Cause of drowsy state. Constant sleepiness: causes. Causes of constant fatigue and drowsiness. Man sleeps sitting due to stomach problems

A fast-paced lifestyle, hard work, stress, and overwork negatively affect human health. As a result, weakness and drowsiness appear. Thus, adults adapt to the mental and physical stress they endure. The brain needs rest and “reboot”. Doctors point to various causes of weakness and drowsiness, ranging from simple overexertion to serious illnesses. You can alleviate a person’s general condition with the help of medications, reflexology and other effective procedures.

Symptoms accompanying weakness and drowsiness

General weakness can be caused by various conditions, and accordingly, complaints in adults can be different. Loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are accompanied by the following symptoms:

• feeling unwell when doing daily work;
• rapid and frequent fatigue, lethargy;
• lethargy, fainting in case of a sharp drop in pressure, change in body position;
• intolerance to loud speech, strong smell;
• irritability, sleep disturbance, nightmares, short temper.

The causes of weakness and drowsiness can be various diseases if a person has the following complaints:

• headache, runny nose, sore throat;
• cough, muscle and bone aches, joint pain;
• constant thirst, weight loss, noise in the ears and head;
• shortness of breath while walking, increased body temperature;
• redness of the eyes, pressure surges, abdominal pain, nausea.

The appearance of at least three symptoms simultaneously indicates that a person is suffering from some disease. To establish an accurate diagnosis, you should consult a doctor.

Anemia and weakness

Anemia is a blood disease characterized by low levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells. The first symptom to notice is pale skin and severe fatigue. In addition to these complaints, patients may indicate the following:

• headache, lethargy;
• rapid and prolonged fatigue;
• palpitations, shortness of breath, rapid fatigue and faintness during physical activity;
• sticking on the lips, distortion of taste, increased brittleness of nails and hair.

Important! With anemia, hemoglobin levels are below 110 g/l

Most of the complaints with anemia appear due to hypoxia (decreased blood oxygen levels), as a result of which the tissues do not receive the required amount of O2 (oxygen).

The following diseases are accompanied by anemia:

• posthemorrhagic (after blood loss) anemia;
• signet ring cell anemia;
• Iron-deficiency anemia;
• B12 deficiency anemia, leukemia;
• oncology of any localization;
• condition after abdominal operations;
• helminthic infestations;
• malnutrition - limited iron intake.

Adults with anemia should be careful because the disease manifests itself at very low hemoglobin levels. The first manifestation of the disease may be fainting and loss of consciousness at work. Therefore, as soon as pale skin and constant weakness and drowsiness appear, you need to visit a doctor.

Low blood pressure and drowsiness

Spikes in blood pressure can occur in both adults and young people. All this is associated with instability of the nervous system, and in the older generation - with vascular atherosclerosis.

Symptoms of low blood pressure, in addition to severe drowsiness, are:

• severe pain in the back of the head, which gradually spreads to the entire head;
• dizziness in the head with a sudden change in body position;
• severe drowsiness, especially in the afternoon;
• neck pain, lethargy and impotence, weakness in the muscles of the arms and legs.

Doctor's advice. If you are worried about sudden fatigue, you should immediately measure your blood pressure using a tonometer.

Low blood pressure can accompany the following conditions:

• orthostatic collapse, when a drop in pressure occurs after a sudden change in body position;
• overdose of antihypertensive drugs, bleeding;
• osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
• peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum), vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD);
• scalene muscle syndrome, when the muscle complex in the neck compresses the vertebral arteries;
• heart failure.

Low blood pressure very often appears in people under 20-22 years of age. In this case, the indicators are kept at the level of 90/60 mmHg. Art.

Hypothyroidism causes general weakness

The thyroid gland plays a major role in maintaining homeostasis in the body. Disease of this important organ occurs as a result of autoimmune processes, viral damage, cancer, iodine deficiency in food, and stressful situations.

Hypothyroidism is a deficiency of the thyroid gland, characterized by low levels of thyroid hormones in the blood. Patients indicate the following signs of hypothyroidism:

• I constantly want to rest and sleep;
• weakness and severe drowsiness, apathy;
• memory impairment;
• absence of usual emotions - joy, anger, surprise;
• a person ceases to be interested in the outside world;
• asthenia, or powerlessness to do anything;
• low blood pressure, heart pain, obesity;
• swelling in the legs, hair loss and dry skin.

Important! If the hair on your head falls out for no reason, you need to take a blood test for thyroid hormones

A reduced amount of thyroid hormones is observed in the following conditions:

• after surgery on the thyroid gland, autoimmune thyroiditis;
• diffuse toxic goiter, thyroid cancer.

Thyroid hormones affect the heart, nervous system, and digestive tract. Patients with hypothyroidism suffer from hypersomnia, they want to sleep all day, and it is very difficult to force themselves to work.

Weakness and drowsiness in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus mainly affects older people when there is insufficient insulin production in the body. This hormone is synthesized by the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, the body completely lacks insulin.

Important! Normal blood sugar levels are 3.3-5.5 mmol/l. In diabetes mellitus, indicators can increase to 10-15 mmol/l and higher

The symptoms of diabetes are as follows:

• dry mouth;
• with low blood sugar levels, patients report fatigue, lethargy, and faintness;
• drowsiness, fatigue, overwork;
• numbness of limbs, blurred vision;
• frequent urination - up to 5-7 liters per day, constant thirst.

Diabetes mellitus can be accompanied by a sharp drop or rise in blood glucose levels. A person who does not know about his illness cannot understand why he is always thirsty, tired and drowsy. These are signs of hyperglycemia.

With hypoglycemia, when blood glucose is below 3.3 mmol/l, patients complain of sudden general weakness, fatigue, increased sweating, trembling hands, tingling in the muscles. If you do not help a person, he faints and a coma may occur.

Other causes of weakness and drowsiness

Often the causes of drowsiness, weakness or fatigue are infectious diseases. Sometimes symptoms appear due to malnutrition.

Doctors point to the following conditions that make you always want to sleep (described below).

1. Chronic fatigue syndrome. The disease occurs in people who live in big cities, exposed to stress and overwork. A distinctive feature of the disease is the lack of relief even after a long rest.
2. Hypovitaminosis. Insufficient nutrition, a small amount of vitamins in the diet affects the functioning of the nervous system. At the same time, adults complain of moderate weakness, instability to overexertion, and fatigue.
3. Magnetic storms affect blood pressure. At the same time, I really want to sleep all the time, my head hurts, and adults feel general powerlessness.
4. Stress can overtake a person after a long and hard day of work or strong experiences. In this case, adults will want to sleep and experience headaches. For some time a person will not be able to get rid of insomnia.

Important! Sound sleep is the key to health. This rule is applicable to combat stress and fatigue.

Stressful conditions should not be treated carelessly, as this can lead to serious neurological problems. For example, a nervous breakdown often ends in depression and neurosis.

