A sudden party, preparing for a report, or an overly engaging series — sleepless nights happen to everyone. Problems arise when the next morning you need to take an exam, present a report to colleagues, or just get a bunch of important tasks done. Here’s how to energize if you didn’t sleep properly.
Turn on the Light and Open the Curtains
As soon as you open your eyes in the morning, try to let light into the room. For our brain, light is a signal that it's time to wake up. This is all thanks to circadian rhythms — changes that occur in the body over 24 hours. They are controlled by a special (and very small) part of the brain — the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This nucleus responds to light. When it’s dark around, it triggers the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps us sleep. Bright light works the opposite way: it energizes and wakes up the body.
Take a Cold Shower
After it, you might feel invigorated and ready to conquer mountains. Some even compare the effect of a cold shower to that of coffee. Scientists have an explanation for how this works. Cold activates the sympathetic nervous system and increases the level of norepinephrine in the blood and brain. This hormone makes the heart pump blood faster, raises blood sugar levels, and thus provides the body with energy. Thanks to norepinephrine, we wake up faster and focus on the necessary tasks.
If you find it difficult to jump into icy water right away, you can gradually acclimate yourself to it. For example, try a contrast shower — alternating between warm and cool water.
Drink Water
A glass of water after waking up is always helpful. Due to a lack of fluid in the body, dehydration can occur. This makes us feel sluggish: our head hurts and spins, and our mouth gets dry.
Fatigue is also a common sign of dehydration. When a person doesn’t drink for at least a day, their consciousness gets muddled, they feel drowsy, and they can’t concentrate. The reverse can also be true. Some studies have shown that water increases alertness. However, the results were rather subjective: participants reported their feelings.
Eat an Egg, Oatmeal, or Fatty Fish
In general, any food is a source of energy. And if you have no strength in the morning, refueling will not be superfluous. Nutritionists recommend minimally processed and nutritious foods rich in magnesium, iron, and B vitamins. These trace elements are important for energy.
Good breakfast options:
Oatmeal. A good example of whole grains. It contains magnesium, potassium, and beneficial fiber for the stomach (which also helps you feel full longer).
Fatty fish. A source of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. They, like any fats, nourish the body with energy (one gram of fat has more calories than a gram of protein or carbohydrate). These acids also support heart and brain function. These components are found not only in expensive trout and salmon but also, for example, in mackerel.
Eggs. A source of quality protein that keeps you full for a long time. They contain calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamin D (its deficiency is linked to fatigue). In 2020, Japanese scientists conducted a small study and found that the peptides and amino acids in egg whites help combat mental fatigue that arises from heavy cognitive loads.
People with anemia find it even harder to energize. Fatigue and weakness are constant companions of this condition (even if you consistently get enough sleep). To help yourself, try to raise your iron levels with red meat, fish, or seafood.
Drink Coffee
A cup of coffee in the morning really energizes. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine receptors — a substance in the body that makes us feel drowsy. As a result, it becomes easier to concentrate within half an hour. The effect of coffee lasts from several hours to a whole day.
But there are nuances. Coffee can provoke insomnia. And then you end up in a vicious circle: you won’t recover overnight, and the next morning you’ll be sluggish again. So coffee is more of a temporary measure. It cannot replace a healthy seven-hour sleep. Moreover, avid coffee drinkers have a higher risk of withdrawal syndrome. This refers to the unpleasant symptoms that a person experiences when they suddenly stop drinking coffee. These include headaches, concentration problems, bad mood, and fatigue.
The plus of coffee is that it can be combined with a daytime nap for better effect. The idea is to have caffeine "kick in" as soon as you wake up (while you sleep, your body will be absorbing it). In 1997, British scientists conducted a study. They placed 12 sleepy individuals in a driving simulator and studied how they handled monotonous driving. During breaks, some participants simply drank coffee, while others napped for another 15 minutes in the driver’s seat. It turned out that the second group made fewer mistakes on the road.
Whichever option you choose, don’t forget about the daily caffeine limit. For an adult, it’s 400 milligrams. An average cup of coffee contains 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. But caffeine is also found in tea, cola, chocolate, and cocoa. You need to account for all of it.
Take a Walk or Stretch at Home
This sounds like the last thing you want to do in the morning, especially after a sleepless night. But doctors really recommend moving around. This will get your blood flowing and make you feel more awake. According to American doctors Tony Golen and Hope Ricciotti, during movement, more mitochondria — the energy centers of cells — are produced in the muscles. They generate energy from the food and oxygen we breathe. The more there are, the more energy the body has.
Even a 15-minute walk is better than nothing. Walking is also beneficial because sunlight (like any light, in principle) energizes. And if it’s raining, windy, and muddy outside, you can do a refreshing ten-minute workout at home. For some stretching exercises, you don’t even need to get out of bed.
Try to Take a Short Nap
For those trying to fix a disrupted schedule, daytime sleep is usually not recommended. It makes it harder to fall asleep at night. But there is a special tactic that might work — it’s called a power nap. Essentially, this is a short "recharging" sleep of 10–20 minutes. According to pediatric neurologist and Doctor of Medical Sciences Sanjiv Kotari, during this time, the body doesn’t have time to enter deep sleep. And it’s the abrupt exit from deep sleep that leads to fatigue and grogginess.
One small study from 2006 showed that a short nap can indeed energize. Moreover, a 10-minute nap was found to be more effective than 20 or 30 minutes. It’s best to schedule a power nap before 3 PM. The closer to evening you decide to nap, the harder it will be to fall asleep at night.
What Not to Do
Don’t Overindulge in Sweets
Cookies, pastries, and chocolate bars quickly raise blood sugar levels and do provide energy. But the problem is that the effect is short-lived. After a couple of hours, you’ll feel sluggish again and want to eat. It’s like fueling a stove with paper — it burns quickly, and you have to keep adding more.
If you’re really craving carbohydrates, it’s better to choose slow ones — like oatmeal, quinoa, or whole grain toast. They are like good oak firewood — they burn longer and gradually raise blood sugar levels. With such long-lasting fuel, you’ll feel energetic for longer. Some people notice that after consuming carbohydrates, they feel sleepier than after a balanced or purely protein lunch. So for some, cottage cheese and an omelet might be more suitable than healthy sandwiches.
American dietitian Melanie Richter recommends starting a meal with proteins and fats, and then adding carbohydrates. For example, you can eat an egg or a piece of cheese before your porridge. This will balance your insulin and blood sugar levels, and you won’t feel tired after breakfast.
Don’t Drink Energy Drinks
There are two dangers here: too much sugar and too much caffeine. The latter is found not only in its pure form in energy drinks but also in various stimulant additives, like guarana. And with a can of a tasty cold drink, it’s easier to overdo it than with a hot espresso, so the risk is higher.
Pregnant women need to limit caffeine (and thus energy drinks). Children are advised not to drink them at all. For those who do not fall into these categories, it’s important to take precautions. At the very least, don’t mix energy drinks with alcohol (this is a direct path to a stroke), don’t drink them instead of water, and don’t replace them for a full night’s sleep (this will affect your health sooner or later).
