Log in
"Spring sleep knows no dawn" is a line from a Chinese poem meaning that spring nights are short and the weather is pleasant, so one tends to oversleep until morning. Why is it that, just as this poem suggests, when spring arrives, we tend to oversleep or feel sleepy for a long time after waking up?
Why do I feel like I'm not getting enough sleep and am always tired?
It is thought to be related to changes in the autonomic nervous system, which affects sleep and body temperature, and environmental changes in early spring.
Although cold days continue, temperatures are gradually rising. Along with this, changes appear in the body. In cold seasons, the sympathetic nervous system works actively, but as temperatures rise, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes dominant. The sympathetic nervous system is the nerve that awakens and activates the body, while the parasympathetic nervous system, conversely, works to promote rest.
During this period from winter to spring, the body has not yet fully adapted to the temperature changes, so the balance of the autonomic nervous system tends to be disrupted, and sleepiness may persist.
Furthermore, this period is also a busy time with rapid environmental changes surrounding you, such as the end of the fiscal year, graduations, transfers, and moving. Many people may not be getting enough sleep due to environmental changes and busyness. It is necessary to reconfirm your sleep status, instead of just assuming "it's spring, so I'm sleepy."
If left untreated? If sleepiness goes too far, it could be a sign of illness!
If it's just a general spring sleepiness, it should gradually improve. However, if you are chronically sleepy, if sleepiness affects your work or studies during the day, or if you don't feel rested after sleeping and fatigue doesn't go away, you may have chronic sleep deprivation, or sleep debt.
It can also be difficult to wake up in the morning if you have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, or if you are experiencing depression or depressive states. If you have sleep debt or a sleep disorder, deep sleep may occur even at dawn, making it difficult to wake up, and even if you force yourself to wake up, your head will not feel clear.
If you cannot improve it with self-measures, it is advisable to consult a sleep specialist.
Finally
While it is well known that people feel sleepy during seasonal changes like early spring, such changes are not typically felt during the autumn seasonal change. The sleepiness in early spring is believed to be partly due to decreased sympathetic nerve activity as the weather gradually warms up from the cold season.
However, in modern society, significant factors are also environmental changes such as graduations, new school years, transfers, and moving during the end and beginning of the fiscal year in March and April, which can prevent people from getting sufficient sleep.
