Why does sitting make you tired

Instead of bogging you down, mini-breaks will buoy you and make your routine a little less routine. In a study involving more than adults, researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that feelings of depression, hostility, anger, irritability and anxiety were highest in the winter and lowest in the summer.

Sneak out for a minute walk outside at least once during the day or when you're most tired — bright light has a caffeine-like power to make you more alert, says Goodrick.

Get out even if it's cloudy; you'll get a lot more light exposure than you do in your office. If you just can't get out the door, spending a few minutes in a room that's drenched with natural light may also help. When you breathe shallowly as you do most of the time , you aren't taking in enough oxygen; as a result, you're likely to have lower levels of oxygen and higher levels of carbon monoxide in your blood, which can make you tired, says Domar.

Plus, when you don't get as much oxygen in your blood, your heart rate and blood pressure go up. That's taxing to your body. Practice breathing from your diaphragm several times each day — when you're feeling tired or you're about to go into an energy-draining situation like a laborious meeting: Put your hand over your belly button.

As you inhale, focus on making your stomach and chest move. This will automatically expand your lower lungs so you take in more air with each breath. Sitting in one position for long periods of time can sap your energy, Schwartz says. Your body equates that stillness with going to sleep.

Also, if you're staring at a screen computer or TV , you tend to blink less frequently, leading to dry eyes and eyestrain. This can put you in the mood for shut-eye. Yawn with your whole body. Stride to the bathroom. Frequent breaks will keep your body alert. Relieve eyestrain by focusing on something distant every 30 minutes or during commerical breaks, advises Margit L. Bleecker, M. Your body's internal clock craves consistency, so if you spend your weekends staying up late and then sleeping in the next morning, you're giving yourself jet lag without even leaving town, says Margaret Moline, Ph.

An erratic schedule can have a hangover effect, causing you to feel foggy long after you awaken. A study conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that even if you sleep for enough hours, you're more likely to be irritable or downbeat if you wake up at a time other than what you're used to. Stick to the guidelines of no more than 14 units a week for both men and women. Read more about tips on cutting down on alcohol.

Read more about the benefits of exercise. Too much of this stimulant, found in tea, coffee, colas and energy drinks, can upset sleep and make you feel wound-up as well as tired. Night workers often find they get tired more easily. This is more likely if the timing of the shifts keeps changing. If you're tired, you may nap during the day, which can make it more difficult to get a good night's sleep.

Read how to change your lifestyle habits to boost your energy, with the energy 'diet'. Page last reviewed: 25 March Next review due: 25 March Sleep and tiredness Secondary navigation Tiredness and fatigue The energy diet Why lack of sleep is bad for your health 10 medical reasons for feeling tired Self-help tips to fight tiredness 5 ways to wipe out winter tiredness.

How to get to sleep 10 tips to beat insomnia How to stop snoring. Steven Feinsilver, who explained that mental fatigue is just as taxing on the body as physical fatigue is. It has to do with how much oxygen read: energy your body requires to do certain things — and it turns out that your brain needs a lot.

With exercise, they will. But the brain always takes a lot of your energy. Curtis Reisinger, clinical psychologist at Zucker Hillside Hospital. Forming emotional and mental responses to the stimuli around us, too, takes physical work. Here Reisinger refers to the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett, much of whose work centers on the premise that our brains create our emotions by forming predictions based on past experiences.

And running through those scenarios, even mentally, can be exhausting. Getting more and better sleep is part of it, says Dr.