Winter sleepiness. Why do you always want to sleep in autumn?

Roman Buzunov, head of the sleep medicine department of the FSBI Clinical Sanatorium Barvikha, MD, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, told AiF about this.

Why is it difficult to wake up?

Lack of sleep leads to cardiovascular and endocrine disorders. During sleep, a hormone responsible for burning fat is produced. If you don't sleep, you get fat.

Our government has eliminated one reason... Before that, every day we got up 1.5 hours earlier than nature should have. The other two - less vitamins in the diet and natural light outside - can also be eliminated. Among the vitamins, B vitamins are especially useful (cereals, buckwheat, oatmeal, pasta, nuts, meat and dairy products, fish). If your day resembles a polar night (we leave for work and it’s still dark, but when we arrive it’s already dark), you risk not only regularly nodding off and snoring at meetings, but also becoming a victim of seasonal depression. Therefore, immediately after waking up, turn on a bright light. This is how the body produces hormones that are responsible for improving mood. By the way, the abundance of sunlight is one of the explanations that southern peoples are more expressive and more satisfied with life.

How to be cheerful all day?

Ideally, you should wake up after completing a full sleep cycle. It lasts from 90 to 100 minutes. Then you will feel invigorated, even if you get up half an hour before your alarm clock. If in the middle, weakness and fatigue are guaranteed. That is, theoretically, the duration of sleep should be a multiple of approximately 1.5 hours. But in practice it is difficult to catch this moment. Therefore, you can not adapt to the rhythms, but adjust them to yourself. If you get up at the same time for two weeks (including weekends!), you will wake up 5-10 minutes before the alarm goes off, having slept well.

Why do I sleep so poorly?

If you have an ideal bedroom environment (comfortable bed, pillow, etc.) and routine, but your sleep is still poor, you need to consult a specialist. But at the same time, understand: treating insomnia with sleeping pills is pointless. In fact, there are more than 80 causes of sleep disturbance: snoring, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome (legs periodically twitch during sleep), anxiety and depression, heart rhythm disturbances and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and others. We need to find out the cause and act on it.

Why are so many angry in the morning?

Most likely, these are “owls”. There are about 60% of them among us. 20% each of “larks” and “pigeons”. “Owls” have their own biological clocks that lag behind the astronomical ones. The alarm clock says 7 am, but the person’s internal clock says 3 am. On the contrary: when it’s 12 at night, he still has 9 pm - the time to be active... Advice is to get up regularly at the same time and not allow yourself to sleep more than 2 hours on weekends. Exceeding the limit causes jet lag syndrome. And to adapt to a rhythm shift of 1 hour, the body needs a day. That's why, after sleeping half a day on the weekend, many people start the work week with Sunday insomnia and weakness on Monday morning.

Is it possible to sleep less?

Can. The question is - at what cost? About the same as if a person with shoe size 41 began to wear 38. Each person's sleep requirement is individual and ranges from 4 to 14 hours. This is a variable parameter, the same as height or shoe size. 5% of the population sleeps up to 5 hours, 10% - more than 10 hours.

Sleep will be sound and refreshing if:

• never force yourself to sleep. If you haven't fallen asleep after 15 minutes, get up and don't lie down until you feel like you can fall asleep.
• eliminate caffeine 6-8 hours before bedtime.
• don't solve problems at the moment of falling asleep and before bedtime. It’s better not to even play chess.
• don't overeat 2-3 hours before bedtime.
• don't lie in bed more than 15 minutes after waking up.

Autumn fatigue... How to get rid of it?

Lack of sun can be tiring and even cause depression. There is only one treatment - light. In addition, victims of autumn fatigue need to pay attention to their diet.

Here it is autumn. And some of us sadly watch as their energy and cheerfulness disappear somewhere. It is impossible to sleep at night, and during the day I feel extremely depressed. You feel endlessly unhappy, gaining weight because you can’t get rid of the irresistible desire to chew sweets endlessly, while your libido becomes sluggish and passive. Apparently, we will have to wait for the return of spring and clear, sunny days to feel vigorous and dynamic again... until next autumn.

At the beginning of the winter season, approximately 5% to 30% of us fall into this state. Why? “Because if some people are deprived of the sun, their body begins to function in an economical mode. It’s like they’re hibernating!” - the doctors tell us. This problem is associated with one of the hormones - melatonin.