How to deal with weakness and drowsiness

First of all, to get rid of general weakness, you should change your lifestyle. A person must clearly answer the question: “Do I want to improve my health”? To do this you need:

1. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol.
2. The diet should be rich in vitamins and consist of fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime.
4. Take a contrast shower in the morning and evening. First, wash with very warm water for 10 minutes, then with cold water for 30 seconds.
5. When working at a computer, you need to rest for 5 minutes, look out the window and into the distance for 2-3 minutes. This way the eyes relax and vision is restored. Do the procedures 4-5 times a day.
6. Every morning you need to force yourself to do light exercises. They start with moderate circular movements of the head, then intensively raise their straightened arms up and lower them along the body. Then they bend the torso forward and backward, and finish with 15-20 squats. Each procedure lasts 2-3 minutes.

The doctor will tell you exactly how to get rid of lethargy and fatigue. The following medications can be used:

Doctor's advice. Taking pills for diabetes and hypothyroidism should only be done after consulting a doctor

Only a doctor can tell an adult exactly what to do with fatigue and drowsiness and what medications to use.

Update: November 2019

Drowsiness is a feeling of lethargy, fatigue, desire to sleep or, at least, to do nothing. This is a condition that normally occurs as a result of severe physical or mental fatigue.

Physiological drowsiness is a signal from the brain that it needs a break from the flow of information, that the inhibitory systems have turned on the protective mode and reduce the speed of reaction, dull the perception of all external stimuli and block the senses and cerebral cortex into a dormant mode.

Signs of drowsiness are:

• decreased acuity, yawning
• decreased sensitivity of peripheral analyzers (blunted perception)
• decrease in heart rate
• decreased secretion of the exocrine glands and dryness of the mucous membranes (lacrimal - sticking of the eyes, salivary -).

But there are also situations or conditions in which drowsiness turns into a pathological deviation or even a serious problem in a person’s life.

So why do you always want to sleep?

The main causes of constant drowsiness:

• Fatigue, both physical and mental
• Oxygen starvation of the cerebral cortex
• Increased inhibitory reactions in the central nervous system and their predominance over excitation, including against the background of medications or toxic substances
• Brain pathologies with damage to sleep centers
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Endocrine pathologies
• Diseases of internal organs leading to the accumulation in the blood of substances that suppress the activity of the cerebral cortex

Pay attention to what kind of house you live in: whether there are cell towers or power lines nearby, and how often and for how long you talk on your cell phone (see).

Physiological drowsiness

When a person is forced to stay awake for a long time, his central nervous system forcibly turns on the inhibition mode. Even within one day:

• when the eyes are overloaded (sitting for a long time at the computer, TV, etc.)
• auditory (noise in the workshop, office, etc.)
• tactile or pain receptors

a person may repeatedly fall into short-term drowsiness or the so-called “trance”, when his normal daytime alpha rhythm of the cortex is replaced by slower beta waves typical of the rapid phase of sleep (during falling asleep or dreaming). This simple technique of immersion in a trance is often used by hypnotists, psychotherapists and scammers of all stripes.

Drowsiness after eating

Many people are drawn to sleep after lunch - this can also be explained quite simply. The volume of the vascular bed exceeds the volume of blood that circulates in it. Therefore, a system of blood redistribution according to a system of priorities is always in effect. If the gastrointestinal tract is filled with food and works hard, then most of the blood is deposited or circulates in the area of ​​the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, pancreas and liver. Accordingly, during this period of active digestion the brain receives less oxygen carrier and, switching to economy mode, the cortex begins to work less actively than on an empty stomach. Because, in fact, why move if your stomach is already full.

Trivial lack of sleep

In general, a person cannot live without sleep at all. And an adult should sleep at least 7-8 hours (although historical colossi like Napoleon Bonaparte or Alexander the Great slept for 4 hours, and this did not prevent one from feeling invigorated). If a person is forcibly deprived of sleep, he will still switch off and may even sleep for a few seconds. To avoid wanting to sleep during the day, sleep at least 8 hours at night.

Stress

Another variant of physiological drowsiness is the body’s reaction to stress. If in the early stages of stress people often suffer from increased excitability and insomnia (against the background of the release of adrenaline and cortisol by the adrenal glands), then with prolonged exposure to stress factors, the adrenal glands are depleted, the release of hormones decreases, and the peak of their release shifts (for example, cortisol, released in the 5th 6 am, begins to secrete maximum by 9-10 o'clock). Similar conditions (loss of strength) are observed with or against the background of long-term use of glucocorticoids, as well as with rheumatic diseases.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women in the first trimester, against the background of hormonal changes, toxicosis, and in the last trimester, when there is a natural inhibition of the cortex by placental hormones, there may be episodes of prolonged night sleep or drowsiness during the day - this is the norm.

Why does my baby sleep all the time?

As you know, newborns and children up to six months spend most of their lives sleeping:

• newborns - if the baby is about 1-2 months old, he has no special neurological problems or somatic diseases, he typically spends up to 18 hours a day in his sleep
• 3-4 months - 16-17 hours
• up to six months - about 15-16 hours
• up to a year - how much a baby up to a year should sleep is decided by the state of his nervous system, the nature of nutrition and digestion, the daily routine in the family, on average it is from 11 to 14 hours per day.

A child spends so much time sleeping for one simple reason: his nervous system is underdeveloped at the time of birth. After all, the complete formation of the brain, completed in utero, simply would not allow the baby to be born naturally due to the head being too large.

Therefore, while in a state of sleep, the child is maximally protected from overloads of his immature nervous system, which has the opportunity to develop further in a calm mode: somewhere to correct the consequences of intrauterine or birth hypoxia, somewhere to complete the formation of the myelin sheaths of the nerves, on which the speed of nerve impulse transmission depends .

Many babies can even eat in their sleep. Children under six months of age wake up more and more from internal discomfort (hunger, intestinal colic, headache, cold, wet diapers).

A child's sleepiness may no longer be normal if he or she is seriously ill:

• if the baby vomits, has frequent loose stools, or prolonged absence of stool
• heat
• he fell or hit his head, after which some weakness and drowsiness, lethargy, pale or bluish skin appeared
• the child stopped responding to voices and touches
• does not suckle or bottle for too long (much less urinate)

It is important to urgently call an ambulance or take (carry) the child to the emergency room of the nearest children's hospital.

As for children over one year old, then their causes of sleepiness that go beyond the usual are practically the same as in infants, plus all the somatic diseases and conditions that will be described below.

Pathological drowsiness

Pathological drowsiness is also called pathological hypersomnia. This is an increase in sleep duration without an objective need for it. If a person who previously got eight hours of sleep begins to nap during the day, sleep longer in the morning, or nod off at work for no objective reason, this should lead to thoughts about problems in his body.

Acute or chronic infectious diseases

Asthenia or depletion of physical and mental strength of the body is characteristic of acute or severe chronic, especially infectious diseases. During the period of recovery from the disease, a person with asthenia may feel the need for longer rest, including daytime sleep. The most likely reason for this condition is the need to restore the immune system, which is facilitated by sleep (during it, T-lymphocytes are restored). There is also a visceral theory, according to which during sleep the body tests the functioning of internal organs, which is important after an illness.

Anemia

Close to asthenia is the condition experienced by patients with anemia (anemia, in which the level of red blood cells and hemoglobin decreases, that is, the transport of oxygen to organs and tissues by the blood deteriorates). In this case, drowsiness is included in the program of hemic hypoxia of the brain (together with lethargy, decreased ability to work, memory impairment, dizziness and even fainting). Most often manifested (with vegetarianism, bleeding, against the background of hidden iron deficiency during pregnancy or malabsorption, with chronic foci of inflammation). B12-deficiency anemia accompanies stomach diseases, stomach resections, fasting, and tapeworm infection.

Atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels

Another reason for oxygen starvation of the brain is. When the vessels supplying the brain become overgrown with plaques by more than 50%, ischemia appears (oxygen starvation of the cortex). If these are chronic cerebrovascular accidents:

• then, in addition to drowsiness, patients may suffer from headaches
• hearing and memory loss
• unsteadiness when walking
• in case of acute disturbance of blood flow, a stroke occurs (hemorrhagic when a vessel ruptures or ischemic when it thromboses). The harbingers of this formidable complication can be disturbances in thinking, noise in the head, and drowsiness.

In older people, cerebral atherosclerosis can develop relatively slowly, gradually worsening the nutrition of the cerebral cortex. That is why, for a large number of elderly people, drowsiness during the daytime becomes an obligatory companion and even somewhat softens their departure from life, gradually worsening cerebral blood flow so much that the respiratory and vasomotor automatic centers of the medulla oblongata are inhibited.

Idiopathic hypersomnia

Idiopathic hypersomnia is an independent disease that often develops in young people. It has no other cause, and the diagnosis is made by exclusion. A tendency to daytime sleepiness develops. There are moments of falling asleep during relaxed wakefulness. They are not so sharp and sudden. Like narcolepsy. Time to fall asleep in the evening is shortened. Waking up is more difficult than normal and there may be aggression. Patients with this pathology gradually weaken social and family ties, they lose professional skills and ability to work.

Narcolepsy

• This is a variant of hypersomnia with increased daytime sleep
• more restless night's sleep
• episodes of irresistible falling asleep at any time of the day
• with loss of consciousness, muscle weakness, episodes of apnea (stopping breathing)
• patients are haunted by a feeling of lack of sleep
• hallucinations may also occur when falling asleep and waking up

This pathology differs in that, unlike physiological sleep, the REM sleep phase occurs immediately and often suddenly without prior slow sleep. This is a lifelong disease.

Increased drowsiness due to intoxication

Acute or chronic poisoning of the body, to which the cortex and subcortex are most sensitive, as well as stimulation of the reticular formation, which provides inhibitory processes with various medicinal or toxic substances, leads to severe and prolonged drowsiness not only at night, but also during the daytime.

• Alcohol is the most popular household poison. After the stage of excitement during moderate intoxication (1.5-2.5%0 alcohol in the blood), as a rule, the sleep stage develops, before which there may be severe drowsiness.
• Smoking, in addition to vascular spasm, leads to a deterioration in the supply of oxygen to the cerebral cortex, promotes constant irritation and inflammation of the inner choroid, which provokes not only the development of atherosclerotic plaques, but also potentiates their cracking with thrombosis of the vascular bed, including cerebral arteries. Therefore, for about 30% of smokers, constant drowsiness and loss of energy are constant companions. But when quitting a bad habit, drowsiness can also be a concern.
• Psychotropic substances(neuroleptics,) cause severe drowsiness, which becomes chronic with prolonged use of drugs or addiction to them. Also, long-term use (especially of barbiturates) and high doses leads to drowsiness due to the activation of inhibitory processes in the central nervous system.
• Drugs (especially morphine-like drugs) also cause drowsiness.

CNS depression due to diseases of internal organs

• Chronic heart failure

• Liver diseases

Hepatic cell failure in cases of liver cancer, chronic hepatitis makes it difficult to wash the blood of protein metabolism products (see). As a result, the blood begins to contain high concentrations of substances that are toxic to the brain. Serotonin is also synthesized, and a decrease in sugar in brain tissue is observed. Lactic and pyruvic acids accumulate, causing swelling of the cortex and hyperventilation of the lungs, resulting in a deterioration in blood supply to the brain. As poisoning increases, drowsiness can develop into coma.

• Intoxication due to infections

• Neuroinfections

Neuroinfections due to influenza, herpes, and fungal infections can be accompanied by headaches, fever, drowsiness, lethargy and specific neurological symptoms.

• Dehydration

• Mental disorders

Mental disorders (cyclothymia, depression) and neurological diseases can lead to drowsiness.

Endocrine causes

• Hypothyroidism is the most typical lesion of the endocrine glands, in which severe drowsiness develops, depletion of emotions and loss of interest in life (after surgical or radiation removal of the thyroid gland). A drop in the level of thyroid hormones affects all types of metabolism, so the brain is starved, and the accumulation of fluid in the brain tissue leads to swelling of the convolutions and a deterioration in the integrative abilities of the brain.
• Hypocorticism (adrenal insufficiency) leads to low blood pressure, increased fatigue, drowsiness, loss of body weight, decreased appetite and stool instability.
• Diabetes mellitus not only affects vessels of different sizes (including cerebral ones), but also creates conditions for unstable carbohydrate balance. Fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin (with unbalanced therapy) can lead to both hypo- and hyperglycemic, as well as ketoacidotic conditions that damage the cortex and cause an increase in encephalopathy, the program of which includes drowsiness during the daytime.

Brain injuries

A concussion, brain contusion, hemorrhage under the meninges or into the substance of the brain can be accompanied by a variety of disorders of consciousness, including stupor (stunning), which resembles a prolonged sleep and can turn into a coma.

Sopor

One of the most interesting and mysterious disorders, expressed in the patient falling into a prolonged sleepy state, in which all signs of vital activity are suppressed (breathing slows down and becomes almost undetectable, the heartbeat slows down, there are no reflexes of the pupils and skin).

Lethargy in Greek means oblivion. A variety of peoples have a lot of legends about people buried alive. Typically, lethargy (which is not pure sleep, but only a significant inhibition of the functioning of the cortex and vegetative functions of the body) develops:

• for mental illness
• fasting
• nervous exhaustion
• against the background of infectious processes with dehydration or intoxication.

N.V. Gogol suffered from a similar disorder. He repeatedly fell into prolonged pathological sleep throughout his life (most likely due to neurotic disorders and anorexia). There is a version that the writer, who was bled by stupid doctors due to either typhoid fever, or severe loss of strength after starvation and neurosis from the death of his wife, did not die a natural death at all, but only fell into a prolonged lethargy, for which he was buried , as allegedly evidenced by the results of the exhumation, during which the deceased’s head was turned to one side and the coffin lid was scratched from the inside.

Thus, if you are worried about causeless fatigue, drowsiness, the causes of which are very diverse, you need the most thorough diagnosis and consultation with a doctor to clarify all the circumstances that led to such disorders.

Drowsiness is one of the types of sleep disorders, which is characterized by a constant or periodic desire to fall asleep at an unintended time, for example, during the day at work or in transport. This disorder is similar - a person’s retribution for an incorrect lifestyle. A large volume of daily information and important tasks, increasing every day, not only leads to increased fatigue, but also reduces the time allotted for sleep.

There are a great many reasons for the appearance of constant drowsiness, but mostly it is a banal lack of time, and from a medical point of view - diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Very often this condition accompanies women in the early stages of pregnancy. The main symptoms are slowness of reaction.

This disorder occurs in many diseases, which is why it plays an important role in the diagnosis of some of them, for example, in traumatic brain injuries. Often, drowsiness can occur during late pregnancy.

