What is fragmented sleep and why does it matter?

Why Am I Tired Every Day

Fragmented sleep is when you experience frequent awakenings during your normal wake-sleep cycle. These may be brief disruptions or longer periods of wakefulness that are accompanied by difficulty falling back to sleep.

People that have fragmented sleep often report that their sleep does not feel refreshing and they wake up still feeling tired.

Other common symptoms of fragmented sleep include morning headaches, daytime sleepiness, memory lapses, and difficulty concentrating.

An increasing number of scientific studies are showing that there is a great impact on physical and emotional health when sleep quantity or quality is poor. (See Onyegbule C J, Muoghalu C G, Ofoegbu C C, et al. (January 13, 2025) The Impact of Poor Sleep Quality on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Quality of Life. Cureus 17(1): e77397. DOI 10.7759/cureus.77397)

Physical and Emotional Symptoms

If you aren’t getting enough sleep, it impacts more than just how tired you feel.

Blood pressure naturally varies during the sleep cycle. Interrupted sleep can prevent such normal pressure changes from occurring, and lead to increased blood pressure and cardiovascular problems.

The body is less able to use insulin after fragmented sleep, which can lead to diabetes over time.

Fragmented sleep can lead to increased cortisol, often regarded as a stress hormone.

Increased cortisol has been shown to increase appetite and decrease the ability to burn calories.

The response to stress is also amplified when sleep has been reduced or interrupted.

What causes Fragmented Sleep?

Fragmented sleep can be short term with an obvious cause, such as a new parent waking up to care for an infant, or temporary trouble sleeping due to illness. More subtle awakenings can be caused by sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, periodic limb movements, or snoring. There are also lifestyle triggers that cause poor sleep, such as caffeine and alcohol consumption, exercise too close to bedtime, and having an irregular sleep schedule.

Get A Home Sleep Test

If you experience sleep fragmentation that is ongoing (more than 2 weeks) or has less obvious reasons a home sleep test can determine the cause of your sleep interruptions.

Home sleep tests are the only way to determine if you are having breathing interruptions during the night. Depending on the severity of these interruptions you could be facing a short-term and long-term symptoms. If you have undiagnosed sleep apnea there is no amount of guided meditation, calming herbal tea, or bedtime rituals that will help. While sleep hygiene is very important for long-term sleep health, it is important to first rule out any existing sleep conditions.

Learn more about Apnova home sleep test and talk to your provider about Apnova today.