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Now, the good news is that once the sleep disorder is diagnosed, it is usually easy enough to correct and, this way, eliminate that always tired feeling. There are a few things you can do at home if you want to determine if you have a simple sleep problem or a serious one - one that might require medical attention.
Keeping a sleep journal is the first thing you should do. This may shine some light on why you are always tired and help you to establish a good understanding of your sleep schedule as well as how many times a night you wake up. Simply write down the exact time at which you went to bed and when you awoke during the night. This alone can provide you with an answer to your question why am I always tired!
If it takes you a long time (usually longer than 15 minutes) to fall asleep, or if you wake up during the night, your body might not be getting an adequate amount of rest. This could result in you feeling always tired.
Another thing that most doctors suggest to people who are always tired, is to take a closer look at their caffeine intake during the day and, especially, at night. If you are consuming an excessive amount of caffeine, it will certainly hinder your ability to sleep.
If, after trying the above suggested examples, you are still unable to answer the question why am I always tired then you should seek medical advice from your physician. There are several possible reasons why a person is always tired and those reasons can range from something as simple as trying to sleep when the room temperature is too high or too low, to more serious sleep conditions, such as sleep apnea.
Sleep studies can usually determine why a person is always tired. The testing for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders requires a patient to spend the night in a sleep lab for monitoring. During the night a test called a polysomnogram study or (PSG) is performed. To complete this test, the doctors have to attach electrodes (sticky little pads that have wires attached to them) to the person's head and body (don't worry, it's not painful at all and the glue washes off with soapy warm water).
The machine will then monitor your sleep and record several different parameters. One of them is your breathing (to determine if sleep apnea is the problem). It will also look at how you go through different stages of sleep, to determine if you are able to reach all of them or not. The muscle movements of your body will also be examined, to see if jerking muscles are disrupting your sleep. Some people with this problem describe it as running a marathon in their sleep. And if that's what you're doing, believe me, you will always be tired.
Putting yourself through this test may not be the most pleasurable thing, but it will give you a good chance of answering the question why am I always tired.
