Why is he so sleepy during the day. Constant exposure to stress

Drowsiness: causes, symptoms of which diseases, how to get rid of such a condition

“I fall asleep on the go”, “I sit at a lecture and sleep”, “I struggle with sleep at work” - such expressions can be heard from many people, however, as a rule, they cause more jokes than compassion. Sleepiness is mainly due to lack of sleep at night, overwork, or simply boredom and monotony in life. However, fatigue after rest should pass, boredom can be dispelled by other methods, and monotony can be diversified. But for many, drowsiness from actions taken does not pass, the person sleeps enough at night, but in daytime constantly holding back a yawn, he looks where it would be “more convenient to nestle”.

The feeling when you feel an irresistible desire to sleep, but there is no such possibility, frankly, disgusting, capable of causing aggression towards those who interfere with this, or in general towards the whole world around. In addition, problems do not always arise only in the daytime. Imperative (irresistible) episodes throughout the day create the same intrusive thoughts: "I'll come - and immediately sleep." Not everyone succeeds, an irresistible desire can disappear after a short 10-minute sleep, frequent awakenings in the middle of the night they do not give rest, nightmares often come. Tomorrow, everything will start all over again...

The problem can become the butt of jokes

With rare exceptions, watching a sluggish and apathetic person day after day, striving to constantly “snack”, someone seriously thinks that he is not healthy. Colleagues get used to it, perceive it as indifference and indifference, and consider these manifestations more of a character trait than a pathological condition. Sometimes constant drowsiness and apathy in general become the subject of jokes and different kind"jump".

Medicine "thinks" differently. She calls excessive sleep duration hypersomnia. and its variants are named depending on the disorders, because constant drowsiness during the day does not always mean a good night's rest, even if a lot of time has been spent in bed.

From the point of view of specialists, such a condition requires research, because daytime sleepiness that occurs in a person who seems to have slept enough time at night can be a symptom of a pathological condition that is not perceived ordinary people like a disease. And how can one regard such behavior if a person does not complain, says that nothing hurts him, he sleeps well and, in principle, is healthy - just for some reason he constantly wants to sleep.

Outsiders here, of course, are unlikely to help, you need to delve into yourself and try to find the cause, and, possibly, contact a specialist.

It is not difficult to detect signs of drowsiness in oneself, they are quite “eloquent”:

• Fatigue, lethargy, loss of strength and constant obsessive yawning - these signs of poor health, when nothing hurts, prevent you from plunging into work;
• Consciousness is somewhat dulled, surrounding events do not particularly excite;
• The mucous membranes become dry;
• The sensitivity of peripheral analyzers drops;
• The heart rate is reduced.

We should not forget that the norm of sleep - 8 hours, is not suitable for all age categories. For a child under six months constant sleep counts normal state. However, as he grows and gains strength, priorities change, he wants to play more and explore the world, so there is less and less daily time for sleep. In the elderly, on the contrary, the older the person, the more he needs not to go far from the sofa.

Still fixable

The modern rhythm of life predisposes to neuropsychic overloads, which, to a greater extent than physical ones, can lead to sleep disorders. Temporary fatigue, although manifested by drowsiness (the same temporary), but quickly passes when the body rests, and then sleep is restored. M It can be said that in many cases people themselves are to blame for overloading their bodies.

When does daytime sleepiness not cause concern for one's health? The reasons may be different, but, as a rule, these are transient problems of a personal nature, periodic "hands on work" at work, a cold, or a rare stay in the fresh air. Here are a few examples where the desire to organize a “quiet hour” is not considered a symptom of a serious illness:

• Lack of night sleep due to banal reasons: personal experiences, stress, caring for a newborn, a session with students, an annual report, that is, circumstances to which a person devotes a lot of time and energy to the detriment of rest.
• Chronic fatigue, which the patient himself speaks of, implying constant work (mental and physical), endless household chores, lack of time for hobbies, sports, outdoor activities and entertainment. In a word, a person was dragged into a routine, he missed the moment when the body recovered in a couple of days, with chronic fatigue, when everything has gone so far, perhaps, in addition to rest, long-term treatment will also be needed.
• Fatigue makes itself felt faster with insufficient oxygen supply to the body, Why does the brain begin to experience starvation ( hypoxia). This happens if a person works for a long time in unventilated areas, there is little fresh air in his free time. What if he smokes too?
• Flaw sunlight. It's no secret that cloudy weather, the monotonous tapping of raindrops on the glass, the rustle of leaves outside the window greatly contribute to daytime drowsiness, which is difficult to cope with.
• Lethargy, loss of strength and the need for a longer sleep appears when "the fields are compressed, the groves are bare", and nature herself is about to fall into a long sleep - late autumn, winter(it gets dark early, the sun rises late).
• After a hearty lunch there is a desire to bow the head to something soft and cool. This is all the blood circulating through our vessels - it tends to the digestive organs - there is a lot of work, and at that time it flows to the brain less blood and with it, oxygen. So it turns out that when the stomach is full, the brain is starving. Fortunately, this does not last long, so the afternoon nap passes quickly.
• Fatigue and drowsiness during the day may appear as a protective reaction of the body with psycho-emotional stress, stress, prolonged excitement.
• Reception medicines, first of all, tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, hypnotics, certain antihistamines, which have as direct action or side effects lethargy and drowsiness can cause similar symptoms.
• mild cold, which in most cases is carried on the legs, without a sick leave and drug treatment(the body copes on its own), it is manifested by rapid fatigue, therefore, during the working day, it does not weakly fall asleep.

• Pregnancy in itself, of course, the state is physiological, but the changes taking place in the body of a woman cannot be ignored, primarily regarding the ratio of hormones, which are accompanied by sleep disturbance (it is difficult to fall asleep at night, and during the day it is not always possible).
• Hypothermia- a decrease in body temperature as a result of hypothermia. From time immemorial, people have known that, being in unfavorable conditions (blizzard, frost), the main thing is not to succumb to the temptation to rest and sleep, and from fatigue in the cold it tends to sleep incredibly: often there is a feeling of warmth, it begins to seem to a person that he is in a good place. heated room and warm bed. This is a very dangerous symptom.

However, there are conditions that are often included in the concept of "syndrome". How to perceive them? In order for the presence of such a disease to be confirmed, it is necessary not only to pass some tests and go to some fashionable examination. A person, first of all, must himself identify his problems and present specific complaints, but, unfortunately, in most cases people consider themselves healthy, and doctors, to be honest, often dismiss the “insignificant claims” of patients to their health.

Disease or normal?

Lethargy, drowsiness, daytime fatigue can be caused by various pathological conditions, even if we do not consider them as such:

1. Apathy and lethargy, as well as a desire to sleep at the wrong time for this, appears when neurotic disorders and depressive states, which are within the competence of psychotherapists, it is better for amateurs not to meddle in such subtle matters.
2. Weakness and drowsiness, irritability and weakness, loss of strength and decreased ability to work, often people suffering from sleep apnea(breathing problems during sleep).
3. Loss of energy, lethargy, weakness and drowsiness are symptoms , which at the present time is often repeated by both doctors and patients, but few people have seen it recorded as a diagnosis.
4. Often, lethargy and a desire to sleep during the day are noted by patients whose outpatient card contains such a “semi-diagnosis” as or , or whatever else is called such a state.
5. I want to stay longer in bed, sleep at night and during the day for people who have recently had infection - acute, or having it in a chronic form. The immune system, trying to restore its protective forces, requires rest from other systems. During sleep, the body inspects the condition of the internal organs after the disease (what damage has been caused by it?), in order to correct everything if possible.
6. Keeps you awake at night and makes you sleepy during the day "syndrome restless legs» . In such patients, doctors do not find any specific pathology, and night rest becomes a big problem.
7. Fibromyalgia. Due to what reasons and circumstances this disease appears, science is not known for certain, since, apart from excruciating pain in the whole body, disturbing peace and sleep, doctors do not find any pathology in a suffering person.
8. Alcoholism, drug addiction and other abuses in the status of "former" - in such patients, sleep is often disturbed forever, not to mention the states after abstinence and "withdrawal".

The already long list of causes of daytime sleepiness that occurs in people who are considered to be practically healthy and able to work could be continued, which we will do in the next section, designating officially recognized pathological conditions as causes.

