Why You’re Always Tired: 10 Hidden Sleep Mistakes That Are Quietly Draining Your Energy
Most people don’t realize how much their sleep struggles are connected to their lifestyle, stress levels, and daily habits. We tend to blame our mattresses, our schedules, or our genetics, but the truth is simpler: your body is exhausted, not defective. Modern life has pulled us so far out of alignment with our natural rhythms that feeling tired has become normal. This article breaks down the hidden mistakes, stress loops, and nervous system patterns that keep you wired at night, groggy in the morning, and disconnected from real rest.
Brain fog often comes from unhealthy eating and drinking. Your gut is your second brain. Be nice to it!
1. Falling asleep the second your head hits the pillow isn’t a flex; it’s a sign of exhaustion or sleep debt.
Everyone used to tell me how lucky I was to be able to fall asleep so fast! I was not lucky, my brain was tired and just needed rest. Be careful what you wish for. Healthy sleep involves a gradual wind-down where your nervous system transitions into rest mode. If you’re able to black out immediately, that is a sign that your body and brain are overridden with fatigue. I am assuming if you clicked on this article that you don’t have this issue. However, if you do relate to this, then I highly recommend learning how to space out activities throughout the day. You don’t have to complete all of your tasks at once. Take small breaks. I call this “vacationing,” and it means learning how to take 15-minute vacations between your obligations. If 15 minutes doesn’t work for you, try an hour. I know it can be hard nowadays, but you have to do your best so you can have better sleep later. Here’s an example: think about when your phone shuts down because it’s running low on battery. Keep your brain charged!
2. You might think scrolling is helping you “relax”; however, your nervous system calls it SURVIVAL MODE.
When was the last time you checked your screen time? Anything over 2 hours a day can play a huge role in our daily lives. Doom-scrolling activates your brain’s threat-detection systems. Bright screens suppress melatonin, rapid content overstimulates your reward pathways, and the emotional unpredictability keeps your mind alert. Don’t feel bad, we’ve all done this, including me. But it’s not too late to limit this behavior. This is the way I like to explain it in my office: doom-scrolling keeps your nervous system in a hypervigilant state, which in return blocks your ability to shift into a genuine reset. Your brain does not calm down, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves. My best recommendation is to keep your charger and phone at least 10 feet from you!
3. You might think you’re “used to” 6 hours, but science says your body is just quietly breaking down.
We might hear successful entrepreneurs talk about how they only need 4–6 hours of sleep. Some even consider sleep a waste of time. That is definitely not true. Just a heads-up: lack of sleep or very little sleep can increase your chances of developing other mental-health issues. Research shows that chronic short sleep increases inflammation, weakens immunity, disrupts hormones, impairs memory, slows healing, and heightens emotional reactivity. In other words, less sleep is an issue… a big issue. Even if you think you’re doing “fine,” keep in mind that your body is compensating, not thriving. It’s like your car running on reverse fuel. Your car will eventually stop. The most important message I want you to learn from this section is that there is no such thing as adapting to sleep deprivation, there is only normalizing it.
4. It’s not possible to heal in the same environment that keeps you dysregulated. Your bedroom is a mirror of your lifestyle.
Going to the gym while continuing to eat the same foods will not help! Same thing here. Your sleep space often reflects your nervous system. I have said this to my patients many times before: a cluttered room = a cluttered mind. A chaotic sleep environment signals “alertness,” not “safety.” Healing requires a space that supports rest. Think dim lights, cool temperature, calm energy, and predictable routines.
I used to work with kids a lot, and in my office there are no visible clocks. However, kids would tend to start yawning during our sessions (usually around 2:00 p.m.), which shows that their brain clock is signaling a routine check: TIME FOR SLEEP. Or maybe I was just boring them… Kidding!
