Why Am I More Tired in Winter? 7 Daily Patterns to Check

Why Am I More Tired in Winter? 7 Daily Patterns to Check

“Why am I more tired in winter?” may come to mind as your alarm sounds in a room that still looks like night. The Sleep Reset Blueprint will guide you through evaluating your nights and the times surrounding them. Start by observing what has changed with the season and the daily routines that have quietly disappeared.

Are you feeling sleepy or are you awake but nothing seems to be easy? How does the experience differ? A person dozing off at his desk and another who cannot find the motivation to engage in their hobby both feel “tired,” but they are in need of different types of help.

1. You are no longer getting as much daylight

During the summer months, daylight goes together with your routine activities without an appointment. The winter season requires more planning on its behalf. You go out before sunrise and come back in the dark. As NHLBI explains, light and darkness regulate the body clock. Think about how much of your working day takes place without exposure to the natural daylight.

Could lunchtime be spent outdoors or could some of your errands be done in daylight? Choose what suits the weather and your mobility. Being outside during daylight hours differs from the light therapy recommended for a health problem. The helpful starting point is understanding what outdoor moments have quietly disappeared with the season.

2. Your sleep opportunity has quietly become smaller

Dark mornings can make short nights feel like an enigmatic seasonal problem. Evaluate bedtime in relation to your work schedule, caregiving and winter travel. Perhaps the shopping trip has taken away your usual hour of preparing for bed. Calculating the hours available can help reveal the practical problem behind the feeling of your inability to simply try harder.

Shift and delegate some of your evening responsibilities if possible. If you have enough opportunities for sleeping but consistently wake up feeling unrefreshed, talk to a clinician. Loud snoring, gasping and excessive sleepiness during the day might indicate sleep apnea. A more elaborate bedtime routine cannot determine whether sleep apnea is involved.

3. You are no longer getting the movement that used to be part of your day

The evening walk disappears when the streets become icy. Gardening stops, and visiting a neighbor requires a car instead of a walk. Those changes may happen unintentionally. In January, your body may spend much more time sitting during the day.

The CDC explains sleep and anxiety benefits of physical activity. Find your alternative based on your circumstances, for example, the clear walking route indoors or scheduled movement breaks during the day. Do not exceed your capacity and consult a doctor in case of unexplained exhaustion or worsening of your symptoms after physical activity.

Attach your physical activity to some of your existing routine during the day. It is easier to remember the walking route in your building after lunch than to become a different person by Monday. Choose something you can return to when the weather forecast disappoints you again.

4. Coffee is covering up for a hard afternoon

An afternoon cup of coffee can slowly move to become a part of your way home or evening wrapping of presents. It may be worth considering when a drink becomes the answer to every drop of energy. The cup may be so familiar to you that you stopped wondering what you expect from it.

Our article about caffeine and brain fog discusses the timing, quantity and withdrawal issues. The Brain Fog Recovery Guide puts those aspects alongside the meals, hydration and focus. This perspective may be useful if the problem is related to your difficulty to think and not to the desire to sleep.

5. Meals and drinks no longer fit your workday

Hot beverage may be pleasant in winter and yet leave you without your lunch. Take a look at what is accessible during your working day. Hot soup, leftovers and sandwich made the night before may become your meal options for bad weather and busy schedule. Appetite deserves some practical arrangement.

Keep the access to your drink as well, according to your individual guidelines. Our article about dehydration and brain fog covers the connection between the two without making you diagnose yourself based on tiredness. Sometimes it is enough to wonder whether your meals and drinks became harder to fit into the day.

6. The season has added new work without the added recovery

Winter may bring additional bills, extra shifts and family obligations on top of the darker afternoons. You may be dealing with a different workload compared to September. List the work occupying the majority of your thoughts. “Everything” is an understandable answer, but mentioning one responsibility will give your conversation somewhere to start.

The Stress & Cortisol Recovery Guide suggests practical request scripts and techniques to review your responsibilities. Use them to ask for something specific and understandable for the other person: another adult taking care of an appointment, shift in household responsibilities or a quiet evening after work. Recovery needs an actual place in the week.

7. Your mood or health needs attention

Consider paying attention if your familiar activities seem less enjoyable. You may stop contacting your friends or become indifferent to your hobbies. As NIMH describes, seasonal affective disorder is depression with a seasonal recurrence. These symptoms require your attention rather than a self-punishing lecture about your gratitude or willpower.

Speak to a healthcare professional if your fatigue continues for several weeks, worsens or interferes with your daily activities. MedlinePlus explains that there are many causes of fatigue, including medications and health problems. Bring the list of changes instead of concluding that winter means you need vitamins and minerals. The appropriate assessment may help you to identify the next step.

Choose the next step corresponding to your concern

Reflect back on that dark room as your alarm went off. Would it make your morning clearer to know about your bedtime, hours of available rest or some heaviness that follows you even in the waking state? Choose one observation and either discuss it or take action. Arrange another driver if you are unable to stay alert. You are allowed to take tiredness seriously before it overwhelms you.

The Energy Reset Bundle and Action Plan provide a systematic approach to review your daily patterns related to your energy. I hope this review helps you to create room for what is asked of you by the season. The person who managed the summer's days deserves your consideration when winter changes the conditions.

Read next: Our seven habits to review for morning brain fog provides practical advice for the morning of the day. Choose the suggestion that corresponds to your morning experience.

Warm wishes & longevity to you,

Anand Patel