Cause in sleep disorder or somnological syndromes

The functions and tasks of sleep are programmed by human nature and consist in restoring the body's strength spent in the process of daytime activities. Usually, active life takes 2/3 of the day, about 8 hours are allotted for sleep. healthy body, for whom everything is safe and calm, life support systems are working normally, this time is more than enough - a person wakes up alert and rested, goes to work in order to return to a warm soft bed in the evening.

Meanwhile, the order that has been established since the birth of life on Earth can be destroyed by problems that are invisible at first glance, which do not allow a person to sleep at night and force him to fall asleep on the go during the day:

• (insomnia) at night very quickly forms signs indicating that a person is not doing well: nervousness, fatigue, impaired memory and attention, depression, loss of interest in life and, of course, lethargy and constant sleepiness during the day.
• Sleeping Beauty Syndrome (Kleine-Levin) the reason for which is still unclear. Almost no one considers this syndrome to be a disease, because in the intervals between attacks, patients do not differ from other people in any way and do not resemble patients. This pathology is characterized by periodically occurring (intervals from 3 months to six months) episodes long sleep(on average, 2/3 days, although it can be a day or two, or even longer). The most interesting thing is that people wake up to go to the toilet and eat. Except long sleep during the period of exacerbations, other oddities are noticed for patients: they eat a lot without controlling this process, some (males) show hypersexuality, become aggressive towards others if they try to stop voracity or hibernation.
• Idiopathic hypersomnia. This disease can haunt people up to 30 years old, so it is often mistaken for healthy sleep youth. It is characterized by daytime sleepiness, which occurs even in situations that require high activity (study, for example). Without looking at a long and full night's rest, awakening is difficult, a bad mood and anger do not leave a person who "got up so early" for a long time.
• Narcolepsy- a rather severe sleep disorder that is difficult to treat. It is almost impossible to get rid of drowsiness forever, having a similar pathology, after symptomatic treatment She will reassert herself. Surely, most people have not even heard a term such as narcolepsy, but such a disorder is considered by sleep experts to be one of the worst variants of hypersomnia. The thing is that it often does not give rest either during the day, causing an irresistible desire to fall asleep right at the workplace, or at night, creating obstacles to uninterrupted sleep (inexplicable anxiety, hallucinations when falling asleep that wake up, frighten, provide a bad mood and a breakdown over the next day).
• Pickwick syndrome(specialists also call it obese hypoventilation syndrome). The description of the Pickwickian syndrome, oddly enough, belongs to the famous English writer Charles Dickens (“The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club”). Some authors argue that it was the syndrome described by C. Dickens that became the ancestor new science- somnology. Thus, having nothing to do with medicine, the writer unwittingly contributed to its development. Pickwickian syndrome is predominantly observed in people who have an impressive weight (grade 4 obesity), which puts a huge strain on the heart, puts pressure on the diaphragm, makes it difficult respiratory movements, resulting in blood clotting ( polycythemia) and hypoxia. Patients with Pickwick's syndrome, as a rule, already suffer from sleep apnea, their rest looks like a series of episodes of stopping and resuming respiratory activity (the starving brain, when it becomes completely unbearable, makes you breathe, interrupting sleep). Of course, during the day - fatigue, weakness and an obsessive desire to sleep. By the way, Pickwick's syndrome is sometimes observed in patients with less than the fourth degree of obesity. The origin of this disease has not been clarified, perhaps a genetic factor plays a role in its development, but the fact that all sorts of extreme situations for the body (craniocerebral trauma, stress, pregnancy, childbirth) can become an impetus for a sleep disorder is already, in general , proven.

A mysterious disease, also coming from a sleep disorder - hysterical lethargy(lethargy) is nothing but defensive reaction organism in response to a strong shock, stress. Of course, for drowsiness, lethargy, slowness, you can take a mild course of a mysterious illness, manifested by periodic and short-term attacks that can catch you anywhere in the daytime. Sopor that slows down everything physiological processes and continuing for decades, under the category we describe (daytime sleepiness), of course, does not fit.

Is sleepiness a sign of a serious illness?

Such a problem as constant drowsiness accompanies many pathological conditions, so there is no need to postpone it for later, perhaps it will turn out to be the symptom that will help find the true cause of the ailment, namely, a specific disease. Complaints of weakness and drowsiness, loss of strength and bad mood may give reason to suspect:

1. - a decrease in the content, which entails a drop in the level of hemoglobin - a protein that delivers oxygen to cells for respiration. The lack of oxygen leads to hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which is manifested by the above symptoms. Diet, fresh air and iron supplements help to get rid of this kind of drowsiness.
2. , , some forms - in general, conditions in which cells do not receive the amount of oxygen necessary for full functioning (basically, erythrocytes, for some reason, cannot carry it to their destination).
3. below normal values ​​​​(usually blood pressure is taken as the norm - 120/80 mm Hg). Slow blood flow through the dilated vessels also does not contribute to the enrichment of tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Especially under such circumstances, the brain suffers. Patients with low blood pressure are often dizzy, they cannot stand attractions such as swings and carousels, they are motion sick in the car. Blood pressure in hypotensive people decreases after intellectual, physical and psycho-emotional overstrain, with intoxication, lack of vitamins in the body. Hypotension often accompanies iron deficiency and other anemias, but people suffering from it are most prone to it. (VSD of hypotonic type).
4. Diseases thyroid gland with its decrease functional abilities (hypothyroidism). Insufficiency of thyroid function naturally leads to a drop in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormones, which gives a rather diverse clinical picture, among which: fast fatiguability even after a slight physical activity, memory impairment, absent-mindedness, lethargy, sluggishness, drowsiness, chilliness, bradycardia or tachycardia, hypotension or arterial hypertension, anemia, damage to the digestive system, gynecological problems and much more. In general, the lack of thyroid hormones makes these people quite sick, so you can hardly expect them to be very active in life, they, as a rule, always complain of a breakdown and constant desire sleep.
5. Pathology cervical poses vowel (, hernia), which leads to feeding the brain.
6. Various hypothalamic lesions, since it contains zones that take part in regulating the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness;
7. respiratory failure with(decreased oxygen levels in the blood) and hypercapnia(blood saturation with carbon dioxide) is a direct path to hypoxia and, accordingly, its manifestations.

When the reason is already known

Chronic patients, in most cases, are well aware of their pathology and know why symptoms periodically occur or constantly accompany symptoms that are not attributed to direct signs of a specific disease:

• , which disrupts many processes in the body: suffers respiratory system, kidneys, brain, as a result - a lack of oxygen and tissue hypoxia.
• Diseases of the excretory system(nephritis, chronic renal failure) create conditions for the accumulation in the blood of substances that are toxic to the brain;
• Chronic diseases gastrointestinal tract , dehydration due to acute digestive disorders (vomiting, diarrhea), characteristic of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Chronic infections(viral, bacterial, fungal), localized in various bodies, and neuroinfections that affect brain tissue.
• . Glucose is a source of energy for the body, but without insulin, it will not enter the cells (hyperglycemia). It will not get it in the right amount and with normal insulin production, but low sugar intake (hypoglycemia). Both tall and low level glucose for the body threatens starvation, and, therefore, poor health, loss of strength and a desire to sleep more than the allotted time.
• Rheumatism if glucocorticoids are used for its treatment, they reduce the activity of the adrenal glands, which cease to provide the patient with a high vital activity.
• Condition after epileptic seizure (epilepsy) the patient usually falls asleep, waking up, notes lethargy, weakness, loss of strength, but he absolutely does not remember what happened to him.
• Intoxication. Stunning of consciousness, loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are often among the symptoms of exogenous (food poisoning, poisoning with toxic substances and, most often, alcohol and its surrogates) and endogenous (liver cirrhosis, acute renal and liver failure) intoxication.

Any pathological process, localized in brain, can lead to and oxygen starvation its tissues, and, therefore, to the desire to sleep in the daytime (which is why it is said that such patients often confuse day with night). Difficulty blood flow in the GM, bringing it into a state of hypoxia, diseases such as head vessels, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, dyscirculatory, brain tumor and many other diseases, which, along with their symptoms, have already been described on our website.

Sleepiness in a child

Many of the conditions listed above can cause weakness and drowsiness in a child, however you can not compare newborns, infants up to a year and older children.

