Sleep or tiredness? How do we distinguish | health

that urge to tilt your head back and close your eyes after lunch; Or lounging on the couch after a day at work: We’ve all felt it, and most of the time, we use the words “sleepy” and “tired” as if they were synonyms. But they are not and they have different basic causes and ways of appearing in the body.

Therefore, it is important to know how to distinguish between signs of fatigue and drowsiness. He begins by saying, “Sleep and fatigue are like hunger and thirst.” location Fox Abhinav Singh, expert on Sleep Foundation and Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center (USA). Can they confuse? Of course, but it is resolved differently (just as hunger is satisfied with food, and thirst with drink).

How do we distinguish sleepiness and fatigue?

Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine, explains to Vox that sleepiness is characterized by a strong urge to sleep and that “symptoms” include “heavy” eyelids, frequent yawning, blurred vision, lack of coordination, difficulty concentrating, mood swings and increased irritability. It can have several causes, including lack of hours or quality of sleep due to insomnia, apnea, or other conditions that prevent a person from sleeping.

On the other hand, fatigue is “a state of physical or mental exhaustion that is usually accompanied by a lack of energy,” as the expert counters, and can manifest itself through a feeling of heaviness, exhaustion, and fatigue in the body or cognition. For example, file pressure Beth Malo, a sleep specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee (USA), adds that mental and emotional stress after a long day at work can make us feel tired, as can physical exertion or medical conditions such as anemia, diabetes or the flu.

While it may solve drowsiness, sleep may not be the best way to recover from fatigue. Who among us did not feel tired, and when he got to bed, he could not fall asleep quickly?

Beth Malo points out to Vox that when a person feels “achy” it’s fatigue, while sleepiness has to do with being able and feeling like going to sleep “anytime, anywhere.”

Abhinav Singh adds that it’s possible to feel sleepy and tired at the same time — for example, if a person slept just five hours the night before and had a hard day at work and socially. In this condition, symptoms may include irritability, difficulty concentrating, error, and increased hunger.

“catch up on sleep”

It is important to assess the origin of the urge to crawl into bed. Singh recommends that, upon waking, assess how and how long you slept during the night (that is, if you managed to sleep between seven and nine hours without interruption or anxiety).

In contrast, Beth Malow suggests another way to determine if what you’re feeling is sleepiness: using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, which allows you to rate the likelihood that a given person will fall asleep during daily activities such as watching TV or riding in a car. A car in the passenger seat. According to the specialist, if you add a score equal to or greater than ten, this means that you need to sleep longer at night or get a better sleep.

Therefore, sleep is considered by many to be the best cure for sleepiness, and a five- to ten-minute nap can help, according to Beth malo. If that’s not possible, physical activity — such as stretching, light exercise, or a walk outside — can also help wake you up. If your nighttime sleep is not satisfactory due to insomnia, regular wakings, or snoring (commonly known as “snoring”), it’s a good idea to consult a professional who can help diagnose and treat any sleep disorders.

Newspaper New York times He points out that sleepiness is linked to a chemical called adenosine, which is a neurotransmitter that dampens electrical impulses in the brain, and spikes in adenosine have been observed in several studies of sleep-deprived mice and humans.

These adenosine levels can quickly replenish after a few nights of good sleep – hence phrases like “catch up sleep” as if it were a debt. However, one Stady Published in scientific journals Trends in neurosciences, in September 2022, warns that sleep deprivation can have long-term neurological effects. The authors reject the theory that sleep is a “debt” that can be easily paid off and assert that lack of sleep can lead to permanent brain damage and an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Fatigue, a “too little algorithmic” thing

As for the source of fatigue, it can be difficult to pinpoint, as there are many factors that can contribute to feeling tired (from a busy day of meetings to the side effects of certain medications). Beth Malo, quoted by Vox, goes so far as to say that people can feel tired simply by “interacting with other people all day,” which can be resolved with time alone and not necessarily with a few hours of sleep.

A sleep specialist warns that people should see a doctor when bouts of fatigue become too frequent, as it may be necessary to run tests to determine if they suffer from, for example, thyroid disease, anemia, hormonal imbalances, or infections. It may also be necessary to adjust your diet and level of physical activity.

If the fatigue is intermittent and not associated with any health issues, Shelby Harris recommends taking regular breaks throughout the day, exposing yourself to natural light (especially in the morning), and staying hydrated. “Sitting, resting, and doing something that lowers your energy load can be really good. Maybe not interacting with other people for 30 minutes or putting your feet up,” adds Beth Malo.

“Everyone experiences fatigue and exhaustion in different ways: some people become more irritable and cranky, others become more lethargic, and others become more forgetful,” Abhinav Singh explains to Vox. “It’s very little algorithmic when it comes to causes and treatment,” he adds. It will be important to know how to differentiate.