Secrets of melatonin.

In the late 70s, American researchers, professors Rosenthal and Levy, discovered melatonin abnormalities in some patients with autumn depression. This hormone is produced by the pineal gland. And it is, to some extent, the ticking of the brain's biological clock. Melatonin is produced at night and is regulated by alternating times of day. Scientists have suggested that this hormone is a kind of chemical regulator that controls the body’s numerous seasonal rhythms. They discovered that eliminating melatonin by exposure to light helps normalize dysfunctional functions (appetite, sleep, weight, libido). In their opinion, it was enough to block melatonin by exposing the body to white light at 2500 lux. Patients with autumn depression who underwent this procedure for three to four days stopped eating sweets and their cheerfulness and cheerfulness returned to them.

The scientists were delighted. They discovered a new disease, SAD (Seasonal affective disorder, or seasonal depression, in Russian) and its treatment is light. True, it later turned out that light is effective here, although the body’s production of melatonin does not stop at all, as was initially thought. Thus, the complex mechanisms of this hormone remain unexplored. But, nevertheless, based on a hypothesis that turned out to be false, scientists still discovered a new disease and its effective treatment!

According to European statistics, SAD is the cause of 20% of depression. Women are susceptible to this disease, which can manifest itself in varying degrees, starting with ordinary fatigue - four times more often than men. Forty-year-olds are the most vulnerable. So, what to do if every evening, when you return home, you feel constantly overwhelmed and tired or plunge into depression every winter?

Heal with light.

If with the onset of autumn you feel tired, gloomy, drowsy and have an irresistible desire to eat sweets, then you are especially sensitive to the lack of light!

Here's what doctors advise:

Try to make the most of daylight and be outside as much as possible, exposing yourself to light rays. Be sure to take a walk, even in cloudy, non-sunny weather, preferably in the first half of the day.

Visiting a solarium and other ultraviolet irradiation do not have an effect, since UV rays are located in the invisible part of the spectrum and will not be able to overcome fatigue, which is caused by SAD. In the same way, it is useless to increase the artificial lighting of rooms,

since its intensity is still insufficient for the effect.

Try to leave part of your vacation to take advantage of it in the winter, from November to February, and go to the mountains or the tropics - it doesn’t matter where, because the main thing for you is light, not warmth.

In Europe, SAD patients are also offered phototherapy sessions, that is, exposure for several days, several hours daily, to lamps that artificially reproduce all the components of sunlight. For us, this is apparently in the future, although our winters are longer.

How to eat in the fall?

Nutrition that will help fight fatigue should have two goals: prevent low blood pressure and maintain tone. Therefore you need:

Regularly eat foods that supply our body with energy for a long time, since they break down long and slowly. These are mainly slow sugars or, in other words, cereals. The ideal is: some kind of cereal for breakfast, and bread and/or flour for lunch and dinner.

Also regularly consume protein-rich foods at every meal, since proteins are the only components capable of producing or restoring “noble” tissues of the body (muscles, blood, glands, hormones...), which themselves consist of proteins. The proteins closest to humans are of animal origin, and, first of all, those found in meat. Similar in nature to ours, they are better absorbed. In addition, meat is an important source of iron and vitamin B12 (against anemia).

And finally, foods rich in mineral salts and vitamins are also important, since they, in addition to their own role in metabolism, also serve as catalysts that help to absorb energy elements.

So what is there to eat in the fall?

The priority should be seasonal products, since at this time they are the freshest, their nutritional and taste qualities are manifested to the greatest extent, and, most importantly, they most accurately meet the needs of the body during this period. Nature is wisely designed. In the summer, she offers us juicy fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water, because nutrition should be light. In autumn, food is more strengthening and substantive:

Oil-containing fruits: various nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, etc.), peanuts, almonds, which are at the same time rich in proteins similar in composition to meat, sugar and fat (the one that is “good”), as well as mineral salts (magnesium, potassium). Don't avoid these foods for fear of gaining weight. Fatigue often comes as a result of an unbalanced diet. Everything is a matter of moderation.

Mushrooms are richer in proteins than other plants; in addition, they are real deposits of vitamin B, various minerals and trace elements.