Etiology

As mentioned above, increased sleepiness can occur at any time, even during the day, due to a wide range of factors, divided into several groups. The first includes those causes of drowsiness that are not associated with pathologies or diseases of internal organs:

• taking medications and pills, the side effects of which are drowsiness, fatigue and dizziness. Therefore, before starting treatment with such medications, you must read the instructions;
• lack of sunlight - oddly enough, can cause this sleep disorder, because the sun's rays contribute to the release of vitamin D in the body, which is necessary for its smooth functioning;
• overwork, not only physical, but also mental or emotional;
• influence of electromagnetic radiation. For example, if a person lives close to television towers or cellular stations;
• Eating a lot of food can cause drowsiness during the day, but if you overeat at night, it will cause insomnia;
• prolonged strain on the eyes - when working at a computer or watching TV for a long time;
• there is insufficient air in the living or working space, so it is recommended to ventilate it regularly;
• vegetarianism;
• excessively high body weight;
• overstrain of auditory receptors, for example, noise at work;
• Irrational sleep patterns. Normally, a person should sleep eight hours a day, and pregnant women - up to ten;
• the body's reaction to stressful situations.

Constant drowsiness can be caused by various disorders and diseases, which make up the second group of factors:

• lack of iron in the body;
• decrease in blood pressure below the permissible norm;
• dysfunction of the thyroid gland, in case of removal of one or both halves of it;
• and the body;
• repeated cessation of breathing during sleep - apnea;
• - in which a person falls asleep for a few minutes, without feeling tired;
• a wide range of traumatic brain injuries;
• disorders of the central nervous system;
• Klein-Levin disease - during which a person falls asleep at any time, even during the day, and can sleep for several hours or several months;
• chronic inflammatory processes or infectious diseases;
• decrease in blood levels and;
• insufficient oxygen supply to the brain;
• hypersomnia - this pathological condition is characterized by a strong decrease in the period of a person’s wakefulness, accompanied by constant fatigue. In these cases, a person can sleep up to fourteen hours a day. Quite common in mental illness;
• chronic;
• liver and kidney diseases;
• the influence of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and helminths;
• oncological neoplasms;
• nervous exhaustion.

Drowsiness during pregnancy should be considered as a separate reason, because it occurs at a certain period of a woman’s life - in the early, less often in the late stages of pregnancy (it goes away after the birth of the baby). Drowsiness and fatigue in this case are absolutely normal conditions, because representatives of the fairer sex experience changes in the functioning of some internal organs and systems. If a woman feels dizzy or weak, it is best to lie down for a few minutes.

Increased sleepiness in babies under one year of age is explained by the underdevelopment of the nervous system. Therefore, it is quite normal for babies to sleep between eleven and eighteen hours a day. The causes of drowsiness in children of primary and school age are explained by a combination of the factors described above. Weakness and drowsiness in older people is a completely natural phenomenon, because all processes in the body begin to slow down. The presence of chronic diseases also contributes to this condition.

Varieties

In medical practice, the following classification of drowsiness is used, expressed in the following forms:

• mild - a person suppresses sleep and fatigue in order to continue to perform work duties, but he begins to feel sleepy when the incentive to stay awake disappears;
• moderate - a person falls asleep even while doing work. This entails social problems. Such people are not recommended to drive a car;
• severe - a person cannot remain active. It is affected by severe fatigue and dizziness. For him, the motivating factors do not matter, so they often get injured at work and become the culprits of road accidents.

For people with constant drowsiness, it does not matter when to fall asleep; sleep can occur not only at night, but also during the day.

Symptoms

Increased sleepiness in children and adults is accompanied by various symptoms. Thus, adults and elderly people experience:

• constant weakness and fatigue;
• attacks of severe dizziness;
• lethargy and distraction;
• decreased ability to work;
• memory impairment;
• loss of consciousness, but in very rare cases. This condition is often preceded by dizziness, so at the first manifestations of it you need to sit down or take a lying position.

For children and infants, drowsiness or constant sleep is normal, but if the following symptoms occur, you should seek help from a doctor:

• frequent vomiting;
• increased body temperature;
• diarrhea or lack of fecal output;
• general weakness and lethargy;
• the child has stopped latching or refuses to eat;
• acquiring a bluish tint to the skin;
• The baby does not respond to the touch or voice of the parents.

Diagnostics

In order to diagnose sleep disorders, which include excessive drowsiness, it is necessary to conduct polysomnography. It is carried out as follows - the patient is left overnight in the hospital, several sensors are attached to him, which record the functioning of the brain, respiratory system and heart rate. It is especially important to conduct such an examination if the doctor suspects that the patient has apnea, that is, a person stops breathing during sleep - the attacks do not last long, but are repeated quite often. This method is not publicly available, so it is carried out only in cases where the specialist was unable to find out the causes of drowsiness and constant fatigue by other means.

In order to exclude or confirm the occurrence of sleep disturbances due to diseases or infectious processes, the patient must contact a therapist who will conduct examinations and, if necessary, prescribe additional consultations with specialists such as, and the necessary laboratory or instrumental examinations of the patient.

In addition, monitoring of how a person falls asleep is carried out, namely, determining the time it takes him to fall asleep. If the previous examination was carried out at night, then this one was carried out during the day. The patient is given the opportunity to fall asleep five times, during each of which doctors wait for sleep to enter the second phase - if this does not occur twenty minutes after the person falls asleep, they wake him up and determine the time needed to repeat this process. This procedure will help determine the form of drowsiness and provide grounds for the doctor to prescribe the most effective treatment.

Treatment

There are several ways to get rid of drowsiness, differing depending on what the causes were. Therapy for each patient is prescribed individually.

If this process causes a disease or inflammatory process, it is necessary to eliminate it. For example, herbal medicines such as eleutherococcus or ginseng will help with low blood pressure. Preparations or tablets high in these elements can prevent daytime sleepiness. If the cause is, the patient will be helped by a complex of vitamins and minerals (with a high concentration of iron). If there is insufficient oxygen supply to the brain, the best remedy is to give up nicotine and treat vascular pathologies that may be the cause of this process. In cases where nervous system disorders, traumatic brain injury, problems with the heart and other internal organs become a factor, therapy is carried out by a specialist doctor.

It is worth paying more attention to the selection of medications if drowsiness occurs during pregnancy or in infants, because not all medications can be taken by such groups of patients.

Prevention

Since in most cases, drowsiness and the fatigue and dizziness characteristic of it appear due to completely harmless reasons, you can carry out preventive measures yourself, using:

• rational sleep pattern. A healthy adult should sleep at least eight hours a day, and preschool children and women during pregnancy - up to ten hours. It is best to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day;
• walks in the fresh air;
• daytime sleep, unless, of course, it will harm work or study;
• regular moderate physical activity;
• maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is worth giving up drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking tobacco and drugs;
• studying the instructions for medications;
• healthy eating. You should consume more fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as enrich your diet with vitamins and nutrients. Reduce intake of foods high in carbohydrates;
• sufficient fluid intake. On average, a person needs two or more liters of water per day;
• limiting coffee intake, since the drink can cause drowsiness after a short stay awake. It is best to replace coffee with weak green tea;
• undergoing a preventive examination at a medical institution several times a year, which will help prevent the development of infectious and inflammatory processes that cause this sleep disorder, fatigue and dizziness.

