Why You’re Still Tired Even After a Full Night’s Sleep

There was a season when I genuinely believed something was wrong with me.

I was going to bed early, sometimes even skipping that second shift meal, cutting caffeine after noon, and still every morning, I woke up exhausted. Not just tired. Heavy. Foggy. Drained. The kind of tired you can't shake with a nap. The kind that sinks into your bones.

Back then, I thought it was just the job. Trauma surgery doesn’t exactly lend itself to optimal recovery. Long shifts, beeping machines, back-to-back emergencies, and no time to check in with yourself… only everyone else.

But over time, I started to notice something deeper.

I’d see mentors who were working just as hard, even older than me, who somehow had more energy. One was training for a half-marathon. Another packed homemade lunches and always seemed centered. Me? I was just trying to remember if I brushed my teeth.

So I did what many of us in medicine do: I blamed it on hormones. Perimenopause maybe. Then maybe I was depressed?

I started Googling more than I care to admit.

But nothing explained the way I felt in the mornings. Or why I’d feel okay for an hour, and then completely crash by 10am. Why I had to drink coffee just to feel baseline, and then needed sugar to make it through the second half of my shift.

It wasn’t until I finally stepped back that I understood:

Fatigue isn’t just about sleep.

It’s about what you’re sleeping through.

Your Body Is Talking, You’re Just Drowning It Out

We live in a world that treats fatigue like a personality trait. If you’re not tired, you’re probably not doing enough, right?

But chronic exhaustion is a symptom. A sign. A red flag from your body that something isn’t being supported.

I started paying attention not just to how much I was sleeping, but how I was living. And what I found floored me.

My shampoo contained endocrine disruptors.
My meals, though seemingly healthy, spiked and crashed my blood sugar.
I wasn’t moving enough, but I also wasn’t resting in a restorative way.
My gut was inflamed. Constantly.

What I thought was just the wear and tear of medicine… was actually a collection of daily, cumulative stressors I had the power to change.

Clean Living Isn’t About Perfection. It’s About Clarity.

When I started removing what my body was constantly fighting processed foods, fragrance-laced products, chaotic sleep schedules, I began to experience something I hadn’t felt in years:

Energy that didn’t come from caffeine.

It didn’t happen overnight. But little by little, I could feel my brain turn back on. My skin looked less dull. My digestion improved. And I didn’t need three snacks just to get through clinic hours.

This isn’t a story about becoming some wellness guru or living off bone broth and silence.

This is about reclaiming energy that was mine all along, just buried under noise, toxins, and overwhelm.

If You’re Nodding While Reading This… You’re Not Alone

You don’t need to be in medicine to feel like you’re sleepwalking through life.

You don’t need a diagnosis to validate the constant fatigue you feel.

And you’re definitely not lazy, dramatic, or “just hormonal.”

You’re probably inflamed. You’re likely overloaded. And your body’s been trying to whisper but you’ve only ever learned to listen when it screams.

The truth is, no amount of sleeping in on Sundays can make up for what you’re exposed to Monday through Saturday.

It’s not about sleeping more.

It’s about sleeping cleaner.

Living cleaner.

Moving smarter.

Eating simpler.

What Helped Me Might Help You Too

Here’s where I started and what I share with every woman I work with today:

Audit your environment – What’s in your food, on your skin, and in your space?
Support your gut – Bloating, brain fog, skin issues… all start here.
Move, but don’t punish – Short bursts of movement > long, draining workouts.
Prioritize real rest – Not scrolling in bed. Deep, parasympathetic, body-healing rest.
Stop tolerating sh*t – Seriously. Your nervous system is not a landfill.

Here’s What I Know Now:

You can’t pour from an empty cup but most healthcare professionals are out here trying to pour from cracked glass.

You deserve energy that lasts past noon.

You deserve to wake up without dread.

You deserve a body that supports you instead of working against you.

If you’ve felt like nothing is “working” anymore, your diet, your workouts, your supplements…maybe it’s time to stop adding and start subtracting.

Remove the things that dim your light.

Reset your internal environment.

And most importantly listen to the quiet before it turns into a scream.

Why You’re Still Tired Even After a Full Night’s Sleep