Lack of Energy and Concentration

[thisiscourtney]

I know I posted a thread here before about being tired all the time, so I tried eating healthier, getting a set routine, etc. and seriously, nothing has helped. I wake up and all I want to do is fall back asleep. Not because I hate the world or anything, but because I'm generally exhausted. I force myself to get up and all day I have this groggy feeling like it's almost time for bed when it's far from it. I feel a bit better after 10 minutes on my elliptical machine, but if I go on it for longer than 30 minutes, all I can do afterward is lay on the floor for a while.

This is also affecting my concentration. Sometimes I can barely finish reading sentences. I'm seriously lagging behind in schoolwork and I'm terrified of what will happen when I go off to college, because caffeine doesn't affect me, and I heard that's pretty much the only way you can survive during exams.

My mom says this is all because I don't sleep enough. I sleep 8-10 hours a night, and this has been happening for months. It gets worse every day. Any ideas on what could be wrong?

[CompassionateSoul]

If you wake up tired, it's either because you're not getting enough sleep, or because you don't sleep well enough. If you sleep 7-8 hours and still wake up tired, you’re probably getting poor sleep - i.e. not in a deep sleep, etc. Do you dream often? Or have multiple dreams in one night, more often than an isolated dream?

You may be suffering from a physical disorder. However, It’s more likely that your sleep is damaged by stress, bad habits or outside conditions, such as shift work or a noisy environment.
You could try going to sleep 30 minutes earlier and waking up 30 minutes earlier too. That way you can know if before you were waking up during your 'deep sleep', which is the stage of sleep where, simply put, you're least conscious.
You could also try using two alarm clocks, with the earlier one set around 40 minutes before you want to wake up, and having a more quieter, gentler chime/tune.

Or it could be that you're sleeping too much. Sleeping too much can cause you to wake up exhausted, more than 7.5 hours of sleep each night can cause this, and as you've been sleeping that long for quite a while, I think this is most likely the problem. You are definitely sleeping enough, it's either down to your quality of sleep, or over-sleeping.

When you can't get to sleep, get up and do something quiet in another room (so as not to let your mind associate your bedroom with the anxiety of sleep problems). Avoid alcohol, exercise, and big meals close to bedtime, but don't go to sleep hungry either. Also, avoid caffeine 6 hours before you go to bed it can keep you awake and on any medications/supplements containing caffeine 6 hours is the suggested minimum.

Your lack of concentration should improve once you start to feel less tired, if not, you may want to look up the causes of it, as an isolated issue. Currently, I think it's most likely connected to your tiredness.
I hope this helps.

[TheLittleNinja]

Compassionate Soul has given a fab answer above me, and there's not much more I want to add.

I will say however, that if this continues for another two weeks, I would certainly consider seeing a doctor. He may just tell that your run down with stress, and lack/excessive sleep etc.

OR, he find a physical condition - like the above poster hinted at. The first thing that sprang to my mind when I read through your post is the condition called ''Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'' or ''M.E''. As you can tell from the name, it is simply a condition where the patient is always tired to the point where they find simple activities tiring.

Maybe you could Google this idea and see if some of the symptoms match your own - but definitely see a doctor if they do :]

I hope this helps
Claire x