Modern medicine continues to search for answers to the questions of why some people used to sleep sitting up, and what benefits this could bring. A similar situation occurs today. Many adults and children note that when lying down, their level of drowsiness begins to decrease, and they cannot fall asleep for a long time. However, as soon as they sit down, read a book or watch TV, they immediately fall into a deep sleep. Is it possible to rest in this way or is sleeping in a sitting position harmful to health?

Historical reference

In the 19th century, sleeping while sitting was quite common

Historical sources say that in some European countries, including Russia, sleeping in a semi-sitting position was quite common. In this case, people do not use ordinary armchairs or sofas, but shortened sleeping wardrobes. Some of them have survived to this day. For example, in the Netherlands there is a closet in which Peter the Great rested at night, having a dream while sitting in Europe.

The prevalence of nightly rest in a sitting position in the past does not indicate its benefits to human health.

Why did people sleep sitting up in the 16th to 18th centuries? There is no reliable data explaining the reasons for this phenomenon. The most plausible hypothesis is associated with frequent feasts, when people ate fatty and protein-rich foods that took a long time to digest. In such a situation, people felt better sitting than lying down. The second theory suggests that the main benefit of such a night's rest is simply the preservation of fancy hairstyles for the fair sex.

Why does a person prefer to sleep in a sitting position?

When a person chooses to sleep while sitting, the reasons for this condition can be very different. Most often, the desire to sit at night is associated with psychological characteristics. For example, such deviations are very often observed in people who have traumatic memories from the past - they were either very scared of something in the past while lying in bed, or they have unpleasant associations with a similar situation. All this leads to the fact that when a child or adult goes to bed, he experiences a strong surge of adrenaline, which does not allow him to fall asleep. When such a person moves to a chair, the feeling of discomfort goes away, allowing him to fall asleep peacefully.

There are different reasons for sleeping while sitting

Why can’t a psychologically healthy person fall asleep? This can be caused by various diseases. Very often, people suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease, in which the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus, prefer to sleep half-sitting. This position prevents such casts and significantly reduces the level of discomfort. However, such a situation requires, first of all, treatment of the underlying disease, and not just a change in place to sleep.

The second common medical problem that explains why people sleep and sleep sitting is sleep apnea, which is periods of stopping breathing during sleep. A similar phenomenon occurs more often in a lying position, and, as a rule, is noticed by the husband or wife of a person who tells the patient about the violations. As a result, the person gets scared and prefers not to fall asleep in bed anymore.

The situation for children is slightly different from for adults. Why does a child prefer to sleep sitting up? Very often, babies take this position due to night terrors that disrupt the process of falling asleep in bed.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

Sleeping in a sitting position also occurs in patients with cardiovascular diseases. In this case, such patients sleep with pillows placed under the lower back, which relieve the load on the heart.

If a person is in a horizontal position, then a large amount of blood flows to his heart through the venous vessels. This situation can cause discomfort, shortness of breath and breathing problems in patients with heart failure of any severity. Therefore, such people receive certain benefits from sleeping semi-sitting.

Possible harm

When a child or adult sleeps sitting up for a long period of time (more than one month), it can lead to certain consequences:

• An uncomfortable posture leads to compression of the spinal arteries that supply blood to the brain. This leads to ischemia and disrupts night rest, causing drowsiness and a feeling of weakness after a night's rest;
• significant pressure on the vertebrae as a result of prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position can lead to changes in the spinal column and cause exacerbations of a number of diseases, including osteochondrosis;

Sleeping in an uncomfortable position threatens the development of spinal diseases

• similar consequences that occur in older people can cause ischemic stroke.

To restore the quality of night's rest, it is necessary to contact doctors who can select recommendations and treatment for a person.

In this regard, many doctors talk about the dangers of sleeping in a sitting position, both for adults and children.

Doctors who insist that you should not sleep while sitting give the following recommendations to people with sleep position disorders.

• If the problem is psychological in nature, then the person should contact a psychotherapist who can help in such a situation. Learning to sleep in a new position is also of certain importance, for which there are a number of special techniques. You can get acquainted with them from your attending physician or a somnologist.

If the reason for sleeping in a sitting position is caused by psychological problems, then you need to seek help from a psychotherapist

• It is necessary to ventilate the room before going to bed, use a comfortable mattress, do not overeat in the evening and do not engage in activities that excite the central nervous system.
• If you have diseases that interfere with the process of falling asleep in a lying position, you must contact a medical institution for their treatment. Early detection of diseases allows them to be quickly treated without developing negative health consequences.

Sleeping in a sitting position in a child or adult is associated with the psychological characteristics of a person or with certain diseases. Identifying the causes of this condition allows you to draw up a plan for developing the habit of sleeping while lying down and select recommendations for organizing night rest.

Agree, a state where you constantly want to lie down and sleep, which comes at the most inopportune time (during a lecture or family dinner), can significantly complicate our life. And a constant feeling of fatigue significantly reduces the quality of human life. Increased sleepiness is perceived by many as an indicator of an approaching change in weather. But in reality there are many more reasons that provoke such discomfort.

Causes of increased sleepiness

To effectively deal with any problem, you need to have an idea of ​​the source that became its catalyst. The causes of increased drowsiness are quite varied, so only a qualified specialist can determine the correct source. But a lot depends on the person himself. There are a number of factors that anyone can independently remove from the list of probable causes. This will happen after you have reviewed your daily routine, the correspondence of loads and rest time, as well as a balanced diet.

So, what reasons can cause such a state of the body? It turns out there are so many of them that it is simply impossible to list them all in one article. After all, increased drowsiness is the first signal from the brain, indicating that the cells of the central nervous system are being inhibited. The sources of this impact can be both external and internal.

External ones include:

• Living in an area with a difficult environmental situation.
• Staying for a long time in a room with limited access to fresh air (oxygen).
• Hypothermia is freezing, leading to a decrease in body temperature.
• Lack of sleep.
• High physical and emotional stress.
• Intense mental activity.
• Frequent travel and business trips associated with changes in climate and time zones.
• Taking certain pharmacological agents can also cause drowsiness. In the instructions attached to them, drowsiness is listed as a side effect of the drug.
• Magnetic storms. Difficult climatic conditions.
• Poor nutrition. Newfangled diets and long-term fasting.
• Lack of vitamins in the patient's body.
• Poor quality night's sleep: insomnia, short period of time allotted for sleep.
• Rich, dense and heavy food.
• Sedentary work.

Since the discomfort symptoms in question can be expressed as one of the symptoms of many diseases, its combination with other pathological manifestations is very important, the tandem of which allows an experienced specialist to more specifically suggest the cause of drowsiness.