Almost round-the-clock hibernation (with breaks only for feeding) in babies up to a year is happiness for parents, if the baby is healthy. During sleep, he gains strength for growth, forms a full-fledged brain and other systems that have not yet completed their development until the moment of birth.

After six months, the duration of sleep in a child infancy is reduced to 15-16 hours, the baby begins to be interested in the events taking place around him, shows a desire to play, therefore daily requirement in rest every month will decrease, reaching 11-13 hours by the year.

Abnormal drowsiness in a small child can be considered if there are signs of the disease:

• Loose stools whether its prolonged absence;
• Dry diapers or diapers for a long time (the child has stopped urinating);
• Lethargy and desire to sleep after a bruise on the head;
• Pale (or even cyanotic) skin;
• Fever;
• Loss of interest in the voices of loved ones, lack of response to affection and stroking;
• Prolonged reluctance to eat.

The appearance of one of the listed symptoms should alert parents and force them to call an ambulance without hesitation - the child must have been in trouble.

In an older child, drowsiness is unnatural if he sleeps normally at night and nothing, as it seems at first glance, does not get sick. Meanwhile, the body of children better feels the influence of invisible adverse factors and responds accordingly. Weakness and drowsiness, loss of activity, indifference, loss of strength, along with "adult diseases" can cause:

• Worm infestations;
• Traumatic brain injury (), which the child preferred to keep silent about;
• poisoning;
• Astheno-neurotic syndrome;
• Pathology of the blood system (anemia - deficient and hemolytic, some forms of leukemia);
• Diseases of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory organs, pathology endocrine system, flowing hidden, without clear clinical manifestations;
• Lack of trace elements (iron, in particular) and vitamins in food;
• Permanent and prolonged stay in unventilated rooms (tissue hypoxia).

Any decrease in daily activity, lethargy and drowsiness in children are signs of ill health, which should be noticed by adults and become a reason for going to the doctor, especially if the child, due to his infancy, cannot yet formulate his complaints correctly. You may only have to enrich the diet with vitamins, spend more time in the fresh air or "poison" worms. But is it still better to be safe than to overlook?

Sleepiness treatment

Treatment for drowsiness? It may be, and is, but in each specific case- separate, in general, it is treatment of the disease that causes a person to struggle with sleep during the day.

Given the long list of causes of daytime sleepiness, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for how to get rid of daytime sleepiness. Perhaps a person just needs to open windows more often to let in fresh air or walk outside in the evenings and spend weekends in nature. Maybe it's time to reconsider your attitude to alcohol and smoking.

It is possible that you will need to streamline the regime of work and rest, switch to a healthy diet, take vitamins or conduct ferrotherapy. And, finally, to pass tests and undergo an examination.

In any case, there is no need to rely too much on medications, but such is human nature - to look for the easiest and shortest ways to solve all issues. So it is with daytime sleepiness, because it is better to get some kind of medicine, take it when your eyes start to stick together, and everything will pass. However, here are a few examples:

It is difficult to give one recipe that satisfies everyone to combat daytime sleepiness for people who have absolutely different problems:thyroid disease, cardiovascular pathology, respiratory or digestive diseases. It will also not be possible to prescribe the same treatment for those suffering from depression, sleep apnea or chronic fatigue syndrome. Everyone has their own problems, and, accordingly, their own therapy, so you can’t do without an examination and a doctor.

Video: drowsiness - expert opinion

Article content

Lack of energy, heavy eyelids closing, the desire to sleep for a couple of minutes in the middle of the working day, periodically occurs in everyone. Even drunk coffee does not save - irresistibly sleepy. Complete rest at night provides productive work during the day. With a constant desire to sleep, the quality of life is disturbed, the level of stress increases, and neuroses can develop. Sleepiness is dangerous state, signaling brain hypoxia, insufficient oxygen supply. You can cope with functional failures on your own by restoring the energy potential.

Causes of sleepiness

Violation of night rest is one of the main factors in the occurrence of drowsiness. Unstable breathing during dreams, diseases of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems lead to a decrease in the quality of sleep. With a decrease in body temperature to critical levels, the use of certain drugs also has a similar condition. common cause increased drowsiness is the lack of daily routine. With regular daytime siesta, insomnia is observed at night, physiological rhythms and phases of dreams are confused.

Reasons why you constantly want to sleep:

• with a long stay in one position, blood circulation is disturbed, work in a static position requires large energy resources, fatigue occurs faster than when doing light physical activity;
• apnea - during sleep, pauses in breathing occur, lasting from a couple of seconds to several minutes, oxygen starvation is also accompanied by headaches, a chronic feeling of fatigue;
• overwork, stress - the modern rhythm of life requires lightning-fast decisions, it starts to fall asleep, if the body needs a reboot, they turn on defense mechanisms immunity, to prevent the development of pathologies nervous system;
• drowsiness is also observed with depression, a lack of neurotransmitter hormones leads to an apathetic state, drug treatment is required;
• taking drugs to normalize blood pressure can cause side effects, the desire to sleep also occurs in the treatment of allergies, mental and neurological disorders;
• a hidden inflammatory process, in addition to drowsiness, is accompanied frequent shifts mood, pressure surges, headaches, digestive disorders;
• beriberi, anemia lead to circulatory disorders, there is weakness, irritability, pallor skin, the condition of hair, nails worsens;
• addictions - the use of alcohol, drugs, smoking, illegal drugs often have sedative properties;
• diseases of the internal organs cause daytime sleepiness, these include ischemia, atherosclerosis, bronchitis, pneumonia, arrhythmia.

Sleepiness after eating

After eating, relaxation sets in, there is a natural desire to sleep. The forces of the body are aimed at digesting food, the heartbeat slows down, the brain gives a feeling of peace.

Why can sleepiness occur after eating:

• use simple carbohydrates leads to jumps sugar, energy is enough only for half an hour, after apathy sets in, there is a breakdown, introduction to the diet complex carbohydrates ensures the maintenance of a normal state for 3-4 hours;
• large portions and irregular meals lead to overeating, there is a desire to lie down and sleep until the entire volume is digested, the optimal frequency is to eat after 2-3 hours;
• the lack of vegetables and fruits causes not only beriberi, but also problems with the absorption of nutrients, there is a deficiency important elements, which reduces the energy potential, for the restoration of which you want to lie down;
• violation of the water balance leads to malfunctions of metabolic processes, with dehydration, a decrease in blood pressure occurs, the pulse becomes weak, dizziness is possible, if you feel sleepy, you need to drink at least 1.5 liters daily clean water to keep you energized throughout the day.

What to do

A decrease in mental and physical activity occurs with a lack or ineffective rest. If you constantly get sleepy, then the body needs a full vacation. You should reconsider the daily routine, nutrition, habits, working conditions. But first of all, it is better to get enough sleep and only after that, with renewed vigor, proceed to the usual duties.

How to deal with sleepiness:

1. It is important to establish a routine, get up and go to bed at about the same time. Before going to bed, be sure to ventilate the room. Helps restore full night sleep evening walk along the street.
2. It is worth giving up bad habits. Smoking and alcohol cause oxygen deficiency, the body works in a stressful mode, needs additional rest.
3. It is necessary to reconsider your diet, be sure to introduce fruits and vegetables as the main sources of vitamins. They increase the energy potential, increase the ability to work. To feel cheerful, easily digestible proteins should be present in the diet. Lean meats (turkey, rabbit, chicken), fish, seafood.

4. You should limit the use of simple carbohydrates - sweets, bakery products, sweet carbonated drinks, snacks.

5. Increase the amount of time spent outdoors. Walking on sunny days is especially useful. Vitamin D is synthesized, which is necessary for a feeling of cheerfulness.

6. Sports activities activate the brain, accelerate blood circulation, provide a sufficient amount of oxygen. 15 minutes of physical activity daily is enough to maintain healthy lifestyle life.

vitamins

Rational nutrition plays a decisive role in the formation of immunity, stress resistance, and is also reflected in mood. The physical and psychological state must be maintained by taking vitamins. It is important to know which elements will help restore energy potential, relieving drowsiness.