5. The real reason you wake up tired isn’t your mattress; it’s your mindset, meals, and midnight cortisol spikes.
I’ve heard people switch their mattresses or pillows thinking it would help them sleep better. However, most times that’s not the problem. Late-night eating, inconsistent routines, emotional stress, poor sleep hygiene, and overthinking all activate the stress response. I know what you’re thinking: “Well, how in the world do I stop overthinking?!” (Click here to read how!)
Anyway, when your brain perceives the environment as unsafe or unpredictable, it keeps you in light sleep. Waking up tired is often less about physical comfort and more about internal dysregulation. My recommendation is to cut back on unhealthy eating and drinking at least 3–4 hours before bedtime. Our brain is connected to our gut, your gut is your second brain.
6. Weekend sleep-ins don’t fix sleep debt; they confuse your circadian rhythm and make Mondays hell.
One thing I can assure you is that you can’t make up sleep. It’s not possible. “This weekend I’m going to catch up on sleep.” It doesn’t work like that… unfortunately. Trying to catch up on sleep by waking up later on weekends can shift your internal clock by several hours. This can create a form of social jet lag and leave you groggy, irritable, and unfocused when Monday comes around. Your body thrives on consistency.
7. Waking up at 2 AM or 4 AM isn’t random; it’s your stress hormones clocking in for the night shift.
Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., cortisol naturally begins to rise. This means that when you’re stressed, inflamed, or emotionally overwhelmed, your cortisol spikes too early, jolting you awake. Your brain interprets this as a threat response, which is why returning to sleep feels impossible sometimes. Night-time awakenings are often a sign of unregulated stress, not insomnia. Stress hurts, and in this case, it hurts your sleep. Working on your stress will help prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night.
8. You don’t need more caffeine; you need more REM sleep.
My parents can drink caffeine late at night, and no, it’s not good. We are Bosnians, so our coffee is strong too. Caffeine masks fatigue, but it doesn’t repair it. Think of caffeine as a band-aid. Most people are not dealing with an energy shortage, they are suffering from a restorative sleep shortage, specifically in REM and deep sleep. These stages regulate mood, focus, memory, and emotional stability. Sometimes I think caffeine is like a memory muscle: “Let me drink some coffee, I’m tired.” Our brain picks up on patterns like no other. That’s why I mentioned earlier that our mind needs consistency. More coffee increases cortisol and disrupts those very stages, creating a cycle where you treat exhaustion with something that makes exhaustion worse.
Your “energy problem” is a recovery problem.
And I’m sorry, but no to energy drinks either!
9. You’re not “wired at night”; you’re overstimulated, dehydrated, and living in a stress loop.
“I am a night owl.”
Most people who feel awake at night aren’t night owls, they’re overwhelmed. Chronic stimulation from screens, constant notifications, unresolved stress, late-day caffeine, and dehydration activate your sympathetic nervous system. Most times, I take a whole week to write these articles that I publish every Monday because it becomes too much just staring at my screen and writing. Vacationing… as I mentioned earlier. Night-time “wired” energy is often a sign of dysregulation, not preference.
10. Hitting snooze doesn’t buy you rest; it confuses your brain and guarantees morning grogginess.
I have done this before. When your alarm goes off, your brain begins a process called the sleep-wake transition. Hitting snooze interrupts this shift and forces your body back into a light, fragmented sleep stage. Instead of feeling refreshed, you trigger sleep inertia, the heavy, foggy sensation that can last 30 minutes to 4 hours. Snoozing creates a biochemical tug-of-war between “wake up” signals and “go back to sleep” signals, leaving your brain confused and your energy unstable for the rest of the day.
If you take my advice to leave your phone 10 feet away, it will help prevent you from snoozing your alarm. Trust me, I know.
Therapist Orders
I know all of this seems like a lot of work, but it’s worth it! Getting healthy sleep will help you focus and function the next day, and in return, you’re more likely to achieve your daily goals. Always remember that brain fog often comes from your gut talking to you. Trust your gut and feed it well. And of course, follow my 10 steps.
Books I Wrote:
If you enjoyed my article, click on the name below for a few books I wrote that can help you!
