For many Americans, nights with less than 7 hours of sleep are a reality. Even though medical experts state that a person who sleeps less than 7 hours a night is not functioning optimally and is more likely to suffer from fatigue, poor concentration, moodiness, and continuing cycles of insomnia. Until you can get it under control, it truly does seem like a neverending battle. Also, when you are sleep deprived, even the simplest tasks for someone rested seem daunting.

For people who constantly operate on very little sleep, many have given up on getting a good night’s rest again, unless they have a day off. After a person has one night of bad sleep, they become anxious and stressed about sleeping well the next night, and often are unable to. And we need our sleep after all the stress our body deals with during the day. Stress isn’t the only cause of poor sleep, but it continues to remain a common cause. Keep reading if you find yourself saying, “Why am I always tired?”

These are the most common causes of poor sleep:

• Technology use – using technology before bed stimulates your brain with its “blue lights”. 
• Alcohol intake – having alcohol before bed can make you drowsy at first and then awake. 
• Sleep disorder – many people are unaware they have a sleeping disorder. 
• High-stress levels – a stressful workday or financial issues can keep you up at night. 

How much sleep do you need?

The amount of sleep you need changes with age. That is common knowledge to most people as babies sleep practically all day, and the elderly often wake up at the crack of dawn. According to statistics on sleep from The Sleep Health Journal, children between the ages of 0 months and 5 years old need roughly 13 hours of sleep each day. This is usually attainable as they are not in school yet or for preschoolers, go to school for half the day. 

The Sleep Health Journal released these statistics:

• Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours each day.
• Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours each day.
• Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours each day.
• Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours each day.
• School-age children (6-13): 9-11 hours each day.
• Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours each day.
• Young adults (18-25): 7-9 hours each day.
• Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours each day.
• Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours each day.

Experts suggest adjusting your sleep schedule until you can wake up naturally without an alarm. That will show the ideal hours of sleep your body needs. I would suggest doing this on a day off and not a workday. 

Always checking your phone

Whether you are checking your work email or checking social media. This is another reason that your sleep could be affected. Seeing something in your work email or on your social media timeline could affect your mood and cause you to focus on it. Making it more difficult to sleep than if you just went to bed without checking your phone. 

Unhealthy diet

A person’s diet can affect their quality of sleep. Eating foods like eggs will make you feel better long-term instead of eating chips. Having a high-fat diet with lots of carbohydrates has been proven to lead to sleepiness during the day in comparison to more nutrient-rich foods.

Mental health

An often forgotten aspect when considering sleep is your mental health. If you are upset about a lingering concern in your life, you’re more likely to be kept up at night by those pressing thoughts. Whether this is anxiousness about work performance or sadness about a relationship, this can affect your sleep. Depression is shown to affect your sleep cycle, although that usually makes you oversleep rather than sleep too little. 

Burnout

All professions are susceptible to burnout if there is not enough work/life balance for the individual. This is especially common in the healthcare field, specifically nurses. Chronic work stress is the definition of burnout and leads to difficulty in life outside of work, with family, romantic relationships, and friends. 

Reference

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/why-am-i-so-tired-all-the-time-even-when-i-get-enough-sleep/ar-AAIcazF