List of vitamins:

• vitamin A - provides protection against viruses and bacteria that can provoke a breakdown, weakness, maintains hemoglobin levels, preventing the development of anemia;
• B vitamins - affect resistance to stress, are responsible for the balance of the processes of tension and relaxation of the nervous system, normalize the psychological state, eliminate the feeling of fatigue, depression;
• vitamin D - a deficiency weakens the protective properties of the body, increases susceptibility to the influence of infections, viruses, allergens; sharp drops mood, frequent respiratory illnesses.

The drugs are prescribed after consulting a doctor, it may be necessary to pass additional tests to select the optimal complex.

Essential oils

The world of aromas can soothe, plunging into a deep sleep, or fill life energy, I activate the resources of the body. You can use ethers different ways. By adding to the spray bottle and spraying in the room, lighting the aroma lamp. Also, to quickly cheer up, you can add 1-2 drops of oil to 5 grams. cream for hands, face, men - aftershave lotion. At strong attack drowsiness, it is recommended to open the bottle and inhale the aroma.

Energizing fragrances:

• herbal - rosemary, thyme, mint;
• citrus fruits - grapefruit, orange oil;
• spicy - cloves, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon.

Massage or warm-up

If at the height of the working day it is impossible to concentrate because of the desire to sleep, you should use the secrets of acupuncture. By activating special points, it is easy to replenish the energy potential by improving brain activity.

Acupressure:

1. Click on the dot above upper lip, repeat 10-15 times.
2. Thoroughly knead the earlobes with your thumb and forefinger.
3. The middle finger is at the inner corner of the eye, the index finger is at the outer. Easy to press for 3-5 seconds.

It is useful to massage the head, neck, shoulder area. Intensively massage the skin of the hair area, slightly pulling the roots towards you. A good result is kneading the back of the head and ears. When in a static position throughout the working day, you should not give up physical activity. Every half an hour it is recommended to change the position, rotate the head, arms, squats.

If it is not possible to carry out light exercises, gymnastics for the fingers will help get rid of drowsiness. It is necessary to alternately bend all 10 fingers, then unbend. It is useful to massage the nail plates and phalanges. Feel a surge of strength, easily with the help of intense rubbing of the palms, feeling the characteristic warmth, you can start your work duties.

Herbs

Traditional green tea no less effective for drowsiness than strong coffee. You can also use the gifts of nature to cope with fatigue, restore the protective properties of the body. medicinal plants rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, allowing you to restore strength.

Healing herbs:

• Baikal skullcap - relieves stress and tension, an effective remedy against loss of strength, brewed and taken with honey;
• valerian tincture is taken in the morning and in the evening no more than 40 drops each, the reception allows you to normalize night sleep, restore the functioning of the nervous system;
• borage infusion increases energy potential, increases efficiency, 3 tbsp. spoons of dry grass pour 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 3 hours, take between meals;
• ginseng tincture with honey is a natural energy drink, take a teaspoon one hour after eating;
• linden tea helps to increase immunity, improves brain activity.

Do not ignore the desire to sleep, it can be a signal of a serious illness. If this is the result of poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, it is necessary to adjust the daily routine. For quick recovery Vigor also uses express methods in the form of aromatherapy, massages, healing herbs.

Most often, such a desire appears in the cold season. In winter, it is discharged, it contains much less oxygen than is necessary for an active one. In addition, in winter, he consumes fewer vegetables and fruits, often developing beriberi. Not enough oxygen and vitamins often causes a slowdown in metabolism and general fatigue of the body.

A lack of oxygen can also manifest itself in rooms heated in winter, when hot radiators and heaters dry out the air, as well as during rain. The brain gets less energy and the person goes to sleep.

Often the reason for the constant desire to sleep becomes chronic sleep deprivation and disturbed sleep patterns. After 14-16 hours of being awake, the body automatically switches to the state. Therefore, a person must necessarily sleep. To maintain health, increase efficiency and reduce drowsiness, it is advisable to fall asleep and wake up at the same set time. No need to sleep off on weekends for all weekdays.

Cravings for sleep may be associated with taking any medications (especially sedatives), eating chemicals or preservatives, bad habits (or smoking), or household influences.

If a sleepy state not due to any of the above reasons, it is recommended to consult a doctor. Perhaps it is caused hormonal imbalance in the body, reduced, stress or oxygen metabolism disorder.

Sometimes increased drowsiness is a sign of asthenic depression, chronic diseases liver, bronchopulmonary problems or heart failure.

Apnea during sleep

Sleep apnea is periodic pauses in breathing during sleep. They can last from 2-3 seconds to 2-3 minutes (in severe cases) and occur several times within an hour. Dangerous pauses disrupt night sleep, it becomes intermittent, restless, as a result, a person does not get enough sleep and nods all day.

food coma

Drowsiness can overcome a person after eating. Especially after a heavy meal. The fact is that it takes food to digest. The mouth, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, intestines are busy with the difficult work of transporting and decomposing food into nutrients and their absorption. But the body did its job, spending energy on a complex digestive process, and ... decided that he could rest. The man nods again. Scientists half-jokingly call this condition a food coma.

There is another reason why after eating. When nutrients are absorbed in the intestines, there is a spike in blood glucose levels. Brain cells use sugar as an energy source, therefore, if a person is hungry, the brain actively produces orexin, a special substance that prevents a person from falling asleep and directs him in search of food. When the food has entered the body, it has been digested and assimilated, the brain receives a signal about this and immediately stops the production of orexin. Everything is in order, everything is calm - you can sleep.

Every person has had to struggle with an incredible desire to sleep during the day. And it's good if this happens rarely enough and does not cause concern. Persistent bouts of drowsiness normal amount night sleep may indicate the development of serious pathologies. It is worth figuring out why it makes you sleepy, what signs cannot be ignored, and how to deal with the problem on your own.

Everyone can name the signs of an impending problem. Struggling with overeating or boredom, people are tempted to snooze for at least half an hour or longer.

Here are the main symptoms of obsessive sleepiness:

• dizziness;
• headache;
• apathy;
• bouts of unbearable fatigue;
• emotional exhaustion.

A person sometimes falls asleep in the most uncomfortable position and “falls” into a dream for a couple of minutes.

Ten reasons that cause constant drowsiness

If you constantly feel sleepy, you should start looking for the cause by revising the instructions for the drugs used. For many sedatives, histamines, drowsiness is a side effect. Sometimes it helps to avoid a heavy meal. The absorption of a large amount of fatty and satisfying food causes a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and a desire to sleep.

Experts identify a list of the main factors due to which it can constantly put you to sleep. Physiological and pathological causes should be distinguished. The first are due to a lack of nightly rest, for example, a prolonged movie viewing. Pathological prerequisites are already serious. Often, drowsiness is caused by the body to protect itself from the effects of external aggressive factors.

Jetlag

The concept refers to a violation of circadian rhythms when changing time zones. Each organism develops its own periods of sleep and wakefulness, tied to the duration of daylight and darkness. When moving to another time zone, natural biorhythms change, which causes a constant desire to sleep.

Advice! The symptom is harmless and does not require treatment. Restoration of normal health in an adult occurs for 2-3 days, in a child faster.

work to the bitter end, a person achieves moral and physical exhaustion. The consequences can be severe breakdowns, a decline in immunity, increased

Impact of stress

Sleep is the protection of the body from aggressive influences. Stress refers to just such influences, exhausting emotional resources. Tense nerves make the brain work at a frantic pace, looking for ways to restrain aggression. Additionally, the human immune system is included in the work, nourishing the forces, and this leads to even greater fatigue and causes a strong desire to sleep.

Overwork

Exhausting physical, mental stress affects the body in the same way as infection. The period of work can be either long or short. But if, after a short-term stress, 2-4 hours of sleep is enough for a person to recover, long-term workload “at the limit” requires more time to rest.

It is important to know! Forcing himself to work to the bitter end, a person achieves moral and physical exhaustion. The consequences can be severe breakdowns, a decline in immunity, and the likelihood of diseases of internal systems and organs increases.

"Sleepy" products

Food also makes you want to sleep. Specialists highlight whole list products that provoke the production of melatonin -. And if you eat a certain type of food at lunch, it will be very difficult to fight sleep.

So, what food is better to postpone for the evening:

• almond;
• walnuts;
• bananas;
• melon;
• sweets;
• nougat.

The list also includes all products, with high level salts of potassium, magnesium. These components relieve tension in muscle fibers, and tryptophan, contained in many fruits, makes you want to eat more and with pleasure. That is, a person receives a dose of relaxation that does not set him up for work.

