Ever had a busy day ahead of you, but you just couldn’t get out of bed? You’re probably experiencing sleep inertia.
Scientifically, “sleep inertia refers to the temporary degradation of alertness and performance,” says Dr. Abhinav Singh, sleep physician and medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center. It occurs “immediately after [waking up] after a prolonged sleep period.”
And no one’s exempt from, says Singh, who is also an expert for SleepFoundation.org and co-author of “Sleep to Heal: 7 Simple Steps to Better Sleep.”
The state can last a few minutes to a half hour for some people, but for others it can persist for even longer, he tells CNBC Make It.
To determine if that feeling you have when you’re waking up is sleep inertia, look out for symptoms like:
- Grogginess
- Disorientation
- Lowered alertness
- Decreased mental and physical performance
In honor of World Sleep Day, we asked Singh how to start each day feeling well-rested, and fortunately there are things you can do day-to-day to keep sleep inertia at bay.
3 ways to prevent sleep inertia
1. Focus on the quality and quantity of your sleep
Make sure you’re feeling rested. “If you have poor quality of sleep [and] poor quantity of sleep, that can leave you feeling more sleep inertia,” he says. “It’s like you’re trying to drive when the handbrakes are still on.”
If your sleep inertia is due to you sleeping less, it can carry on for two hours potentially and impact your ability to get things done, Singh adds.
“Let’s say you show up at work, you have a meeting at nine, and you still have sleep inertia,” he says, “you’ll still struggle to be alert [and] cognitively sharp. When responding to emails, you may not be the best.”
“All of these [things] can impact both your physical and cognitive performance, and that can cost you,” in multiple aspects of your life, including work and social relationships, Singh adds.
2. ‘Avoid social jet lag’
Heading to bed around the same time each day is key, according to Singh. “The most important…
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