eight hours of sleep.

Solutions for Healthier Sleep Patterns

Even when outside factors feel beyond our control, we can make small adjustments to protect ourselves from a disruptive sleep environment.

• Reduce noise and distractions. Things got too loud around you? Invest in good earplugs. Some people prefer listening to relaxing sleep noises, while others would rather hear nothing. Try both options. Your roommates let in the light too early? Buy a sleep mask to keep things dark until you wake up. The control of light and noise is a key factor of sleep hygiene because it influences the creation of melatonin and boosts the stability of circadian rhythms.
• Separate work and rest zones. This can work even if you have little space. Find a desk divider to create a distinction. If possible, keep your bed reserved for sleeping or relaxing. Simply changing the lighting or investing in peel-and-stick wallpaper (for example, green for your work zone, beige for your sleep zone) can do the trick, too.
• Make small changes with your food and drink. Avoid caffeine and heavy meals before bed. Making rapid changes can feel difficult, so start small if that’s the case. Some people wake up at night from hunger — there’s no need to cut them off entirely; just opt for lighter, sleep-friendly snacks like yoghurt or fruit.
• Add just a little bit of movement. No, you don’t need to run a marathon to boost your current wellness. Even a ten-minute walk or stretching before bed can make a significant difference. Pick something nice and easy enough that you can realistically do for a long time. 

Final Thoughts

Your sleep is a huge part of your life, and it’s only fair to make it meaningful and fulfilling. While you may not consciously remember each hour you spend in your bed, your body and your brain do, and each sleep cycle allows you to reset. So make getting enough deep sleep your focus, and you’ll reduce daytime fatigue, reduce stress, and anticipate each night with as much joy as your day.

References

Americans feel sleepy 3 days a week, with impacts on activities, mood & acuity. National Sleep Foundation. (2020). https://www.thensf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SIA-2020-Report.pdf

Carskadon, M. A., & Dement, W. C. (2011). Monitoring and staging human sleep. In M. H. Kryger, T. Roth, & W. C. Dement (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (5th ed., pp. 16–26).

FastStats: Sleep in adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-research/facts-stats/adults-sleep-facts-and-stats.html

Malone, S. K. (2011). Early to bed, early to rise? The Journal of School Nursing, 27(5), 348–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840511410434

Suni, E. (2025, July 11). How much sleep do you need?. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need