Do you often seriously struggle to get out of bed in the morning? Does it feel utterly impossible to rise and shine? If so, you might have dysania. People who have dysania may go right back to bed after waking up. Just the thought of getting up can lead to extreme anxiety. It may take a couple of hours for a person with dysania to get out of bed. Some people with the condition stay in bed for days.
Dysania is not a medical diagnosis but is a symptom of an underlying disorder like depression or anemia. That’s why it's important to find out what’s going on if you have dysania. Here’s everything you need to know.
Common Signs
Wondering how to tell the difference between regular fatigue and dysania? Here are some signs:
- You have to take 1 or 2 hours to get out of bed
- You feel like you physically cannot start your day
- The thought of getting up fills you with dread
- The symptoms aren’t resolved by a good night’s sleep
The symptoms can seriously impact many aspects of your life. Your family, friends, and work may not understand why you can’t function.
How Much Time Should a Person Spend in Bed?
Generally, most adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Staying in bed for 20-30 minutes beyond the time that you wake up is reasonable. However, if you find yourself staying in bed much longer than that, it could be because of dysania.
What Is the Difference Between Dysania and Bed Rotting?
Both dysania and bed rotting involve staying in bed for long periods of time but they are different. Bed rotting is a term that was popularized by TikTok. It is a trend that is especially popular among Generation Z. A person will relax in bed all day and engage in various activities like watching videos on their phone. This trend is a way to counteract the effects of feeling burnt out from school, work, and other obligations.
Like dysania, bed rotting can be a sign of a deeper issue, like depression. However, with bed rotting, the person can easily get out of bed — but chooses not to. With dysania, on the other hand, a person feels as though they can’t get out of bed.
Causes of Dysania
Again, dysania is not a medical disease or disorder. It is a symptom of another condition. The most common causes of dysania include:
- Major depressive disorder: One of the most common symptoms of depression is feeling like you can’t get out of bed in the morning.
- Heart disease: Extreme fatigue is a symptom of heart disease. A person with heart disease may find it hard to get out of bed because of fatigue.
- Diabetes: This disease can make you feel very tired. You may feel like staying in bed all the time.
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): Because they don’t get enough restorative sleep at night, people with OSA often have significant drowsiness during the day.
- Thyroid disorders: Two thyroid diseases Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism are both associated with extreme fatigue.
- Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): People with CFS experience profound fatigue in spite of getting plenty of sleep.
- Fibromyalgia: People with fibromyalgia often find it extremely difficult to get out of bed in the morning.
- Iron deficiency anemia: This type of anemia can make you feel tired and weak so just want to stay in bed.
Effects of Dysania
There are a lot of problems that come from spending too much time in bed. Dysania can lead to isolation from others and prevent you from performing basic self-care. It can be a barrier to living a full life. In addition, lying in bed for prolonged periods can cause pain, especially in the lower back. Spending too much time lying in bed can also cause stress and anxiety.
How to get help
If you have the urge to stay under the covers all day, it’s important to see your primary care physician. That’s a good sign that you have something else going on. Have an open and honest conversation with your doctor about your symptoms. Before your appointment, it can be helpful to make a list for your doctor of:
- Your symptoms
- The medicines you take
- Your sleep schedule (you can use Pillow to help you with this)
- Your family medical history
Your physician will likely run various tests to determine what the underlying cause of the dysania is.
Ways to Manage Your Symptoms
While there is no official cure or treatment for those suffering from dysania, there are some steps that can be taken to reduce the symptoms.
- Treat the underlying condition: This will go a long way toward resolving the dysania.
- Exercise daily: Working out for just 10 minutes a day can help boost your energy and reduce fatigue.
- Brighten the room: Humans are naturally programmed to wake up when daylight comes. A darkened room can make it hard to get up. Therefore, open the shades or curtains in the morning. Sunlight helps to reduce the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. This can make it easier to get out of bed.
- Review your medications: Antihistamines, muscle relaxants, and antidepressants are among some of the medications that can cause extreme fatigue. If you are taking any over-the-counter medications, make sure you let your doctor know.
- Try a stretching routine: Do a morning stretching routine that promotes wakefulness. Stretching helps increase oxygen and blood flow to the muscles. This helps wake the body up.
- Engage in recharging activities: Find fun activities to do outside of bed. Spend time with a friend, do a mindfulness activity, or try journaling.
Dysania goes way beyond simple fatigue. This condition makes it extremely tough to get out of bed. While it’s not a medical diagnosis, dysania is important because it indicates that you could have another condition causing extreme exhaustion. While you can manage the symptoms of dysania, it’s also important to talk to your doctor to find out the underlying cause.
