Woke up tired? Researchers indicate 4 factors that influence sleep

You sleep early, but still wake up tired the next day, feeling like you didn’t get enough sleep. Why does it happen? A new study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications Trusted Sourcedecided to investigate what changes our perception of “morning alertness” (i.e., our attention, concentration and ease of making quick decisions) and found that there are four main factors that influence how we feel in the morning.

To reach this conclusion, data were collected from a two-week period of 833 individuals aged between 18 and 65 years🇧🇷 Participants had to wear a wristwatch accelerometer throughout the study period to facilitate data collection on sleep profile and physical activity levels.

Know more: Sleeping less than 5 hours a night can increase the risk of disease

Factors such as the impact of the previous night’s sleep profile, previous day’s physical activity, breakfast nutritional composition, and post-breakfast blood sugar levels on morning alertness were evaluated. Food consumed by participants was recorded on a study app called ZOE, which funded the research.

To assess sleepiness in the morning, participants recorded morning alertness levels on an app on a scale of 0 to 100. The first classification was made at the beginning of breakfast and the following ones intermittently in the subsequent three hours.

Factors influencing morning alertness

By assessing each participant’s basic sleep profile and the foods they consumed, the scientists were able to identify factors that were associated with levels of morning alertness. Are they:

1. Sleep duration and schedule

According to the researchers, when a participant slept more than usual or woke up later than usual, they were more likely to have higher alertness levels the next morning. Therefore, if you want to wake up in a better mood, try to establish a fixed time to go to sleep and wake up, which respects the sleeping period. seven to nine hours of restideal for the body to fully recover.

2. Level of physical activity

Another factor observed was the level of physical activity. According to the researchers, higher levels of physical activity during the previous day were associated with the increased morning alertness🇧🇷 This happens because physical exercise improves the quality of sleep, so the person wakes up more rested. On the other hand, physical activity during the night was associated with lower morning alertness. Therefore, according to the study, perhaps it is better for sleep quality to train in the morning or during the 10 most active hours of the day.

Read more: Melatonin: who can take the “sleep hormone”?

3. Nutrients consumed at breakfast

The research also observed that the composition of breakfast also influences the state of morning alertness. For the study, volunteers were offered standardized meals with different nutritional compositions.

Meals included high carbohydrate, protein, and fiber for each participant and they were consumed on different days (one day a high carbohydrate meal, the other a high protein meal, and so on). According to the study, the consumption of a Carbohydrate-rich breakfast was associated with higher levels of morning alertness🇧🇷 On the other hand, high protein breakfast was associated with lower alertness levels.

4. Blood sugar levels after breakfast

Finally, the researchers also examined how changes in blood sugar level after breakfast consumption influenced morning alertness levels. Regardless of the composition of the breakfast (with more or less carbohydrates or proteins), a lower blood glycemic load after breakfast was associated with greater morning alertness.

Therefore, according to the authors, it is not enough to just eat more carbohydrates for breakfast to achieve a good state of morning alertness. You need to consume good carbs, with low glycemic index, as they have less impact on blood sugar level. In that case, it’s better to eat whole grains, such as oats and quinoa, and oilseeds for breakfast than white flour breads, sweet breads and sugary drinks, for example.