Internal ones include:

• Severe diffuse changes affecting brain cells, disorders of brain stem structures.
• The patient has a history of traumatic brain injury, which leads to the formation of intracranial hematomas and swelling of brain tissue.
• Intoxication of the body, leading to hepatic or renal coma.
• Acute form of poisoning.
• One of the diseases of the cardiovascular system.
• During the period of toxicosis, which appeared in late pregnancy, preeclampsia may develop.
• Narcolepsy is a disease that has not yet been fully studied.
• Asthenic syndrome is severe nervous exhaustion.
• Hypoxia of brain cells. In this case, headache and dizziness are added.
• Pathological deviations in the functioning of the respiratory system.
• Problems with bleeding.
• Kleine-Lewin syndrome.
• Doctors separately distinguish such a disease as hypersomnia, in which the duration of sleep can be from 12 to 14 hours a day. This disease can be concomitant with diseases of a psychological nature: endogenous depression or schizophrenia.
• Vegetovascular dystonia.
• Nervous exhaustion.
• Hypotension.
• Reduced blood sugar levels in the patient (hypoglycemia).
• On the contrary, increased sugar content (hyperglycemia).
• Problems with the endocrine system can also provoke drowsiness: hypothyroidism, diabetes, excess weight.
• First trimester of pregnancy.
• A person has bad habits.
• Neoplasms of oncological and benign nature. Conducting a course of chemotherapy.

What can increased sleepiness indicate?

It is probably impossible to find a person who has never felt the condition when he begins to feel sleepy. After all, this is a normal physiological state for all living organisms. Another question is if this fact is observed quite often and at odd times, when a person’s biological clock should show a period of wakefulness.

Therefore, it is worth getting to know how the symptoms of increased sleepiness manifest themselves, and if they are felt during the daytime, then you should not dismiss this problem. After all, it is your body that gives a signal that everything is fine with it.

The symptoms in question are:

• A person cannot concentrate on doing a specific job. The brain shuts down, refusing to work.
• The eyes close.
• The level of performance decreases.
• General lethargy appears. This condition only gets worse as the day goes on.
• Often one thought beats in the brain: “I’m tired, I really want to lie down and rest.”
• Upon returning home after work, such a person loses interest in anything. He is not drawn to watch his favorite TV series or discuss a football match with friends.
• The weekend has arrived, you can lie in bed longer, but this doesn’t help, the desire to sleep still doesn’t go away. There is a need to spend the whole day in bed.

If such symptoms haunt a person for a long time, it is worth first taking a closer look at your daily routine and diet, and analyzing them. Perhaps it will be enough to spend more time in the fresh air, increase the length of rest time, and the problem will be solved. Otherwise, you cannot do without consulting a specialist.

Increased fatigue and drowsiness

If a patient is plagued by increased fatigue and drowsiness for a long time, then in most cases this tandem symptomatology indicates nervous exhaustion of the patient’s body, the so-called cerebroasthenia or neurasthenia.

The morphological basis of these pathological manifestations may well be disorders of both an organic and functional nature that affect the cells of the central nervous system.

These two symptoms may be accompanied by other abnormalities:

• Tearfulness. The human body shows emotional instability.
• Increased irritability.
• Memory impairment.
• Decreased performance.
• Decreased general tone.
• And many others.

Against the background of nervous exhaustion, a decrease in the body’s defenses occurs, which pathogenic flora invariably tries to take advantage of, and an exacerbation of diseases already present in a person’s history may also occur.

In such a situation, it is necessary to seek help from a qualified doctor who will help determine the source of the pathology. After all, only by eliminating the cause can we talk about an effective solution to the problem.

Drowsiness and increased appetite

As medical statistics show, 19% of women preparing to become mothers experience drowsiness and increased appetite in the first weeks of pregnancy, which is physiologically quite acceptable. A woman’s body undergoes significant restructuring, adapting to its new status. In this situation, you shouldn’t worry, but you shouldn’t follow your body’s lead either. Extra pounds can only add problems during pregnancy.

In such a situation, you should consult with an obstetrician-gynecologist who is managing the pregnancy. He will give the necessary recommendations that will make it easier to survive this period of time.

If the symptoms in question affect a man or woman who does not have pregnant status, a consultation with a doctor is also not recommended. After all, such a combination of symptoms may also indicate underlying health problems, which only a specialist can recognize.

Increased sleepiness during the day

Quite a lot of modern people begin to feel increased sleepiness during the daytime. This factor especially often occurs after a fairly hearty lunch, when, after eating, one begins to feel sleepy, and performance begins to sharply approach zero.

What to do in such a situation? First of all, it is necessary to establish what causes increased sleepiness during the day and, if possible, eliminate this source.

It is primarily necessary to discard those factors that a person can correct on his own.

• If he has a sedentary job, then it would not be a bad idea to periodically set a goal for himself that would allow him to get up from his workplace and move around a little. If possible, it is worth doing a series of invigorating physical exercises.
• Review your diet. Minimize the consumption of fast foods, flour products and other “junk food”. It is the quality of nutrition that is the main catalyst for drowsiness after lunch.
• It is also worth monitoring your weight. Excess kilograms add stress to the human body, quickly depleting its strength, leading to fatigue and the desire to rest, replenish your energy and internal reserves.
• A lack of oxygen in a room where people stay for a long time can also cause daytime sleepiness. Therefore, you should not neglect periodic ventilation, even if it is twenty degrees below zero outside.

To understand how deep the problem is, you need to answer a number of questions for yourself and evaluate the test results.

When answering questions, you need to decide on an answer that will bring a certain number of points to the total:

Not once – 0 points; very rarely – 1 point; moderate number of times – 2 points; quite often – 3 points.

Now try to answer these questions for yourself:

• Are you able to fall asleep while sitting on a sofa or armchair, for example, while watching a television program?
• While reading a periodical or book.
• Have you experienced bouts of drowsiness when the person was in a public place: at a lecture at the university, at the cinema, during a meeting or at a meeting with the boss.
• How much a person can switch off by falling asleep during a long trip, for example, in a car (more than an hour) or on a bus. Naturally, this question concerns passengers, not the driver of the vehicle.
• Are you able to fall asleep quickly if you lie down on a horizontal surface after a hearty lunch or dinner?
• Have there been cases when a person fell asleep right in the middle of a conversation with his interlocutor?
• If there is a quiet and calm environment around, is it possible to fall asleep at lunchtime (no alcoholic drinks were taken).
• Does the need to fall asleep during the daytime appear if a person is driving, waiting for a passenger, or stuck in a traffic jam?

By counting the points, you can independently assess how acute the problem is, which is expressed by increased drowsiness.

• If the total score exceeds 20 points, we can talk about a fairly serious problem with daytime sleep, which is the result of depletion of the central nervous system. In this case, it is unlikely that you will be able to cope with the situation on your own. The result will be better if you seek help from a doctor. A general practitioner, endocrinologist or neurologist can help with this.
• If the calculation results fall within the range of 15 to 20 points, you should not calm down. It is advisable to undergo an examination and enlist the support of a doctor - a neurologist or somnologist.
• The test indicators indicate a figure of less than 15 points, indicating a moderate stage of problems with daytime sleep. This result may indicate the patient’s systematic lack of sleep, as well as too high physical, psychological or emotional stress on the test person’s body. In such a situation, it may be sufficient to reconsider your daily routine, a balanced alternation of stress and rest, so that the problem is solved.

Increased sleepiness in a child

Our children are the same people, only small. And they can be affected by the same health problems as adults, with rare exceptions from their triggers. Let's try to understand why increased sleepiness occurs in a child and how we can help the baby in this situation?

