June 23, 2025
Sleep is not a luxury, though it may feel like it sometimes. It’s a necessity, and when you don’t get good sleep, or enough of it, it can wreak havoc on your days.
“Sleep is your body’s maintenance time,” says Margaret Mike, MD, an MU Health Care neurologist specializing in sleep medicine. “Your body uses sleep time to repair muscles and tissues, replenish the immune system and manage all the information that came in that day. Think of your body like a car — it won’t run well without proper maintenance.”
Assessing Your Sleep Quality
Getting good sleep is critical to functioning your best. But if your sleep is low in quantity or poor quality, you’ll feel the effects — and those effects are cumulative. If you aren’t getting the recommended seven hours or more every night, it can add up.
“Chronically feeling tired often becomes the new norm when you are sleep-deprived,” Dr. Mike says. “You may not realize how tired you are until you catch up on sleep and feel better.”
You can tell whether you are sleep-deprived by looking closely at:
- Mid-afternoon slump: A dip in alertness mid-afternoon is natural and caused by internal body temperature and circadian rhythm. But if you aren’t getting enough sleep, that minor dip can feel more like a drastic drop, leaving you groggy and struggling to keep your eyes open.
- Weekend sleep: If you sleep longer on your days off and weekends than you do during the week, your body may be trying to make up for a lack of sleep. Your sleep pattern should be the same — or at least within an hour of the norm — no matter the day of the week.
If you consistently get more than seven hours of sleep and still feel tired, the quality of your sleep may be to blame. Chronic pain, health conditions and sleep issues such as restless legs, periodic limb movements or obstructive sleep apnea can affect how well you sleep.
“We go through different stages of sleep throughout the night,” Dr. Mike says. “If something keeps disrupting your sleep, that continuity is broken.”
Signs your sleep quality may not be good include:
- Adding more sleep at night or on weekends and still not feeling refreshed
- Feeling tired upon waking and throughout the day after consistently getting seven or eight hours of sleep
- Reports of snoring from your bed partner
- Waking up during the night and struggling to fall back asleep
Habits of a Tired Person That Can Sabotage Sleep
Age is not the reason adults feel tired. But with added demands on your time, sleep often gets sacrificed.
Without enough quality sleep, it’s easy to develop habits that help you push through the day. The problem, Dr. Mike says, is that you may be sabotaging your sleep with some of those “helpful” habits, such as:
Drinking Caffeine
Caffeine offers a quick pick-me-up if you’re tired. But even if you can fall asleep after having caffeine, you may not sleep well.
“Caffeine can last for eight or more hours in your system and affect your ability to stay asleep,” Dr. Mike says. “If you can drink coffee and can fall right asleep, it might be a testament to how sleep deprived you really are.”
Dr. Mike recommends having no more than three 12-ounce caffeinated beverages before 3 pm. If you still aren’t sleeping well, move the cut-off time earlier.
Having a Nightcap
Having an alcoholic drink before bed may feel relaxing and help you fall asleep. But Dr. Mike says that alcohol is a short-acting drug, and the rebound effect (when it wears off) can disrupt sleep, especially if its drank within two hours of bedtime.
Alcohol close to bedtime can also relax your throat muscles, worsening airway obstruction and the brain’s response to breathing issues in people with sleep apnea.
Napping
A nap can be a helpful supplement to your sleep occasionally, but there are rules you should follow to make sure it helps and doesn’t hinder your sleep. Make sure your nap:
- Lasts only 15 to 20 minutes, so it doesn’t impact your ability to fall or stay asleep that night
- Happens in the early afternoon and finishes at least six to eight hours before bedtime
“If you take naps as a relaxing leisure-time activity, that’s fine,” Dr. Mike says. “But if you need that nap to function, it could be cause for concern.”
Staying Up Late or Sleeping in on Weekends
Changing up your sleep schedule on weekends can have consequences. The body has many internal rhythms dictated by factors including light, eating patterns and hormone secretions. We function best when those rhythms are in sync. But if sleep is all over the place, so are those rhythms.
“Keeping a regular bedtime and rise time is fundamental to good sleep,” Dr. Mike says. “Try not to let it vary more than an hour in either direction.”
Taking Melatonin Supplements
Melatonin is a hormone that helps manage your sleep-wake cycle. But if you supplement with synthetic melatonin to improve your sleep quality, you might do more harm than good.
“Melatonin is not nature’s sleeping pill,” Dr. Mike says. “It’s the hormone of darkness, meaning that it’s secreted in higher levels in low-light situations. Melatonin can impact your internal body rhythm, but it doesn’t necessarily make you sleep.”
Some people experience side effects with melatonin, such as vivid dreams or grogginess the next day. If you use it and find it helpful, Dr. Mike says to make sure the one you use has gone through independent testing, since you can’t be sure of the purity of supplements purchased over the counter.
When to See a Doctor About Sleep
If your lack of quality sleep is affecting your daytime function, it may be time to consult a medical professional.
“When you’re tired, it can impact your concentration and coordination, affecting you almost like you are drunk,” Dr. Mike says.
If exhaustion feels new to you, a health care provider can determine whether you’ve developed a new underlying condition that might be affecting your sleep. As you age, fluctuating hormones associated with perimenopause or menopause can disrupt sleep and leave you more susceptible to sleep apnea.
In some cases, your provider may recommend a sleep study performed at home or in a sleep lab. While a home sleep study involves an oxygen monitor, airflow sensor and snore sensor, it isn’t as sensitive as a lab study. A lab sleep study allows sleep experts to also monitor your brain wave activity, rapid eye movement and periodic limb movements. They can assess your sleep patterns and the continuity of your sleep.
“Sleep studies can provide a lot of information about the quality of your sleep,” Dr. Mike says. “Our goal is to uncover the underlying reason you feel tired and get you back to feeling refreshed and ready for the day.”
Next Steps and Useful Resources
- Want to discuss more with a primary care doctor? Find one today.
- Want to learn more about causes and treatment? See our sleep medicine care options.
