{"id":9428,"date":"2026-09-02T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drdebbie.co.za\/drdebbie\/?p=9428"},"modified":"2026-09-02T12:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:30:23","slug":"wired-and-exhausted-at-the-same-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdebbie.co.za\/drdebbie\/wired-and-exhausted-at-the-same-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Can Feel Wired and Exhausted at the Same Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Have you ever spent the entire day longing for bed, only to feel strangely awake once you finally get there?<\/p>

Let me describe a pattern I see again and again in practice. It comes from many similar conversations, rather than any one patient\u2019s story.<\/p>

If I put that repeated experience into words, it often sounds something like this:<\/p>

\u201cI wake up tired, even when I have slept for long enough. Coffee gets me through the morning, but by the afternoon I am dragging myself through the rest of the day.<\/em><\/p>

Then, when evening comes, I suddenly feel more alert. My body is exhausted, but my mind starts going again. I lie down wanting desperately to sleep, yet I cannot properly switch off. If I do fall asleep, I often wake during the night, and the next morning it starts all over again.<\/em><\/p>

But I don\u2019t think I\u2019m stressed. This is simply what my life is normally like.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

That final sentence is often an important clue.<\/p>

Exhaustion and nervous-system activation can exist together<\/strong><\/p>

We tend to imagine that an exhausted person should be able to fall asleep easily and wake feeling restored.<\/p>

But the body can be running low on energy while the nervous system continues behaving as though it needs to remain alert.<\/p>

This may feel like:<\/p>