Manage Daytime Sleepiness with Quality Sleep!

Sleep is a necessary biological function, but if you suffer from excessive sleepiness, like feeling tired no matter how much you sleep or struggling to stay awake when you need to, there may be underlying causes that need to be addressed.

Causes of Sleepiness

Common everyday causes of sleepiness include lack of sleep, poor sleep quality, changes in blood sugar levels 30 minutes to an hour after eating, low blood sugar due to hunger or restrictive dieting, and autonomic nervous system imbalances caused by stress.

The autonomic nervous system, which is closely related to sleep, usually helps us be active during the day via the sympathetic nervous system and shift to rest mode at night via the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to sleep. However, stress and lifestyle disruptions can interfere with this transition. Hormonal imbalances, especially in women, are also a common factor. During menstruation or menopause, reduced estrogen can decrease stress resilience, lowering sleep quality and leading to sleep deprivation.

Health Conditions That Cause Sleepiness

Sometimes, sleepiness is more than just an everyday issue and may indicate a sleep disorder, such as hypersomnia.

There are several types of hypersomnia:

- Narcolepsy: Characterized by uncontrollable daytime sleepiness, muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations at sleep onset.

- Idiopathic Hypersomnia: Involves daytime sleep episodes that are hard to wake from.

- Recurrent Hypersomnia: Periods of excessive sleepiness alternating with normal states over days to weeks.

How to Get Quality Sleep

Ensuring quality sleep is key to preventing daytime sleepiness and allowing your body and mind to rest. Here are four essential points for quality sleep:

To meet these four points, how you spend your time before bed is important. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to spend your evenings to enhance sleep quality:

STEP 1. Take a bath in 39–40°C (102–104°F) water for 10–15 minutes.

STEP 2. After bathing, do light stretching to relax your body and mind.

STEP 3. About 30 minutes before bed, dim the lights and start winding down.

Letting your favorite aroma fill the bedroom can enhance the relaxation effect, helping you aim for a better quality of sleep.

Improved sleep quality can prevent daytime drowsiness, maintain work performance, and promote overall health by balancing the autonomic nervous system and hormones. Prioritize your pre-bedtime routine to achieve better sleep.

Ways to Manage Sleepiness

If you’re feeling sleepy, a short nap of 30 minutes or less in the early afternoon can help refresh your brain. If a nap isn’t possible, try the following methods:

• Stimulate your brain by speaking

• Refresh by splashing cold water on your face or neck

• Drink cold water to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system

• Use caffeine or chew gum to stay alert

• Consume glucose for a quick energy boost

• Do light stretches to wake up your brain and body

• Press acupressure points effective for sleepiness:

- Seimei: Located near the inner corners of the eyes, slightly toward the nose

- Taiyo: On the temples, near the outer corners of the eyes

- Fuchi: At the back of the neck, near the hairline in small depressions

When sudden drowsiness hits, stimulate your brain, move your body, or change up your activities to stay alert.