Game, both flying and running, doesn’t matter. It has all the advantages of domestic animal meat, without containing any disadvantages (10-20% fat), in game it is only 3%. In any case, do not exclude meat from your diet under the pretext that it is fatty.

It is enough to choose leaner options: in addition to game, it can be poultry, rabbit, horse meat, liver, and cook it without fat (boil, grill, bake in foil, steam or microwave).

As for fish, it competes favorably with meat, since it contains less fat, and these are healthy fats, but fish cannot completely replace meat, since it strengthens bones to a lesser extent and does not contain the same variety of amino acids and minerals.

The enemies of fatigue.

VITAMIN C. These are primarily fruits: lemons, oranges, kiwis, etc. Vitamin C is the only one among vitamins that specifically fights fatigue. It stimulates the body's resistance to infections, promotes the absorption of iron, but is half destroyed by nicotine. A woman's daily need for it is

70 mg (if she smokes or is pregnant, the need increases) she is more than covered by one eaten lemon, orange or kiwi. During periods of fatigue, you can take higher doses in tablets, but, in any case, the figure should not exceed 1000 mg/day without the knowledge of your doctor. It is better to take vitamin C and products containing it in the morning, as it is stimulating.

MULTIVITAMINS-MULTIMINERALS. They are sold in pharmacies and can cover the deficiency formed in the body as a result of a low-calorie diet (less than 1500 calories/day). Since the body needs all its catalysts and building materials (such as calcium). Fruit multivitamin nectars are also good.

VITAMIN B. Main in the absorption of energy elements of food. It may be deficient when cereals are limited in the diet. It is found in large quantities in brewer's yeast, as well as in bran and sprouted wheat grains sold in pharmacies.

MAGNESIUM. Essential for nervous balance, it also helps resist fatigue. Daily dose: 350 mg/day. For example, 100 grams of dark chocolate, the richest in cocoa, and therefore magnesium, contains 292 mg. If you eat chocolate with nuts, they also add magnesium contained in the nuts. Chocolate is also effective against fatigue thanks to caffeine and theobromine (a substance that, among other things, has psychostimulant properties).

CAFFEINE. Reduces fatigue, stimulates mental activity and heart. But you need to find a middle ground in consumption, since, on the one hand, it is able to banish fatigue, and on the other, in case of an overdose, it causes nervousness, insomnia, and anxiety. You should not drink more than four cups of flavored coffee per day. Robusta coffee is twice as rich in caffeine as Arabica coffee. Bound tea is as rich in caffeine as coffee, but the more it is steeped, the more the tannins that develop neutralize the caffeine.

CONCENTRATED ENERGY. Namely, sweets: marmalade, raisins, etc. They are rich in sugar, hence calories. Save it for the darkest moments or days when you have to make significant physical efforts.

ENERGY IN A BOTTLE. Red wine in reasonable doses (no more than one glass per meal) has a beneficial effect. Burgundy is especially good. It is rich in mineral salts, vitamins and iron.

... Here it is autumn. We must overcome autumn fatigue...

Please copy the code below and paste it into your page - as HTML.

Sleep is an important component of every person's life. It not only helps you relax after a hard day at work, but also renews energy, without which it is impossible to fully exist. But with the arrival of autumn, many of you are probably faced with something that makes you sleepy not only in the evening, but also all the time: at work it is impossible to concentrate on current affairs, and at home you just want to lie down on the sofa, even if it is day outside. What is the reason for such a sleepy state? In fact, there is no clear answer to this question. Experts are inclined towards many factors, which we will talk about today.

The most common reasons why you feel sleepy in the fall

If, with the onset of autumn, you notice that the former energy and cheerfulness have disappeared somewhere, you can’t close your eyes at night, and during the day you feel sleepy, then the reason may lie in the following:

Reduced daylight hours and lack of sunlight

In autumn, the length of daylight hours decreases, as does the intensity of the sun's rays. All this affects the production of the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for regulating circadian rhythms. When there is not enough or too much of it, the general condition and mood worsen.

Along with the disruption of melatonin production, the amount of serotonin in the human body also decreases. But your mood depends on this hormone of pleasure.

That is why during the day, when the weather outside is often cloudy and rainy, and artificial light is on indoors, many people want to sleep.