Advice! You can snack on fruits and nuts at lunch, but the portion should be minimal. And in order to defeat the afternoon tendency to sleep, coffee and green tea are allowed to cheer up.

Winter hibernation and weather conditions

The length of daylight directly affects the production of melatonin. The shorter the day, the more you want to sleep. Inclusion artificial lighting also provokes the work of the hormone, so in winter and on rainy days it always pulls you to sleep. You can drink a cup of coffee, go for a walk or switch to another activity.

Hypodynamia

A sedentary lifestyle causes a lot of health problems. Immobility provokes the development of obesity, diabetes, movement disorders and much more. The body spends immunity to fight diseases, which means that it requires recovery - sleep. The connection is direct: we move less - we sleep more.

Taking a lying position, for example, for reading, a person quickly falls under the power of a dream of a short-term type. It is worth getting up from the couch and doing exercises, the condition returns to normal. Increased sleepiness does not always depend on the usefulness of a night's rest. Even taking more than 8 hours to sleep, but at the same time, moving a little during the day, the patient will experience a constant desire to sleep.

It is important to know! Physical inactivity concerns not only people who do not work at all, but also those who sit at the computer for a long time, doing “mental” work.

hypoxia

Lack of oxygen also makes you want to sleep. The brain, ceasing to receive sufficient nutrition, gives a signal to reduce motor, mental activity. This is a normal defensive reaction for the preservation and maintenance of life support systems. Thinking about why you feel so sleepy in the middle of the day, evaluate the surrounding conditions: it is likely that the office is stuffy, the air is stale, and it is high time to ventilate. With hypoxia, the head begins to hurt, the patient experiences weakness, emotional and physical malaise.

Sleep disorders

Lack of a good night's rest can cause the most serious consequences. Violations of the regime - the first cause of constant drowsiness. The more sleepless nights, the harder it will be to recover.

If a person experiences long interruptions in rest, it is impossible to cheer yourself up with coffee, an energy drink. The release of adrenaline into the blood can cause a backlash, provoke nervous breakdown and physical discomfort. In addition, energy drinks, sugary drinks, strong coffee can act as hallucinogens during prolonged interruptions in rest.

Diseases, injuries, drug effects

Any disease or injury can provoke a tendency to sleep. Many ladies notice that they want to sleep when they are menstruating. There is only one reason - the body is trying to restore its defenses and gives an immune response to blood loss. Some help will be provided by vitamin complexes, but sleep is a more reliable means for “rebooting” all vital systems.

With regard to drugs, drowsiness can be a side effect, especially when combined medications. Careful reading of the instructions will save you from trouble. It is extremely important to see if you can drive and work with mechanisms.

Pregnancy

Childbearing period - hormonal changes all life support systems. During pregnancy, mommy's biorhythms go astray, taste preferences are disturbed, she starts to feel sick. All this is perceived by the body as signs of a disease, with which it fights with only one accessible way- sleep. Childbirth in this case is equated to the strongest physical and emotional stress. That is why young mothers immediately after the birth of the baby sleep a lot.

Attention! If drowsiness in pregnant women becomes constant, excessive nausea, malaise is added, you should consult a doctor.

Ways to overcome sleepiness

What to do if you get sleepy? For people who are not employed in production, who do not have chronic serious illnesses, there is only one advice - to lie down to rest for at least an hour. After that, the body will again feel a surge of vivacity. But what if you have a job and you can't sleep? Here are some ways to cheer up:

1. Sweet tea, strong coffee. Drinks stimulate mental activity.
2. Feeling unwell, a short time change occupation - boredom and monotony also cause a desire to sleep.
3. Ventilate the room, take a walk, at least go out into the corridor. So the body receives physical activity and is saturated with oxygen.
4. Take breaks. When working at a computer, you need to get up and do simple physical exercises once an hour. 5-7 minutes of bending over, squatting or brisk walking enough to give yourself a shake-up and make the body work.
5. Don't overeat. Emptiness in the stomach best helper performance. A hearty breakfast in the morning (before 12.00) will help you avoid daytime hunger. You should make small snacks with light salads, other products with a minimum content of "sleepy" elements.

Frequent consumption of drinks to increase vigor does not lead to the desired result. Each energy drink contains a large number of Sahara. In this case, at first the level of glucose in the blood rises strongly, which causes a burst of efficiency, and after a short time the concentration decreases, which causes physical and emotional fatigue. Sweet carbonated drinks have the same effect.

All advice is about working hours, but sometimes the problem lies much deeper. To find out the causes of drowsiness during the day, you should review the daily routine, the nutrition menu. A good help will be provided by a course of vitamins, an increase motor activity, hardening.

Conclusion

Knowing what to do during periods of daytime sleepiness, do not neglect the night's rest. Violation of the regime threatens with a significant decrease in immunity, which means that the body will become more susceptible to seasonal diseases. And remember: if drowsiness is complemented by dizziness, memory loss, attention, the problem may lie much deeper, then the help of a specialist will be required.

1. How smoking affects blood pressure
2. Is it possible to smoke at high pressure
3. Can smoking lower blood pressure
4. Is smoking cigarettes a pleasure or an addiction?
5. What will quit smoking do
6. How to quit smoking

Tobacco smoking - global problem for all mankind. Despite the fact that propaganda is actively carried out in all countries, the number of smokers is not decreasing, and the number of diseases due to negative impact tobacco smoke is growing. The fact that the respiratory system suffers from cigarettes is widely known, but they can have no less harm on cardiovascular system. It is worth understanding whether smoking lowers or increases blood pressure, what will happen if you smoke with hypertension or hypotension, and why there is such a strong addiction to cigarettes ..

How smoking affects blood pressure

The relationship between blood pressure and smoking is very close, and this fact can be confirmed by most smokers.

Several factors affect blood pressure levels:

• blood viscosity;
• vascular tone;
• blood volume.

Of course, there are many more, but these are the main ones. And smoking has a direct impact on all of these factors:

• there is a violation of vascular permeability;
• blood clotting worsens;
• the walls of blood vessels are destroyed;
• tissue hypoxia occurs.

The effect of smoking on blood pressure occurs almost immediately. When smoking 1 cigarette, the pressure on average increases by 2-3 units and returns to normal only after 30-50 minutes. But by this time, a person feels like inhaling a portion of tobacco smoke again, so the process of progression of hypertension is almost continuous. The situation is further complicated by the fact that immediately after smoking a cigarette, the vessels dilate and the pressure decreases, but this effect is short-lived - after a few minutes, the vessels narrow and blood pressure rises.

Over time, when, under the influence of addiction, the vessels lose their elasticity, their narrowing and expansion carries the risk of damage. This is facilitated by the accelerated formation of atherosclerotic plaques on the intima of the vessels.

A considerable number of people mistakenly believe that the pressure cannot increase or decrease from a hookah, so it can be used as an alternative to cigarettes. But a hookah raises blood pressure no less than cigarettes. According to statistics, hookah lovers face cardiovascular and other pathologies as often as traditional cigarette smoking.

Is it possible to smoke at high pressure

The question of whether it is possible to smoke with high blood pressure is initially incorrect, since smoking is impossible with any blood pressure and with the most excellent health. But if we consider how smoking affects the pressure of hypertension, then we can safely say that smoking hypertensive patients greatly increases the risk of complications from the cardiovascular system.

Weak from regular smoking blood vessels on increase blood pressure after smoking a cigarette can provoke:

• hypertensive crisis;
• internal hemorrhage: heart attack, stroke.

In addition to the fact that smoking increases blood pressure, it also reduces efficiency. antihypertensive drugs, because of which a person does not receive necessary treatment, designed to protect the cardiovascular system from crises, and pathology from progression.

Can smoking lower blood pressure

Many smoking people they may say that cigarettes help reduce blood pressure, without saying that this short-lived effect is quickly compensated by vascular hypertension.

Some even argue that smoking is practically safe for those with low blood pressure. When the pressure has increased in a hypotonic person, this can be perceived as a benefit if a person experiences the desired surge of energy and increased tone.

In fact, the fact that cigarettes increase the pressure in hypotensive patients does not carry a single positive moment.

