Feeling Awful After Sleeping In

Why Do You Feel So Bad When You Sleep In?

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If you are anything like me, you look forward to the days when you don’t need to set the alarm and can get a little extra sleep in the morning. Problem is, those days never seem to arrive and when they do, I always wake up feeling lousy.

Turns out, the reason why you feel so awful after you get some extra sleep is because of your brain. When you get up every day at the same time, say like my 6:00am alarm, your brain develops a specific schedule.

Your body responds accordingly by releasing higher levels of hormones and increasing your body temperature. This way you can feel alert and as energized as possible when that time rolls around.

When you ignore this schedule, you confuse your body. Your brain doesn’t know when it should prep your body to wake up. As a result, you emerge feeling like you are suffering from jet lag – groggy, lethargic, and generally with a dull headache.

You can beat this situation by resisting the urge to sleep in altogether. But if you insist on getting a little extra shut-eye, you can set your alarm for 20-30 minutes extra. This will keep you from re-entering deep sleep and you will be able to wake up feeling as normal as usual.

If you sleep in too long by accident, get out of the bedroom and get outside or into a bright area quickly. Try to do activities that can force your body into wakefulness like light exercise or a walk around the neighborhood