Why You Always Feel Tired (Even After 8 Hours of Sleep)

Chika was never tired. She used to pride herself on being a morning person. She had her alarm set for 6:30 a.m. and did her skincare, She even went on a quick jog before work every day. But lately, something changed. She was still sleeping by 10:00 p.m. every night.

No clubbing, no Netflix till midnight. It was just her, her bed, and 8 hours of what should have been “good sleep.”

Still, every morning, she woke up feeling like she had not slept at all.

She would drag herself out of bed, down two cups of coffee, and still feel like a zombie by 11 a.m. At first, she blamed it on Lagos stress. Then, on her new boss. Then she thought, maybe it was just burnout. But weeks passed, and the exhaustion only got worse.

So, What is Really Going On?

People usually think 8 hours of sleep is the ultimate fix for tiredness. But sleep quantity is not the same as sleep quality. You can sleep for 10 hours and still feel unrested if your body is not getting the deep, healing kind of sleep it needs.

Chika did not have a disease. She was not being attacked by her village people. However, her body was not getting what it needed nutritionally, emotionally, and hormonally.

It often begins subtly.

You start staying up late watching TikToks or scrolling Twitter. You eat at 10 p.m. because you got home late. You skip breakfast the next day, survive on coffee and bread, and maybe eat something heavy around 4 p.m. No big deal, right?

Then work starts getting intense. You sit for 8 hours straight in front of a laptop. Your only movement is from your desk to your couch. You drink water “when you remember.” You eat rice and chicken, which is most likely delivered to your office, but you can not remember the last time you had an actual fruit.

At night, you are tired. Your body wants rest, but your mind is buzzing. You toss and turn before finally passing out. But even when you do, the sleep isn’t deep. You wake up groggy, annoyed, and somehow… still tired.

This cycle repeats until tired becomes your new normal.

The Hidden Reasons Behind All That Tiredness

Chika’s situation is more common than you think. Here are some of the most common (and ignored) reasons why so many young Nigerians feel drained, even after sleeping.

1. Poor Sleep Quality:
You might be getting 8 hours of sleep, but if the sleep is not deep, you will still wake up and feel like you ran a marathon in your dream. It could be that your room is too hot, too noisy, or has too much light. Maybe your neighbours have turned their generator to full blast again.

Or maybe your mind is just overthinking every night.

And if you are sleeping with your phone in your hand and still scrolling Instagram by 1 a.m., that is blue light straight into your brain. So even when you finally sleep, you are not really resting. It is not a matter of how long you sleep but how well you sleep.

2. Vitamin Deficiencies:

If your daily meal plan looks like noodles in the morning, small chops in the afternoon, and shawarma at night, your body might be shouting for help.

Energy does not come from food alone. It comes from nutrients (mostly found in properly made food, fruits and vegetables). If you are low on nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, magnesium, or vitamin D, your body will slow down. You might feel drained, cranky, and not in the mood to do much of anything, even after 8 hours of night sleep.

Energy drinks don’t count. They only give you a temporary boost.

3. Dehydration:
A lot of people think that as long as they don’t feel thirsty, they are fine. Dehydration can make you feel sleepy, sluggish, and even give you brain fog. And drinking a lot of coffee, alcohol, or fizzy drinks dehydrates you even more.

Drink water. Please. Not just when you are eating swallow. Your body needs it all day, every day.

4. Mental Burnout:
You might be in bed. You might even be physically relaxed. But your brain just resumed its own night shift, endlessly working when your body is resting.

Stress, overthinking, anxiety, money issues, WhatsApp arguments, social media comparison…all these things occupy our mind. And all of it messes with your rest too.

When you are constantly in a state of low-key stress, your body starts operating like it is in danger mode. Your cortisol (the stress hormone) goes up, your sleep quality drops, and boom! You wake up tired, again.

5. Undiagnosed Conditions:
Conditions like thyroid imbalance, anemia, and sleep apnea often go unnoticed. You might not see the signs until it becomes serious. If you’ve been feeling drained for more than 2–3 weeks and you’ve already tried “resting,” come and talk to a health professional. One simple blood test could give us answers your body has been trying to give you all along.

After her diagnosis, Chika made changes…consistent ones. She resumed walking and jogging every morning, even if it was just for 10 minutes. She swapped her cup of coffee for water. She got a vitamin supplement from Mariam Grey pharmacy. She started eating dinner earlier and made sure she unplugged from her phone at least 30 minutes before bed.

Her sleep is still 8 hours. But now, it is deeper. Her dreams have returned. She wakes up less angry and less heavy now.

The tiredness did not disappear overnight, but it stopped being her default setting.

How You Can Reclaim Your Energy

If you have been feeling like Chika, this is a simple way to start taking back control:

• Set a consistent sleep schedule (yes, even on weekends)
• Cut down on caffeine after 3 p.m.
• Check your vitamins, especially B12, iron, and magnesium (talk to a pharmacist for advice)
• Keep drinking water even if you are not thirsty.
• Move your body daily: stretch, walk, dance, do anything
• Switch off your phone before bed
• Talk to a professional if the tiredness has lingered for weeks

You Deserve to Wake Up Energized

Being tired should not be your personality. You were not born to survive on vibes and multivitamins alone. Your body is trying to talk to you. And the earlier you listen, the better you’ll feel.

At Mariam Grey Pharmacy, we help customers like Chika every day figure out what their body is missing. If what you need is a supplement, a health check, or just a conversation, you will find real advice and real solutions here.

You are not lazy. You are just exhausted.
And maybe now is the time to do something about it.