First of all, you should take a closer look at your baby’s daily routine. At each specific age, children should spend a certain amount of time in bed. After all, the child’s body is not yet fully formed and does not yet have those vital forces that an adult body possesses. The child’s nervous system is also not perfect.

The reasons that cause drowsiness in children and related to their lifestyle include:

• Baby's lack of sleep. Research shows that children under the age of twelve should sleep at least 9 to 10 hours at night. If this fact is not met, fatigue gradually accumulates, the baby begins to be capricious, feeling overwhelmed. Memory and concentration also deteriorate, and children become distracted.
• A similar result can be obtained with excessive mental stress, for example, heavy workload at school and numerous homework tasks that take up the lion's share of home time, limiting rest time.
• Increased physical activity. Excessive interest in sports or overwhelming household responsibilities.
• Irrational diet: passion for fast food products, diet poor in vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
• A lifestyle that does not involve an active motor rhythm.
• Overweight. Unfortunately, this problem of modern society has significantly affected the child population of the planet. This mainly applies, oddly enough, to highly developed countries.
• Sometimes these symptoms can appear as a result of a long illness, when the child’s body is exhausted from fighting the disease and is trying to regain lost strength. In children, most often such diseases are infectious pathologies: sore throat, viral infections, influenza, mononucleosis, allergies and others.
• A low level of hemoglobin in the blood of a small patient can also provoke drowsiness.
• It is unfortunate, but the baby may also have low blood pressure.
• Thyroid dysfunction.
• Renal dysfunction.
• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Congenital heart defect.

In adolescence, in addition to the above reasons, causes of an astheno-neurotic nature may also be added.

• This is the fear of getting a bad grade.
• Fear of school problems, including relationships with peers and teachers.
• Anxiety before a major exam.
• Depressive state from unrequited first love, or parental divorce.
• Other similar reasons.

It is worth paying special attention if drowsiness is observed in infants, especially if the birth was difficult. The cause of infant drowsiness may be medications that the mother received during childbirth, improper introduction of complementary foods, or improper attachment to the breast.

Young parents should be wary of the following symptoms in a newborn:

• The baby's crying noticeably weakens.
• The skin of the fontanel on the newborn's head is slightly sunken.
• The baby's mucous membrane is not moist enough.
• If you lightly pinch the skin of a child, it will not straighten out for a long time.
• Body temperature indicators show elevated numbers.
• The baby pees very little, that is, the main signs of dehydration and intoxication of the body are observed.

Against this background, the baby is overcome by drowsiness and weakness. To establish the cause of this condition, you should immediately consult a pediatrician and undergo a full examination.

Increased sleepiness in the elderly

Often, increased sleepiness in older people causes confusion and a reason for jokes in young people. But no one really thinks about what causes such a picture?

The sleep procedure is a necessary process, thought out by nature, against the background of which a living organism accumulates the forces expended during the period of wakefulness. It is the body’s defense system against excessive stress (both physical and emotional). Our brain especially needs rest. Mainly during sleep, the body not only recovers, but also fights diseases as much as possible. It is for this reason that the patient is prescribed bed rest, and the body itself, in need of help, by showing drowsiness forces the person to go to bed and rest.

For older people, this problem is especially acute. An older person may want to sleep almost every minute, constantly “nosing,” which brings many unpleasant moments into their life.

If such attacks occur periodically in a person over 60, then he should take a closer look at his daily routine and diet, and also, listening to the signals of the body, try to analyze and identify the cause. Once it is found, it will be enough to eliminate it in order to get rid of or at least partially reduce the intensity of drowsiness.

• Sometimes those around you can observe the fact that older people go to bed early enough, but wake up in the middle of the night and are unable to fall asleep again for a very long time. Such a night does not bring rest in the morning. The person gets up “broken” and tired. One can also observe the involuntary transformation of “former night owls” into “larks” who rise early and are already on their feet between 5 and 7 o’clock in the morning. Constant lack of sleep does not improve the health of older people, but their nervous system, immune status, and the general condition of the body suffer significantly. It is this factor that provokes the body to “ask” its owner for more sleep, seizing every convenient moment.
• The state of the body, including the one that causes drowsiness, is also influenced by the mental balance of older people. After all, they worry about their children and grandchildren, their elderly spouse, their health, which does not allow them to do what was easily accessible before, and so on. They cannot fall asleep for a long time, trying to solve this or that problem, often spending all or part of the night without sleep.
• Eating can also lead to drowsiness. The body's metabolic processes begin to slow down over time, and problems appear with the composition of the blood: low hemoglobin, levels of sugar and other components in the blood. Old people need nutritious food, rich in vitamins, and easy to process. Modern pensions do not provide this opportunity. A pensioner is not able to buy enough meat, vegetables and fruits on his own, without the support of loved ones. The lack of nutrients necessary for the body to function properly causes rapid fatigue and the desire to lie down, saving energy.
• But the opposite problem can also cause drowsiness - excessive food consumption, extra pounds and obesity, which leads to many pathological diseases.

All household members need to be more attentive to their elderly relatives. They deserve it!

At the same time, you should not sit idly by, but you should try, if possible, to remove the catalyst causes of the problem and improve the sleep of the elderly.

• It is worth limiting their physical activity, but not limiting their physical activity. Movement is life. More movement means better sleep, and, consequently, higher overall body tone.
• Old people should spend a sufficient amount of time in the fresh air. Slow walks before bed and ventilating the room (sleeping with the window open) significantly improve the situation with falling asleep and sleep itself.
• Watch your diet. It must be complete. Don't overeat or starve. The last meal should be no later than two hours before the planned bedtime.
• You should not drink a lot of liquids shortly before going to bed. This is fraught with swelling and the need to spend time on the toilet rather than in bed.
• Try to develop a routine where an elderly person can lie down to rest during the daytime.
• Before going to bed, you can try drinking some mint tea, warm milk or honey water.
• If your health allows, you can take a bath with sea salt or an infusion of soothing herbs before going to bed.
• Remove bad habits: smoking and alcohol only upset the nervous system, exacerbating the negative situation.
• It is advisable to remove or reduce the consumption of coffee and coffee drinks, strong tea.
• The cause of drowsiness may also be a lack of sunlight. In the cold season, their deficiency can be compensated for by a fluorescent lamp (an incandescent lamp will not work).

But if the feeling of sleep practically does not go away and is not associated with the problems mentioned above, the cause of the uncomfortable situation may be one of numerous diseases. But in this case, it will not be possible to do without the help of a doctor. A thorough examination of the old person’s body and the adoption of adequate means and techniques to relieve the problem are necessary. Polysomnography, a functional diagnostic technique that allows you to obtain the basic characteristics of the functioning of the human brain during night sleep, can help in establishing a diagnosis.

Increased sleepiness during pregnancy

Conception, pregnancy and childbirth are the most important omen of a woman. During this period, the body of the expectant mother undergoes many different kinds of physiological transformations, adapting to its new status. This restructuring is often accompanied by some, not always pleasant, deviations from the normal state. Increased sleepiness during pregnancy is also quite common, which can be called the norm for this condition.

Typically, this symptom occurs in a pregnant woman in the early stages of pregnancy. The need for sleep, that is, for additional strength and energy, arises as a protective reaction of the female body to the more intense stress that the body now has to endure. After all, during this period he is experiencing a double load, so proper rest will not hurt him.

