Overtired? Why You’re Exhausted but Can’t Sleep

You feel drained. Your body is begging to turn in for the night. Yet when you lie down, your mind refuses to shut off. And your eyes? Frustratingly open.

Sounds like you’re overtired.

“You can be completely physically and mentally exhausted, but your eyes are wide open and your brain keeps going,” explains sleep medicine specialist Samuel Gurevich, MD. “It’s like your brain and your body are at odds with one another.”

We talked with Dr. Gurevich about what it means to be overtired and how to get the sleep you need.

Symptoms of being overtired

Overtiredness is when you’re excessively tired yet feel wired at the same time. It can happen when you’re chronically sleep deprived or miss your “window” for falling asleep — leaving you stuck in limbo, somewhere between wide awake and dead tired.

Dr. Gurevich calls it high-stress exhaustion: “Your body is tired — but your brain still thinks it needs to stay alert.”

Common signs include:

• Racing thoughts: Your brain suddenly decides bedtime is the perfect time to replay conversations, plan for tomorrow or worry about everything from what your ex is doing to how you’ll ever pay down your credit card debt.
• Difficulty staying asleep: You may fall asleep briefly but wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to drift off again.
• Reaching for distractions: You might be tempted to scroll on your phone, turn on the TV or start household tasks. You think sleep isn’t in the cards, so you may as well get something accomplished.
• Sleep deprivation symptoms: The more tired you become, the more you may notice aches, pains, irritability, brain fog, poor concentration and other effects of not getting enough sleep.

Why you can’t sleep when you’re overtired

When your environment becomes quiet and distraction-free, your mind goes free range and comes up with all kinds of things to keep it entertained. And once those thoughts start gathering steam, it can be hard to hit the brakes — even when you desperately want to.

“There’s no better time to solve the world’s problems than in the middle of the night,” Dr. Gurevich quips.

What’s happening is that your fight-or-flight response is in overdrive. That keeps your brain alert and can lead to a frustrating cycle:

1. You feel exhausted.
2. Your thoughts keep you up.
3. You worry about not sleeping.
4. That worry makes you even more on edge.
5. Sleep becomes even harder.

“The more you think about sleeping, the harder it becomes,” he continues.

Things like stress, anxiety and too much caffeine late in the day can contribute to your inability to sleep. So can underlying health issues, like:

• Anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Mood disorders
• Thyroid conditions
• Anemia

Tips to help get much-needed rest

If you regularly feel overtired, improving your sleep environment and sleep habits can make a big difference.

“Sleep is a passive process — you can’t force it,” Dr. Gurevich notes. But there are some ways you can help your brain recognize that it’s time to rest.

• Create a cool, dark and quiet sleep space. A comfortable environment signals your brain that it’s time to wind down. Many people sleep best in slightly cooler rooms.
• Keep your phone and clock out of sight. Checking the time repeatedly can increase frustration and anxiety about not sleeping.
• Avoid caffeine in the evening. Caffeine can stay in your system for hours. Even foods like chocolate or drinks like green or black tea may interfere with sleep if consumed too late.
• Don’t drink alcohol before bed. While alcohol may make you feel sleepy at first, it can actually disrupt sleep. As your body metabolizes alcohol, it can lead to a middle-of-the-night “rebound awakening.”
• Build a consistent bedtime routine. Create a 15- to 20-minute wind-down routine — like reading, stretching or meditating — and stick to it every night. This helps train your brain to expect sleep. “The brain learns to expect certain things,” Dr. Gurevich explains. “When you repeat those cues every night, they can start to trigger sleepiness.”
• Exercise earlier in the day. Physical activity during the day can promote sleep. But try to finish workouts at least a few hours before bedtime so your adrenaline levels can settle down for the night.
• If you wake up at night, avoid stimulating distractions. Scrolling on your phone, watching TV or working on your computer rewards your brain for staying awake. That makes it even harder to get back to sleep.
• Give your mind a boring task. Reading a physical book can help redirect your thoughts without overstimulating your brain. “Pick something that’s not very interesting — or something you’ve already read many times,” Dr. Gurevich recommends. Eventually, your brain will lose interest, and your eyelids will get heavy.
• Try simple mental exercises. Techniques like counting sheep or visualizing numbers as you slowly count down from 100 can refocus your thoughts. “These exercises are about giving your brain a ‘side quest’ instead of letting it make up its own tasks, which typically aren’t conducive to sleep,” Dr. Gurevich says.
• Consider cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). This structured therapy helps retrain your brain’s relationship with sleep and is often more effective long term than sleep medications.

When to talk to a doctor

Occasional restless nights happen to everyone. But if you frequently experience overtiredness, it may be worth talking with a healthcare provider.

They can check for underlying conditions that can interfere with rest.

Many people who feel chronically overtired look for quick fixes, like sleep medications or supplements. But those options aren’t always the best long-term solution.

“Most sleep medications can help initially, but they’re often not sustainable,” Dr. Gurevich states. “Over time, some people develop tolerance.”

And those over-the-counter supplements? They can have side effects or interact with other medications. So, you should talk with a provider before trying them.

And if overtiredness is keeping you from getting the ZZZs you need, talking with a healthcare provider can help get to the root of the problem and find safe, effective ways to improve sleep.

Sweet dreams!