'You can’t just easily stop in the middle of a roller coaster – and the same goes for your sleep': A doctor explains why I'm still exhausted after 8 hours of sleep and the simple way to fix it

An illustration of a woman lying in her bed in the morning feeling tired. A thought bubble is above her head with squiggly lines to show how groggy she feels.

January’s here, and for me it’s brought exhaustion, anxiety and an insatiable need to stay in bed. Happy New Year, right? Now, it’s not all doom and gloom and I am exaggerating (ish) but since January 1st, I feel as if I’m constantly trying to wake up.

My alarm goes off and despite sleeping for at least eight hours and keeping a consistent sleep schedule, I'm still unbelievably groggy. If left to my own devices, I'd probably settle in for another few hours of kip.