• Cigarette smoke has a destructive effect on human blood vessels, regardless of whether he is hypertonic or hypotonic. Owners low pressure in the process of regular smoking, they will either face hypertension, or hypotension will progress even more: due to poor vascular tone, blood circulation will be disturbed, the body will suffer from chronic hypoxia.
• Hypotonic patients more often than other people experience this functional disorder work of the nervous system, like VVD. Due to poor vascular tone, it is more difficult for the body to adapt to changes in conditions. external environment, therefore, a person is permanently in a state of poor health, he has panic attacks - vegetative attacks.
• The negative effect of smoking on the pressure of a person with hypotension can also be expressed in the following feature: at night, blood pressure rises, which disturbs sleep. During the day, indicators of low blood pressure are recorded with the corresponding symptoms: weakness, nausea, ringing in the ears, drowsiness. A person will measure pressure during the day and, seeing low readings, will try to treat hypotension, for example, with caffeine, so at night his pressure will rise even more, and the state of blood vessels and well-being will constantly worsen.

Is smoking cigarettes a pleasure or an addiction?

The harm of smoking is obvious to everyone, but every smoker, when asked why he cannot give up cigarettes, will answer that he enjoys the process of smoking. Nicotine is a poison produced by the tobacco plant as a defense against environment- Insects and mammals. But how can poison be the cause of pleasure?

The fact is that in the human nervous system there is such a neurotransmitter as acetylcholine, which, in simplified terms, has a normalizing effect on heartbeat person, his pressure and mood. Nicotine acts on the same receptors as acetylcholine, which is why it is also able to have a normalizing effect on the body. Therefore, smokers feel that with a reduced tone, cigarettes help to increase tone and activate brain activity, and with irritability, they calm the nervous system.

When nicotine is supplied regularly, there is less acetylcholine, and the person is forced to provide a constant supply of nicotine to the body for normal operation nervous system. If a person tries to quit smoking, he experiences a deterioration in well-being, because the body needs time for the synapses to grow acetylcholine receptors, and this takes weeks, during which the person experiences all the difficulties of the withdrawal syndrome. And the cigarette smoked at such a moment will be perceived against the background of the withdrawal syndrome as a source of acute pleasure.

In addition to the chemical addiction to nicotine, there is also a psychological dependence that does not disappear on its own after a few weeks of abstinence. A person will have to fight it on their own. There are certain tricks for this:

• understanding the importance of the problem of addiction, the dangers of smoking, a conscious desire to overcome addiction;
• replacing the pleasure of a cigarette with other pleasures: from sports, work, creativity.

If you can’t quit smoking on your own, you can consult a doctor who will provide psychotherapeutic or pharmacological assistance (for example, in the form of nootropics).

Another important question remains: why does one person become addicted to cigarettes instantly, while another can quit smoking effortlessly even with a long smoking experience? The reason for this is individual features organism, its blood-brain barrier. If nicotine easily penetrates the brain, addiction is formed quickly, if not, a person will not experience cravings for tobacco and will be able to smoke from time to time. But bad habit will still negatively affect his blood vessels, pressure, heart, kidneys, liver, respiratory system.

What will quit smoking do

One of the important stages of prevention and treatment high blood pressure- giving up this habit. General recommendations, which the doctor gives during the treatment of hypertension - the complete exclusion of this factor.

A few months without cigarettes with complete withdrawal lowers blood pressure by 5-10 units, which depends on the nervous system. Perhaps for a person with a level of 180/100 mm Hg. is a drop in the ocean. But if the pressure level does not exceed 145/90, this is a real help to the body and an attempt to reduce the number of pills taken.

For people who are predisposed to the appearance of hypertension, when genetic factors also play a role in the development of the disease, smoking cessation is proper prevention pressure increase.

Knowing how smoking affects blood pressure, make a decision to quit bad habit will not be difficult, although the process of refusal will be accompanied by difficulties.

The consequences of long-term smoking are difficult to eliminate completely, but after the withdrawal syndrome passes, and the person is able to overcome the psychological craving for tobacco, he will have a much better chance of stopping the progression of hypertension:

• pressure from smoking will not constantly fluctuate, which will reduce the risk of damage to blood vessels and arteries;
• the body will not have to deal with constant intoxication, so the person will feel better;
• the risk of cancer of the lungs, stomach, stroke, heart attack will decrease many times;
• antihypertensive drugs will be more effective;
• vascular tone will gradually return to normal;
• taste buds and sense of smell improve;
• giving up cigarettes can affect a person's vitality: he will have more strength and energy;
• the efficiency of the brain will increase, cognitive functions will improve.

And finally, a significant bonus will be a significant budget savings. Every day, a smoker spends money on cigarettes that negatively affect his health, while the money saved can be spent on a nice gift for himself or a loved one.

How to quit smoking

Drowsiness: causes, symptoms of which diseases, how to get rid of such a condition

“I fall asleep on the go”, “I sit at a lecture and sleep”, “I struggle with sleep at work” - such expressions can be heard from many people, however, as a rule, they cause more jokes than compassion. Sleepiness is mainly due to lack of sleep at night, overwork, or simply boredom and monotony in life. However, fatigue after rest should pass, boredom can be dispelled by other methods, and monotony can be diversified. But for many, drowsiness does not go away from the measures taken, the person sleeps enough at night, but in the daytime, constantly holding back his yawn, he looks where it would be “more convenient to nestle”.

The feeling when you feel an irresistible desire to sleep, but there is no such possibility, frankly, disgusting, capable of causing aggression towards those who interfere with this, or in general towards the whole world around. In addition, problems do not always arise only in the daytime. Imperative (irresistible) episodes during the day create the same obsessive thoughts: "I'll come - and immediately go to sleep." Not everyone succeeds, an irresistible desire can disappear after a short 10-minute sleep, frequent awakenings in the middle of the night do not give rest, nightmares often come. Tomorrow, everything will start all over again...

The problem can become the butt of jokes

With rare exceptions, watching a sluggish and apathetic person day after day, striving to constantly “snack”, someone seriously thinks that he is not healthy. Colleagues get used to it, perceive it as indifference and indifference, and consider these manifestations more of a character trait than a pathological condition. Sometimes constant drowsiness and apathy generally become the subject of jokes and all sorts of "jokes".

Medicine "thinks" differently. She calls the excessive duration of sleep hypersomnia, and names its variants depending on the disorders, because constant sleepiness during the day does not always imply a good night's rest, even if a lot of time has been spent in bed.

From the point of view of experts, such a condition requires research, because daytime sleepiness that occurs in a person who seems to have slept enough time at night can be a symptom of a pathological condition that is not perceived by ordinary people as a disease. And how can one regard such behavior if a person does not complain, says that nothing hurts him, he sleeps well and, in principle, is healthy - just for some reason he constantly wants to sleep.

Outsiders here, of course, are unlikely to help, you need to delve into yourself and try to find the cause, and, possibly, contact a specialist.

It is not difficult to detect signs of drowsiness in oneself, they are quite “eloquent”:

• Fatigue, lethargy, loss of strength and constant obsessive yawning - these signs of poor health, when nothing hurts, prevent you from plunging into work;
• Consciousness is somewhat dulled, surrounding events do not particularly excite;
• The mucous membranes become dry;
• The sensitivity of peripheral analyzers drops;
• The heart rate is reduced.

We should not forget that the norm of sleep - 8 hours, is not suitable for all age categories. In a child up to six months, constant sleep is considered a normal state. However, as he grows and gains strength, priorities change, he wants to play more and explore the world, so there is less and less daily time for sleep. In the elderly, on the contrary, the older the person, the more he needs not to go far from the sofa.

Still fixable

The modern rhythm of life predisposes to neuropsychic overloads, which, to a greater extent than physical ones, can lead to sleep disorders. Temporary fatigue, although manifested by drowsiness (the same temporary), but quickly passes when the body rests, and then sleep is restored. It can be said that in many cases people themselves are to blame for overloading their bodies.