Freezing

Autumn is associated not only with beautiful yellow leaves, but also with rain and cold. Therefore, if you dress lightly enough and get wet through and through, you can freeze seriously. And when the body temperature drops, it constantly makes you sleepy. This is an absolutely normal reaction of the body.

Overwork

A new season, many projects and plans, various courses, trainings, seminars - all this causes overwork, and with it constant drowsiness. It is the sleepy state that indicates that the body is exhausted and does not have enough good sleep.

Diet

If in the summer you consumed more fruits, berries and vegetables, then in the fall there is a shortage of such products. And when the diet lacks essential vitamins and microelements, drowsiness occurs.

Scientists have found that sleepiness most often occurs due to a lack of vitamin D, which enters the body with food (cottage cheese, cheese, fish, vegetable and butter), as well as under the influence of ultraviolet rays.

Weakening of the immune system

In autumn, along with vitamin deficiency, the immune system is also weakened. When viruses constantly want to penetrate your body, and a weakened immune system is practically unable to defeat them, you just want to go to sleep in order to recover and continue the fight.

Stress and depression

Lack of sunlight and vitamins, cloudy weather, cold - all this often makes you feel depressed and want to sleep. This phenomenon can be called a kind of psychological reaction of the body. In other words, at this difficult moment, a person’s brain wants to protect him from difficulties and simply “turns off.”

Various diseases

In the fall, various diseases worsen and make you sleepy. Lie down on the sofa and fall asleep most often occurs with such ailments as:

• Anemia. Anemia is characterized by the fact that tissues and organs receive less oxygen than they need for their normal functioning. That is why with anemia a person feels a loss of strength and drowsiness.
• Atherosclerosis. In addition to headaches and tinnitus, this disease also causes a desire to get a good night's sleep.
• Vegetovascular dystonia. The blood in the vessels is very poorly repelled by the heart, as a result of which the brain is not sufficiently nourished. And this leads to the fact that a person constantly wants to sleep. It is sleep that preserves energy so that a person can continue to exist.

Drowsiness also occurs with diabetes, heart failure, infectious disease, and oncology.

Why is autumn drowsiness dangerous?

It seems to many that the desire to hibernate is an absolutely harmless phenomenon. But in fact, such a problem can have bad consequences. After all, it is during this period that a person loses his taste for life, and his performance decreases. In addition, autumn drowsiness is not only harmful to the body, but also life-threatening. It often happens when a sleepy person gets seriously injured at work or even gets into a terrible accident after falling asleep at the wheel. Therefore, it is very important to regularly monitor your well-being and take timely measures to feel invigorated, even when it is cloudy, cold and damp outside.

What to do when you constantly feel sleepy

Combating seasonal sleepiness is not only possible, but also necessary. After all, this will not only improve the quality of your life, but will also prolong it. Doctors advise following some recommendations:

• Spend time outdoors as often as possible, especially in sunny weather. Walking in the park and in the forest, where the air is filled with purity and nutrients, will help you get rid of your sleepy state. Also make sure there is enough light in the room.
• Try to get enough sleep. Be sure to go to bed and wake up at the same time.
• Play sports. Morning exercises are just right. Various exercises will make your body beautiful and elastic, and also fill you with energy for the whole day.
• Don't overwork yourself. It is advisable to spend 5 minutes every hour to warm up and walk around the office. A 15-minute nap during the day is also very beneficial. It will help you regain your strength and continue working. Dedicate your weekends only to relaxation. Take a walk in the park, have a picnic, take an interesting excursion, or just read your favorite book.
• Carefully review your diet. If it doesn't have enough vitamins and minerals, be sure to replenish them.

Sources of useful substances are apples, grapefruits, pomegranates, lemons, oranges, bananas, nuts, dairy products, meat, fish. Banana and nuts contain tryptophan. This substance stimulates the production of melatonin and serotonin.

• In cold weather, you should not give preference to your favorite, but “cold” clothes. At this time, it is very important that the body is sufficiently warm. Therefore, when going outside, dress according to the weather.
• If it's cloudy and windy outside, create sunny and warm weather inside yourself. Smile more often and look at the world with a positive attitude, then depression and drowsiness will be banished as if by hand!

You should not endure a drowsy state, which only spoils your life. Use the recommendations above and find positivity in autumn.

