If you're on a high-altitude trek or vacation, you might be struggling with sleep and fatigue. As a company with over a decade of high-altitude experience, we'll delve into the question does high altitude make you sleepy and everything else you need to know including our best tips.
Yes, in short high altitude can make you sleepy.
Along with being sleepy, most people can experience other similar symptoms including fatigue, difficulty breathing, and insomnia.
There's much more to understand behind why this happens, which we'll explore below, and give you our top tips to help avoid sleepiness.
When you travel to high-altitude locations, the air naturally has less oxygen in the air. This is the kryptonite that can trigger altitude sickness with symptoms like sleepiness.
Julian Klapowitz MD states that altitude sickness can begin as low as 4,000 feet,¹ and much science shows that risk to significantly climb as you reach heights of 6,000 and 8,000 feet. Locations such as the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, the Andes in South America, and the Himalayas in Asia are famous examples of high-altitude regions with high risk of altitude sickness.
With the lower oxygen levels and increased physiological like oxidative stress, hypoxia can kick in and lead to symptoms beyond just sleepiness. These symptoms may range from fatigue and nausea to headaches and weakness.
Symptoms of altitude sickness may include:
Be on the lookout for any of these signs as you travel to high altitudes. It's best to take precautions that can help you avoid a negative experience (mentioned below).
Yes, high altitude can make you tired.
As explained in our section "Understanding Altitude Sickness", high altitude can make you tired, fatigued, sleepy, and even nauseous. This is a result of lower oxygen levels leading to physiological stress and altitude sickness.
You feel tired in the mountains typically due to a combination of factors contributing to altitude sickness including oxidative stress, dehydration, and reduced oxygen levels.
One study out of Turkey highlights that exposure to hypoxia (lower oxygen in high altitudes) has negative effects on exercise capacity, sleep quality, and mental functioning.² What's most interesting is that cardiac output and resting pulse rate increases rapidly with initial high-altitude exposure,² which is most likely a factor leading to feeling tired and sleepy.
Based on high-altitude research, it most commonly says acclimatization can take 1-5 days.³
When it comes to fatigue, sleepiness, tiredness, and fatigue ― these are common symptoms of altitude sickness. While many factors play a role in each persons experience, by acclimating over a few days, you should see these type of symptoms start to subside.
Sleepiness at high altitudes can be a common challenge among other issues like weakness and dizziness.
As a company with over a decade of high altitude experience, we know with the right strategies you can minimize the impact of high elevations and better enjoy your time. We'll share our best knowledge below.
Here's 6 Tips To Avoid High Altitude Sleepiness:
In conclusion, not only does high altitude make you sleepy, it can come with a wide range of other consequences. You can help avoid high altitude sleepiness with the right strategies ― including slowly acclimating, prioritizing quality sleep, limiting alcohol, maximizing hydration, reducing strenuous activity, and fueling yourself with antioxidants.
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SOURCES:
1. High Altitude Illness
https://www.travelsurenyc.com/high-altitude-illness/
2. Effects of High Altitude on Sleep and Respiratory System and Theirs Adaptations
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3654241/
3. How Long Does It Take To Acclimate To Elevation: Plus 7 Tips
https://zacalife.com/blogs/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-acclimate-to-elevation
4. Sleep: The Secret Ingredient of Injury Recovery
https://www.orthocarolina.com/media/sleep-the-secret-ingredient-of-injury-recovery
5. Why Does Alcohol Make Me Sleepy
https://www.bluecrestrc.com/why-does-alcohol-make-me-sleepy/
6. Why Do You Need to Drink a Lot of Water at a High Altitude?
https://www.livestrong.com/article/360485-how-to-train-for-high-altitude-hiking
7. Does Dehydration Cause Fatigue And Sleepiness? Here's What a Dietitian Says
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8045761/dehydration-and-fatigue/
8. A potential biomarker for fatigue: Oxidative stress and anti-oxidative activity
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301051116301843
9. High altitude and oxidative stress
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17482529/
10. Effect of high altitude (7,620 m) exposure on glutathione
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11320641/
11. Oxidative Stress and Diseases Associated with High-Altitude Exposure
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8868315/
12. Why Do I Get Tired Faster in High Altitudes?
https://www.sportsrec.com/7666635/why-do-i-get-tired-faster-in-high-altitudes