When does daytime sleepiness not cause concern for one's health? The reasons may be different, but, as a rule, these are transient problems of a personal nature, periodic "hands on work" at work, a cold, or a rare stay in the fresh air. Here are a few examples where the desire to organize a “quiet hour” is not considered a symptom of a serious illness:

• Lack of night sleep due to banal reasons: personal experiences, stress, caring for a newborn, a session with students, an annual report, that is, circumstances to which a person devotes a lot of time and energy to the detriment of rest.
• Chronic fatigue, which the patient himself speaks of, implies constant work (mental and physical), endless household chores, lack of time for hobbies, sports, outdoor activities and entertainment. In a word, a person was dragged into a routine, he missed the moment when the body recovered in a couple of days, with chronic fatigue, when everything has gone so far, perhaps, in addition to rest, long-term treatment will also be needed.
• Fatigue quickly makes itself felt when there is insufficient oxygen supply to the body, which causes the brain to experience starvation (hypoxia). This happens if a person works for a long time in unventilated areas, there is little fresh air in his free time. What if he smokes too?
• Lack of sunlight. It's no secret that cloudy weather, the monotonous tapping of raindrops on the glass, the rustle of leaves outside the window greatly contribute to daytime drowsiness, which is difficult to cope with.
• Lethargy, loss of strength and the need for longer sleep appears when "the fields are compressed, the groves are bare", and nature itself is about to fall into a long sleep - late autumn, winter (it gets dark early, the sun rises late).
• After a hearty meal, there is a desire to bow your head to something soft and cool. This is all the blood circulating through our vessels - it tends to the digestive organs - there is a lot of work, and at this time less blood flows to the brain and, along with it, oxygen. So it turns out that when the stomach is full, the brain is starving. Fortunately, this does not last long, so the afternoon nap passes quickly.
• Fatigue and drowsiness during the day can appear as a protective reaction of the body during psycho-emotional stress, stress, prolonged excitement.
• Taking drugs, primarily tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, hypnotics, certain antihistamines, which have lethargy and drowsiness as a direct action or side effects, can cause similar symptoms.
• A mild cold, which in most cases is carried on the legs, without a sick leave and drug treatment (the body copes on its own), is manifested by rapid fatigue, therefore, during the working day, it does not faintly fall asleep.

• Pregnancy itself, of course, is a physiological state, but the changes taking place in a woman’s body cannot be ignored, primarily regarding the ratio of hormones, which are accompanied by sleep disturbance (it’s hard to fall asleep at night, and during the day it’s not always possible).
• Hypothermia is a decrease in body temperature as a result of hypothermia. From time immemorial, people have known that, being in unfavorable conditions (blizzard, frost), the main thing is not to succumb to the temptation to rest and sleep, and from fatigue in the cold it tends to sleep incredibly: often there is a feeling of warmth, it begins to seem to a person that he is in a good place. heated room and warm bed. This is a very dangerous symptom.

However, there are conditions that are often included in the concept of "syndrome". How to perceive them? In order for the presence of such a disease to be confirmed, it is necessary not only to pass some tests and go to some fashionable examination. A person, first of all, must himself identify his problems and present specific complaints, but, unfortunately, in most cases people consider themselves healthy, and doctors, to be honest, often dismiss the “insignificant claims” of patients to their health.

Disease or normal?

Lethargy, drowsiness, daytime fatigue can give various pathological conditions, even if we do not consider them as such:

1. Apathy and lethargy, as well as the desire to sleep at the wrong time for this, appears with neurotic disorders and depressive states, which are within the competence of psychotherapists, it is better for amateurs not to meddle in such subtle matters.
2. Weakness and drowsiness, irritability and weakness, loss of strength and decreased ability to work, people suffering from sleep apnea (problems with breathing during sleep) often note in their complaints.
3. Loss of strength, apathy, weakness and drowsiness are symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, which at the present time is often repeated by both doctors and patients, but few people have seen it recorded as a diagnosis.
4. Often, lethargy and a desire to sleep during the day are noted by patients whose outpatient card contains such a “semi-diagnosis” as vegetative-vascular dystonia or neurocirculatory dystonia, or whatever else such a condition is called.
5. I want to stay longer in bed, sleep at night and during the day for people who have recently had an infection - acute, or having it in a chronic form. The immune system, trying to restore its defenses, requires rest from other systems. During sleep, the body inspects the condition of the internal organs after the disease (what damage has been caused by it?), in order to correct everything if possible.
6. Keeps you awake at night and leads to sleepiness during the day "restless legs syndrome". In such patients, doctors do not find any specific pathology, and night rest becomes a big problem.
7. Fibromyalgia. Due to what reasons and circumstances this disease appears, science is not known for certain, since, apart from excruciating pain in the whole body, disturbing peace and sleep, doctors do not find any pathology in a suffering person.
8. Alcoholism, drug addiction and other abuses in the status of "former" - in such patients, sleep is often disturbed forever, not to mention the states after withdrawal and "withdrawal".

The already long list of causes of daytime sleepiness that occurs in people who are considered to be practically healthy and able to work could be continued, which we will do in the next section, designating officially recognized pathological conditions as causes.

Cause in sleep disorder or somnological syndromes

The functions and tasks of sleep are programmed by human nature and consist in restoring the body's strength spent in the process of daytime activities. As a rule, an active life takes 2/3 of the day, about 8 hours are allotted for sleep. A healthy body, in which everything is safe and calm, life support systems are working normally, this time is more than enough - a person wakes up alert and rested, goes to work in order to return to a warm soft bed in the evening.

Meanwhile, the order that has been established since the birth of life on Earth can be destroyed by problems that are invisible at first glance, which do not allow a person to sleep at night and force him to fall asleep on the go during the day:

• Insomnia (insomnia) at night very quickly forms signs that indicate that a person is not doing well: nervousness, fatigue, impaired memory and attention, depression, loss of interest in life and, of course, lethargy and constant sleepiness during the day.
• Sleeping beauty syndrome (Kleine-Levin), the cause of which is still unclear. Almost no one considers this syndrome to be a disease, because in the intervals between attacks, patients do not differ from other people in any way and do not resemble patients. This pathology is characterized by periodically occurring (intervals from 3 months to six months) episodes of prolonged sleep (on average, 2/3 days, although it can be a day or two, or even longer). The most interesting thing is that people wake up to go to the toilet and eat. In addition to prolonged sleep during exacerbations, patients also notice other oddities: they eat a lot without controlling this process, some (males) show hypersexuality, become aggressive towards others if they try to stop voracity or hibernation.
• Idiopathic hypersomnia. This disease can haunt people up to 30 years old, so it is often mistaken for a healthy sleep of young people. It is characterized by daytime sleepiness, which occurs even in situations that require high activity (study, for example). Without looking at a long and full night's rest, awakening is difficult, a bad mood and anger do not leave a person who "got up so early" for a long time.
• Narcolepsy is a rather severe sleep disorder that is difficult to treat. It is almost impossible to get rid of drowsiness forever, having such a pathology, after symptomatic treatment, it will again declare itself. Surely, most people have not even heard a term such as narcolepsy, but such a disorder is considered by sleep experts to be one of the worst variants of hypersomnia. The thing is that it often does not give rest either during the day, causing an irresistible desire to fall asleep right at the workplace, or at night, creating obstacles to uninterrupted sleep (inexplicable anxiety, hallucinations when falling asleep that wake up, frighten, provide a bad mood and a breakdown over the next day).
• Pickwick's syndrome (specialists also call it obese hypoventilation syndrome). The description of the Pickwickian syndrome, oddly enough, belongs to the famous English writer Charles Dickens (“The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club”). Some authors argue that it was the syndrome described by C. Dickens that became the founder of a new science - somnology. Thus, having nothing to do with medicine, the writer unwittingly contributed to its development. Pickwickian syndrome is predominantly observed in people who have an impressive weight (grade 4 obesity), which puts a huge strain on the heart, presses on the diaphragm, makes it difficult to breathe, resulting in blood clotting (polycythemia) and hypoxia. Patients with Pickwick's syndrome, as a rule, already suffer from sleep apnea, their rest looks like a series of episodes of stopping and resuming respiratory activity (the starving brain, when it becomes completely unbearable, makes you breathe, interrupting sleep). Of course, during the day - fatigue, weakness and an obsessive desire to sleep. By the way, Pickwick's syndrome is sometimes observed in patients with less than the fourth degree of obesity. The origin of this disease has not been clarified, perhaps a genetic factor plays a role in its development, but the fact that all sorts of extreme situations for the body (craniocerebral trauma, stress, pregnancy, childbirth) can become an impetus for a sleep disorder is already, in general , proven.