Also, during sleep, a woman’s nervous system is protected and relaxed, which is important in her situation, since she, in fact, is in a constant state of stress. Lack of sleep and inadequate rest during this period can lead to a difficult pregnancy, poor condition of the pregnant woman, and deviations in the normal development of the embryo.

What specifically causes the symptoms in question? Increased fatigue and drowsiness in a pregnant woman is caused by high levels of progesterone, a hormonal component of the female body that is responsible for maintaining and normal pregnancy. Its excessive amount relaxes smooth muscles and has a calming effect on the receptors of the central nervous system, which leads to drowsiness, partial apathy and the desire to lie down and rest.

Having dealt with this, I can give only one piece of advice. If a pregnant woman’s body requires sleep, it should not be “denied” this. It is worth extending night sleep, and, if necessary, introducing daytime sleep.

If an increased desire to sleep haunts a pregnant woman even during the second trimester of pregnancy, then such a symptom cannot always be perceived as the norm. Perhaps the body of a woman carrying a baby is burdened with anemia - a condition that develops against the background of a low content of hemoglobin or red blood cells in the blood.

If this symptomatology is accompanied by nausea, pain in the head, problems with vision, then the situation becomes even more problematic, as it may indicate the development of gestosis in the body of the expectant mother. This is a rather dangerous disease that occurs in a pregnant woman in the later stages. It is expressed by a mismatch in the functioning of almost all vital organs, especially the vascular system and blood flow. This clinical picture is a threat to both the life of the unborn baby and the woman herself.

If such symptoms appear, you must immediately notify your obstetrician/gynecologist who is monitoring the progress of the pregnancy.

In the normal course of gestation, drowsiness should disappear in the second trimester of pregnancy, and the woman’s well-being should improve. But just before giving birth (in the last weeks), drowsiness may return. At this stage of pregnancy, such a symptom is associated with a deterioration in the quality of sleep, which is caused by the fact that the fetus already has significant weight, while it is highly active, which increases the load on the mother’s spine, thereby causing pain.

If a pregnant woman has persistent sleep disturbances, it would not hurt her to seek advice from a somnologist. It is especially difficult for working women who do not have the opportunity to lie down and sleep in the middle of the working day. It is not recommended to use coffee or strong tea or other energy drinks to cheer yourself up. In such a situation, experts recommend taking periodic breaks from work and regularly airing the room. Light warm-up exercises and walks outside will not hurt.

A cyclic derivative of gamma-aminobutyric acid, the drug nootropil is prescribed orally and parenterally in a daily dosage calculated at 0.03-0.16 g per kilogram of the patient’s weight.

Parenterally, that is, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract, it is prescribed in situations where oral administration is impossible. The dosage of the drug for this type of administration corresponds to the amount recommended above. The drug is taken with a sufficient amount of liquid. The number of daily entries is from two to four.

For children, this dosage is obtained at the rate of 3.3 g daily, divided into two doses or 4 ml of a 20% solution twice a day. The duration of the drug course is prescribed by the attending doctor purely individually.

A contraindication to the prescription of nootropil may be individual intolerance to the components of the drug by the patient's body. And also in the case of hemorrhagic stroke (an acute form of cerebrovascular accident), end-stage renal dysfunction, the age of young patients up to one year (with parenteral administration of the solution) and up to three years (taking the drug in tablets and capsules).

In other cases, it is enough to adhere to basic rules of prevention so that drowsiness does not overtake a person at the most inopportune moment.

• You need to monitor your diet. Food should be energetic, but not heavy. Meals should be balanced in proteins, carbohydrates and fats, and also rich in vitamins and microelements.
• You should not overeat.
• Avoid becoming overweight.
• The last meal before bedtime should be at least two hours before bedtime.
• It is necessary to spend a sufficient amount of time outdoors. Regularly ventilate the work area and living rooms. Ideally, a person should sleep with the window open.
• Eliminate physical inactivity from your life. If a person has a sedentary job, he should get up and move as often as possible, doing a few light warm-up movements.
• A full night's sleep is necessary.
• After waking up, it would not hurt to introduce a set of exercises and taking a contrast shower into the habit.
• Make it a rule to take a comprehensive intake of vitamins and minerals or plant-derived adaptogens two to three times a year. For example, Chinese lemongrass or eleutherococcus.
• If a person has a history of pathological diseases (affecting the cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, endocrine system), he should regularly undergo maintenance therapy or stop the disease in a timely manner.
• Get rid of all your bad habits. It is advisable that no family members smoke nearby.
• It is advisable to bring physical activity back to normal, the intensity of which should alternate with rest time.
• It is necessary to harden the body.
• Avoid stressful situations.
• You should keep your immune status at a fairly high level.
• It wouldn’t hurt to find a hobby you like: yoga, fitness, dancing, morning jogging, special breathing exercises, and so on.

If you feel drowsy at an inopportune time, you can use some techniques to quickly perk up.

• A cup of sweet strong tea or coffee.
• Walk in the fresh air.
• Acupuncture massage of specific points on the body. For example, stretch the point at the base of the junction of the thumb and index finger. Another point, called ren-zhong, is located on the upper lip, directly in the central cavity (under the nose), as well as almost the entire surface of the ears. Active massaging should be carried out for one to two minutes.

But these are only temporary measures. Constant intake of coffee and other stimulants has a detrimental effect on the human body, so you should not get carried away with their use. In the future, it will not be a bad idea to undergo an examination and consult with a specialist.

If the cause of drowsiness is low atmospheric pressure, cloudy weather, or rain, you can try to distract yourself with an interesting activity, an educational book, or a fitness class or dancing.

The source of drowsiness is magnetic storms; it is necessary to harden your body by practicing walks in nature, or drink a cup of strong coffee (if the state of the human body allows this).

If the environmental situation in your area of ​​permanent residence is poor, you may be advised to do something radical and change your place of residence, choosing a cleaner area. If this option is not suitable, then we can advise installing an air purification device (an air conditioner with a similar function) in the living room; it is also worth sealing the window openings more thoroughly.

If the cause of the symptoms in question lies in a hormonal imbalance, you should be examined. After receiving the results of the study, the doctor, based on the diagnosis, is able to prescribe adequate hormonal therapy.

The source of drowsiness is vegetative-vascular dystonia - consult a doctor immediately. This disease may be a symptom of a more serious disease, therefore, it is better to play it safe and get tested than to waste precious time and then fight a more serious disease.

Almost all residents of modern cities and large cities are susceptible to chronic fatigue syndrome. To reduce the severity of the syndrome, you should spend more time in nature on weekends, learn to avoid daily stress, and so on. If necessary, seek assistance from a qualified professional.

Life is Beautiful. But if it is overshadowed by increased drowsiness, then this must be dealt with. If you want to sleep throughout the day, but the reason is known - a party that lasted the night before, then there is no reason to worry. But if these symptoms appear with noticeable regularity, it is imperative to establish its cause. It is quite possible that it will be enough to simply adjust your daily routine and diet and the problem will be successfully resolved. But if the cause is a disease that has become a catalyst for drowsiness, then the sooner it is diagnosed, the less effort will have to be made to stop it. This will cause minimal harm to the body.