Second Wind or Sleepy

Let’s Talk Sleep

Does anyone else have trouble sleeping at night? Do you suffer from being tired or sleepy during the day and energize at night? You too, good it’s not just me, well I did some research on the matter. 

Many people have trouble with this so-called sleep phenomenon where they are tired during the day and getting a surge of energy at night right before going to bed. This surge of energy is also referred to as a second wind and presents itself differently in many people. 

Our bodies work off a circadian alerting system, the body’s internal biological clock that helps to regulate periods of sleepiness and periods of wakefulness throughout the day, as well as homeostatic sleep which is the body’s natural drive to go to sleep as the day goes by. But during this second wind of wakefulness which happens about 2 to 3 hours before bedtime, our circadian alerting system counteracts the body’s natural urge to sleep and forces us to stay awake. 

Theories 

First Theory 

Circadian Abnormality:

There may be an abnormality in the body’s circadian rhythm. Being tired during the day and energize at night usually falls under sleep disorder or better known as circadian rhythm abnormality, which means a person’s body clock runs late giving the person a surge of energy in the evening. This type of sleep disorder is often developed in one’s late teens and is also thought to be genetic.

Theory two

Adrenal Dysfunction:

From my reading adrenal dysfunction or adrenal fatigue isn’t a medical diagnosis it’s a term used to describe nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances, and digestive problems. The adrenal gland produces a variety of hormones that are essential to life. One of the hormones that the adrenal gland produces is cortisol and when too much is produced it can make it hard for a person to go to sleep. Our adrenal glands pump cortisol in the morning when there supposed to be high and then slowly goes down during the evening. But for certain individuals with adrenal dysfunction, cortisol levels are not being turned off. So, what other hormone is suppose to be involved with sleep? Melatonin, which helps regulate the sleep-wake cycles, how this works is when cortisol is high melatonin is low, and when melatonin is high cortisol is low.  Imagine for a person who deals with stress all day long who is also producing cortisol levels all day and through the evening which makes it hard for melatonin to do its job so in the evening when the body is supposed to be getting sleepy the body is being revved up with cortisol, thus blocking sleep. 

Theory Three 

Blue Light:

We live in the age of social media, likes, and clicks and most people tend to unwind by scrolling through their phones and watching shows on their computers or their tablets. But these devices emit a blue light that boosts attention and reaction times, which combats the melatonin which helps you fall asleep. The more often you use your phone at night, the more it becomes a learned behavior so your body forms a new habit and prepares to be stimulated. This is called conditioned or learn arousal, which tells the chemicals in your brain that you should be awake or you should be aroused instead of being tired and ready for sleep.  

Tips to combat this to make the bedroom a no device zone: no computer, phones or tv’s. The bedroom should be used for relaxing and sleep. 

P/S

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read this post, I hope you found it enlightening. Want to learn more about the possible reasons you’re not getting enough sleep, reach out for a consultation and we can talk more about possible connections.

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