A mysterious disease, also coming from a sleep disorder - hysterical lethargy (lethargy) is nothing more than a protective reaction of the body in response to a strong shock, stress. Of course, for drowsiness, lethargy, slowness, you can take a mild course of a mysterious illness, manifested by periodic and short-term attacks that can catch you anywhere in the daytime. Lethargic sleep, which inhibits all physiological processes and lasts for decades, certainly does not fit the category we are describing (daytime sleepiness).

Is sleepiness a sign of a serious illness?

Such a problem as constant drowsiness accompanies many pathological conditions, so there is no need to postpone it for later, perhaps it will turn out to be the symptom that will help find the true cause of the ailment, namely, a specific disease. Complaints of weakness and drowsiness, loss of strength and bad mood may give reason to suspect:

1. IDA ( Iron-deficiency anemia) - a decrease in the iron content in the body, which entails a drop in the level of hemoglobin - a protein that delivers oxygen to cells for respiration. The lack of oxygen leads to hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which is manifested by the above symptoms. Diet, fresh air and iron supplements help to get rid of this kind of drowsiness.
2. B12 deficiency anemia hemolytic anemia, some forms of leukemia - in general, conditions in which cells do not receive the amount of oxygen necessary for full functioning (basically, red blood cells, for some reason, cannot carry it to their destination).
3. A decrease in blood pressure below normal values ​​​​(usually blood pressure is taken as the norm - 120/80 mm Hg). Slow blood flow through dilated vessels also does not contribute to the enrichment of tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Especially under such circumstances, the brain suffers. Patients with low blood pressure are often dizzy, they cannot stand attractions such as swings and carousels, they are motion sick in the car. Blood pressure in hypotensive people decreases after intellectual, physical and psycho-emotional overstrain, with intoxication, lack of vitamins in the body. Hypotension often accompanies iron deficiency and other anemias, but people suffering from it are most prone to it. autonomic dysfunction(VSD of hypotonic type).
4. Diseases of the thyroid gland with a decrease in its functional abilities (hypothyroidism). Insufficiency of thyroid function naturally leads to a drop in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormones, which gives a rather diverse clinical picture, including: rapid fatigue even after slight physical exertion, memory impairment, absent-mindedness, lethargy, slowness, drowsiness, chilliness, bradycardia or tachycardia, hypotension or arterial hypertension, anemia, damage to the digestive system, gynecological problems and much more. In general, the lack of thyroid hormones makes these people quite sick, so you can hardly expect them to be very active in life, they, as a rule, always complain of a breakdown and a constant desire to sleep.
5. Pathology of the cervical spine (osteochondrosis, hernia), which leads to compression of the vessels that feed the brain.
6. Various lesions of the hypothalamus, since there are zones in it that are involved in regulating the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness;
7. Respiratory failure with hypoxemia (decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood) and hypercapnia (blood saturation with carbon dioxide) is a direct path to hypoxia and, accordingly, its manifestations.

When the reason is already known

Chronic patients, in most cases, are well aware of their pathology and know why symptoms periodically occur or constantly accompany symptoms that are not attributed to direct signs of a specific disease:

• Chronic heart failure, which disrupts many processes in the body: the respiratory system, kidneys, and brain suffer, resulting in a lack of oxygen and tissue hypoxia.
• Diseases of the excretory system (nephritis, chronic renal failure) create conditions for the accumulation in the blood of substances that are toxic to the brain;
• Chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dehydration due to acute digestive disorders (vomiting, diarrhea), characteristic of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Chronic infections (viral, bacterial, fungal) localized in various organs, and neuroinfections affecting brain tissue.
• Diabetes. Glucose is a source of energy for the body, but without insulin, it will not enter the cells (hyperglycemia). It will not get it in the right amount and with normal insulin production, but low sugar intake (hypoglycemia). Both high and low glucose levels for the body threaten with starvation, and, therefore, poor health, loss of strength and a desire to sleep more than the allotted time.
• Rheumatism, if glucocorticoids are used for its treatment, they reduce the activity of the adrenal glands, which cease to provide the patient with high vitality.
• The state after an epileptic seizure (epilepsy) the patient usually falls asleep, waking up, notes lethargy, weakness, loss of strength, but he absolutely does not remember what happened to him.
• Intoxication. Stunning of consciousness, loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are often among the symptoms of exogenous (food poisoning, poisoning with toxic substances and, most often, alcohol and its surrogates) and endogenous (liver cirrhosis, acute renal and liver failure) intoxication.

Any pathological process localized in the brain can lead to a violation cerebral circulation and oxygen starvation of his tissues, and, therefore, to the desire to sleep in the daytime (which is why they say that such patients often confuse day with night). Difficulty in blood flow in the GM, bringing it into a state of hypoxia, diseases such as atherosclerosis of the vessels of the head, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, discirculatory encephalopathy, brain tumor and many other diseases, which, together with their symptoms, are already described on our website.

Sleepiness in a child

Many of the conditions listed above can cause weakness and drowsiness in a child, but newborns, infants under one year old and older children cannot be compared.

Almost round-the-clock hibernation (with breaks only for feeding) in babies up to a year is happiness for parents if the baby is healthy. During sleep, he gains strength for growth, forms a full-fledged brain and other systems that have not yet completed their development until the moment of birth.

After six months, the duration of sleep in an infant is reduced to 15-16 hours, the baby begins to be interested in the events taking place around him, shows a desire to play, so the daily need for rest will decrease every month, reaching 11-13 hours by the year.

Abnormal drowsiness in a small child can be considered if there are signs of the disease:

• Loose stools whether its prolonged absence;
• Dry diapers or diapers for a long time (the child has stopped urinating);
• Lethargy and desire to sleep after a bruise on the head;
• Pale (or even cyanotic) skin;
• Fever;
• Loss of interest in the voices of loved ones, lack of response to affection and stroking;
• Prolonged reluctance to eat.

The appearance of one of the listed symptoms should alert parents and force them to call an ambulance without hesitation - the child must have been in trouble.

In an older child, drowsiness refers to unnatural phenomena if he sleeps normally at night and, as it seems at first glance, does not get sick. Meanwhile, the body of children better feels the influence of invisible adverse factors and responds accordingly. Weakness and drowsiness, loss of activity, indifference, loss of strength, along with "adult diseases" can cause:

• Worm infestations;
• Traumatic brain injury (concussion), which the child preferred to keep silent about;
• poisoning;
• Astheno-neurotic syndrome;
• Pathology of the blood system (anemia - deficient and hemolytic, some forms of leukemia);
• Diseases of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory organs, pathology of the endocrine system, occurring latently, without clear clinical manifestations;
• Lack of trace elements (iron, in particular) and vitamins in food;
• Permanent and prolonged stay in unventilated rooms (tissue hypoxia).

Any decrease in daily activity, lethargy and drowsiness in children are signs of ill health that should be noticed by adults and become a reason to see a doctor, especially if the child, due to his infancy, cannot yet formulate his complaints correctly. You may only have to enrich the diet with vitamins, spend more time in the fresh air or "poison" worms. But is it still better to be safe than to overlook?

Sleepiness treatment

Treatment for drowsiness? It may be, and is, but in each case - a separate one, in general, this is a treatment for the disease that makes a person struggle with sleep during the day.

Given the long list of causes of daytime sleepiness, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for how to get rid of daytime sleepiness. Perhaps a person just needs to open windows more often to let in fresh air or walk outside in the evenings and spend weekends in nature. Maybe it's time to reconsider your attitude to alcohol and smoking.

It is possible that you will need to streamline the regime of work and rest, switch to a healthy diet, take vitamins or conduct ferrotherapy. And, finally, to pass tests and undergo an examination.

In any case, you don’t need to rely too much on medications, but it’s human nature to look for the easiest and shortest ways to solve all issues. So it is with daytime sleepiness, because it is better to get some kind of medicine, take it when your eyes start to stick together, and everything will pass. However, here are a few examples:

It is difficult to give one recipe that satisfies everyone to combat daytime sleepiness for people who have completely different problems: thyroid disease, cardiovascular pathology, respiratory or digestive diseases. Nor will it be possible to prescribe the same treatment for those suffering from depression, sleep apnea, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Everyone has their own problems, and, accordingly, their own therapy, so you can’t do without an examination and a doctor.

Video: drowsiness - expert opinion