Drowsiness can be caused by many things, such as lack of sleep or staying up late. To overcome this, there are several ways to get rid of sleepiness that you can try to do. Thus, your daily activities will not be disturbed.
Sleepiness can appear at any time, including when studying, working, or even driving a vehicle. This condition is often accompanied by symptoms of difficulty concentrating and unable to control emotions. In fact, sleepiness sometimes appears in the morning even though you just woke up.
Some Possible Causes of Sleepiness
Sleepiness that appears during activities during the day may be caused by several factors, including:
1. Lack of sleep
Lack of sleep is one of the things that often makes someone sleepy. When you are sleep deprived, you may also find it more difficult to control your emotions and focus on doing things.
However, apart from lack of sleep, complaints of frequent sleepiness can also be caused by too much sleep. According to research, people who sleep more than 8 hours each night are more likely to feel sleepy the next day.
2. Stress and depression
Stress and depression cause a person to find it difficult to sleep well at night and eventually feel sleepy during the day. Depression is also often associated with several sleep problems, such as insomnia and restless legs syndrome (restless legs syndrome).
3. Dehydration
Adequate body fluid needs are very important to ensure all systems in the body can work properly, while helping to maximize energy during physical activity.
Lack of drinking water intake can cause you to become dehydrated. This will make your body tired and easily sleepy.
4. Excessive caffeine consumption
Caffeine is effective for dispelling and overcoming drowsiness because it contains a stimulant effect. However, if consumed too much or too often, caffeine can make it difficult for you to sleep so that you often feel sleepy and lack energy.
In addition to caffeine, consuming too many alcoholic beverages is also not good because it can make you often sleepy and difficult to concentrate. Therefore, always apply a healthy lifestyle by eating nutritious foods on a regular basis, and reducing the consumption of coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages.
5. Rarely move
Silent too long in front of the computer will make the body feel tired and sleepy. To fix this, try light exercise on the sidelines of your activities at the office. That way, blood circulation in the body will run smoothly.
In addition to some of the factors above, complaints of frequent sleepiness can also occur due to side effects of certain drugs, such as blood pressure lowering drugs, antidepressants, and antihistamines.
Excessive sleepiness can also be a symptom of certain diseases or medical conditions, such as anemia, diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, and malnutrition.
Tips and How to Get Rid of Sleepiness
The most important way to get rid of sleepiness is to get enough sleep. The ideal sleep recommendation for adults is 7–9 hours per night.
If you've had enough sleep but still feel sleepy, you can also try taking a 30-60 minute nap to get rid of sleepiness.
In addition, there are several ways that you can also do to eliminate sleepiness during activities, including:
- Get up from your seat and take a walk or do it stretching for 10 minutes.
- Give your eyes a break and take your eyes off the computer screen.
- Eat low-sugar snacks, such as nuts, fresh fruit, or yogurt.
- Try turning on the light to ward off sleepiness, if you're in a dim room.
- Try to socialize on the sidelines of the afternoon break, for example by chatting with coworkers.
- Take deep breaths to increase oxygen levels in the blood and energy in the body.
- Drink more water to prevent dehydration which causes drowsiness.
If some of the ways above are still not effective for getting rid of drowsiness, try consuming drinks that contain caffeine, such as coffee and tea. However, limit its consumption so as not to overdo it. You simply consume a cup of coffee or two cups of tea to get the benefits of caffeine as a sleep repellent.
Eliminating sleepiness can also be treated medically if it is caused by certain conditions, for example: sleep apnea. Before giving treatment, the doctor will conduct an examination first by asking for the duration and pattern of sleep, as well as the drugs that are being consumed.
If needed, the doctor will also carry out supporting examinations, such as complete blood tests, urine tests, sleep study, and a CT scan of the head. In some conditions, the doctor will perform an electroencephalography (EEG) examination to detect abnormalities in brain function.
After the diagnosis is obtained, the treatment method that will be given by the doctor will be adjusted to the cause of the drowsiness that you feel.
If your eyes still feel heavy even though you have applied some of the ways to get rid of sleepiness above, you should immediately consult a doctor. It is possible that the sleepiness that you often experience is caused by certain health conditions and needs to be treated immediately.