Now, if I were a bear, or rather a she-bear, then I would be waiting for autumn like manna from heaven, because I can finally sleep until spring. But I have to somehow exist in this reality, and how can I function normally if from the first autumn clouds to the first deep snow I constantly want to sleep. I fall asleep on the go, in public transport, and eating turns into real torture for me, because after lunch it becomes almost impossible to keep my eyes open. Why you want to sleep so much in the fall and what to do to avoid this, read below.

Why do you want to sleep more in autumn?

It is absolutely clear that this is a consequence of shorter daylight hours and bad weather. There is practically no sunlight, and accordingly our body begins to react to these seasonal changes by hibernating. Cold and rainy weather also does not add optimism, there is nothing to catch the eye on the street, no green trees, no snow-white snow, everything is gray and damp.

After reading the advice on “how to avoid falling asleep while walking in the fall” from “experts” who, apparently, live in a parallel world and have no idea how ordinary people live, I felt both funny and sad at the same time. How can you advise a working person to “give yourself at least half an hour for a nap during the day?” Or does “spending as much time in natural light as possible” mean quitting your job and wandering around the park? And the advice to survive the fall “somewhere by the warm sea” completely finished me off. Apparently, these “advisers” are so far from us that we will have to ask a normal, real specialist. Which is what I did. Having called my friend a general practitioner, I asked for a meeting and tearfully asked for real advice on how not to sleep through the entire fall.

1. First tip. Let's get some vitamins.
Lethargy and lethargy in the fall are not only a consequence, but also a lack of vitamins in the body. Therefore, in the fall it is necessary to take a course of vitamins that will restore our strength and boost our immunity. By the way, immunity is not something to joke about in the fall, because it depends on it whether we will get another autumn viral infection this time or pass it by. It turns out that drinking vitamins in the autumn is like killing two birds with one stone, and regaining your vital energy and increasing your immunity.

2. You need to drink more.
It is absolutely clear that now we are not talking about alcoholic beverages, and not about coffee, by the way, either. In order to avoid permanent drowsiness, you need to drink as much clean, cool water as possible. Coffee invigorates you for a short time, but more than 6 servings a day turns the drink not into an energy drink, but into poison. Warm tea makes you feel even more sleepy, but you don’t really feel like drinking cold tea in chilly weather. Therefore, there is only one way out: we consume as much clean drinking water as possible!

3. You need to eat right.
The food we consume in the fall must be treated very carefully and thoughtfully. Because one food makes us sleepy, while another gives us a boost of vivacity and the necessary energy!

In order to wake up, you need to have breakfast. But the meal should be light and proper, breakfast should lift your spirits, and not fill your whole body with lead weight. First rule: there should be little of it. Choose the smallest portions, about half of what you ate before. Porridge (buckwheat, oatmeal, rolled oats), any egg dishes, toast with cheese and strong and sweet coffee or tea are great for breakfast.

In autumn you can’t eat in large portions; this is the main rule that you must strictly follow if you don’t want to sleep on the go. It is better to snack more often and little by little than to overeat three times a day. Food should contain as many vitamins and healthy minerals as possible, vegetables, fruits, cereals, durum wheat pasta, beef, chicken, dairy and fermented milk products - this is a list of what you should pay attention to in the fall.

4. Contrast shower.
I know for sure that it is impossible to sleep in the shower and that nothing invigorates me like a good portion of cool water. Therefore, do not be lazy to get up early in the morning and take a contrast shower, after which you will definitely not want to sleep. Just don’t even think about getting into a hot bath, it’s what makes you sleepy even more. Naturally, you won’t be able to take a shower during the day, but no one has yet canceled aromatherapy! Therefore, you can stock up on deodorant or eau de toilette with the scent of citrus or sea freshness (invigorating aromas) and refresh yourself with them from time to time. You can wipe your neck and wrists with wet wipes, this also helps drive away drowsiness.

5. Movement.
But you will have to move more no matter what. If you feel like you're going to pass out at your desk at work right now, get up and start moving. And until the sleepy numbness passes, walk. The room should be cool (not cold!), since in the stuffiness the eyes close on their own. If the weather permits, walk home, although in the fall this advice looks more like a mockery.

And in the fall you will have to go to bed a little earlier than usual. There are a little less, but more often than usual. How can you listen to fun, catchy music! In the end, autumn will also end someday, and we all know that for sure!