'Sleep Inertia' Fogs Morning Brain

My kids ask me a thousand questions in the morning.  “Mom, do you know where my gym shorts are?  Have you signed my report card?  Did Susie’s mom call and confirm that she’ll take me to basketball practice?”  And on it goes.  Unfortunately, in the morning I’m not very adept at answering this barrage of questions.  However, I’m not alone in being a tad slow when I first wake up.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder awakened nine healthy subjects after a full night’s sleep and asked them to make math calculations. The people conducted similar calculations every few hours for 26 consecutive hours without additional sleep. The researchers found that the subjects’ performance was worst in the first three minutes after awakening—mental sharpness was better after staying up all the next night than it was after first awakening.

This is probably a bigger problem for some people than others. For people whose jobs regularly require quick decisions just after awakening – police, firefighters, and some doctors, for example – a lack of mental sharpness, or “sleep inertia” might be a source of error or poor judgment. But even for them, there is significant variability – some people awaken quickly and are mentally sharp even before they get out of bed.

While there is much about sleep that we do not understand, it’s clear that that getting enough sleep is an important part of feeling well. This research suggests that it is also important to allow some time to pass after waking up before expecting brain function to be as good as it can be.

What should I do about sleep inertia?

Think about whether sleep inertia matters in your daily life; it may not only be an issue for people with time critical, high stress jobs such as firefighters.

It might be a good idea to take more time in the morning to wake up and get going before making important judgments or decisions. Consider setting your alarm clock for a slightly earlier time to allow a longer period of transition between sleeping and waking.

Also keep this research in mind if you’ve just awakened someone. During my medical training, I remember getting calls from nurses in the middle of the night and I’d need a few minutes to get my bearings. When the situation wasn’t an emergency, the more experienced nurses knew to wait a few minutes before expecting too much of medical interns.

If you normally find it hard to “rise and shine,” avoid taking sedative medications or alcohol before bed (and if you do, be sure to allow extra time in the morning). Many over-the-counter cold and sinus treatments contain diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl), an antihistamine that commonly causes sleepiness; this side effect can make it even more difficult to think clearly in the morning.

At least now I can tell my kids why I’m such a slow thinker in the morning. I doubt I’ll get any fewer questions, but maybe they’ll give me a little more time to respond!

Do you experience sleep inertia, or are you the kind of person who bounces out of bed each morning fully awake? What kinds of suggestion can you think of to help those of us who experience sleep inertia?

Need better sleep? Learn how to get it with Improving Sleep: A Guide to a Good Night's Rest. This special report from Harvard Medical School describes the factors that can disturb sleep, the latest in sleep research, and, most importantly, what you can do to get a good night's sleep. It also includes in-depth information on sleep disorders, including restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea.

Are you Living With Insomnia? Connect with others with similar health concerns and issues. Click here to join the group.