I sleep 8 hours a day but I still sleepy all day. I think there is something wrong with me!

I can only work for 4 hours, after than I'll be very sleepy and my mind wouldn't work anymore. I'm not depressed or anything like that. In fact, I really want to work more.

Am I sleepy all the time because I'm unhealthy?

I know the feeling !! I could sleep 14 hours if someone would let me!

You know what makes me feel better ?A multivitamin. I can notice the differance between days I take one and days I don't. Sounds too simple, but I'm serious.

Also, try a snack when you notice yourself crashing-- nothing sugary or carby-- maybe a cheese stick or a spoonful or 2 of natural peanut butter, handful of nuts.

Hope that helps !

I'd modify Leslie's advice to say when you feel like you're crashing, have a protein (cheese, pb, nuts, as mentioned) AND a bit of a carb (crackers, fruit, piece of toast). Nothing extravagant, nothing huge. You need both to really get your energy level up if it's blood-sugar related tiredness. The carbs give you energy, while the protein slows the absorption of the carbs into your body to give you level, consistent energy, not a giant spike followed by an awful, tired, crabby low.

Trying that when you feel tired for a week or so will at least tell you if your energy level is related to what you eat, how often you eat, and when you eat.

A multivitamin is another good suggestion.... Especially B vitamins or Iron (deficiencies in both cause lethargy).

Being tired all the time is NOT normal, and if the problem persists, I'd say you ought to go to a doctor. That's how I found out I was hypoglycemic.

Hope that helps

hey girl,

i went thru the same things where i was actually sleeping 12+ hours a day. i would literally wake up for my bio class comes straight back and sleep until 3 or 4 and then go to bed at nine or so. I have no idea what was wrong with me. I went to my doctor and she suggested to take a multivatimin and also anti depressants. now i know it may not seem your depressed, but you might be and just dont realize it. i didnt feel like i was depressed just really sleepy. it finally hit me that i was when i talked to my teacher and i told her that i had been sleeping but it was like a blackout sleep. i didnt dream, i couldnt feel anything and i was always tired. she told me thats how she was when her sister was killed in a car accident. so you might want to think really hard about things that have happened. if that doesnt help then go talk to your doc. you might have an embalance, either vitamins or electrolytes (SP???).

I used to be tired all the time and went to the doctor. They told me to sleep more. I had to beg to have my thyroid tested. Anyway, if you try to go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time for a couple weeks and are still tired, then I'd look into your diet. I found cutting out my yeast and sugar helped a lot. Focusing more on fresh veggies and fruit. Doctors can check out your iron, thyroid, blood sugar, etc. That might help to get to the issue. If your sleep pattern is inconsistent though, that might be the reason.

I also found working out in the morning as opposed to after work made a big difference. It gives me energy all day and I dont have that 3pm crash.

Do you dream when you sleep? Do you snore? If you aren't dreaming, you are probably not getting into the deep sleep stages, where you get real rest. If you snore, it might be an indicator of sleep apnea. I had the condition for 10 years before it was discovered during surgery - luckily the surgeon also has the condition and knew what was happening. Sleep apnea is where you stop breathing during sleep. If you think this might be the case, ask your doctor about setting up a sleep study.

If it's at all possible, go to the doctor and get checked out. I had exactly the same thing happen to me two years ago- I was sleeping upwards of 15 hours a day. Physically and mentally everything seemed fine, but I was exhausted all the time. But when I went to the doctor and mentioned that I had also been getting some severe headaches, he went as far as to do an MRI.

I never got a clear diagnosis at the time. After the better part of a year and a half dealing with these symptoms (exhaustion, headaches, etc.) they cleared up on their own. The only thing I did (the only thing I could do, since I'm not sure what was wrong) was cut out caffeine and try to get some exercise so I could normalize my sleep pattern naturally. After the fact, my doctor told me it might have been a bought of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. If you want more information, there's a great site here:

http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

I would definitely have your iron level checked!

I want to thank everyone who replies to this thread. I seriously appreciate it. Sorry I didn't reply immediately.

Anyway, I'll try taking multivitamins first. If nothing happens, I'll consider going to the doctor.

I'm still limiting my carbs because I really need to lose weight.

I had this problem when I was about 17. I was sleeping every minute that I could get away with it. I had a blood test done. Turns out I was severely anemic (iron deficient), to the point they were thinking about giving me blood. After a couple of days in the hospital, they put me on prescription iron pills, and after a couple of weeks I felt much better.

So I would get it checked out. You never know what could be causing it.

Another thing to check at the doctor is your thyroid. I was always tired and had trouble waking up no matter how long I slept. I ended up having hypothyroidism. Other symptoms include feeling cold, heavy menstruation, slow metabolism, among others. Good luck figuring it out.

I have fibromyalgia (which is so associated with sleep disorders, that many doctors believe that at least some times sleep disorders are actually the cause, since if you deliberately deprive people of sleep they begin to exhibit classic fibromyalgia symptoms), and had sleep apnea. A sleep study not only revealed the apnea, but that I do not reach the deepest, most restorative levels of sleep. The apnea disappeared after I lost only 30 lbs. Unfortunately my second sleep test didn't test for sleep levels only the apnea, but I'm feeling so much better than I'm guessing that that also has improved.

Fatigue unfortunately is caused by so many things that it can be hard to pinpoint, but it sure would be a good idea to have some testing done to test for the most obvious causes (that usually are also pretty easy to fix or treat).

Wish you well,

Thank you for replies. I appreciate it more than you know.

I'll definitely go to the doctor if I continue feeling this way. Who knows...I might actually have a serious problem. My brother is also reading your posts because we have the same problem.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I don't snore and I actually dream

I just wanted to mention..when they first did the blood tests they told me I might have cancer LOL..So..also make sure they diagnose you correctly if you do go.