Ozempic — one brand name for the drug semaglutide — is a diabetes drug that’s often used for weight loss. It may cause tiredness as a side effect as you may be eating fewer calories or miss out on sleep from Ozempic side effects.
Below, we’ll dive into whether Ozempic can make you tired, common side effects that could affect your sleep and energy, and how you can use RISE to get more sleep and energy, both while on and off Ozempic.
Heads-up: Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus are different versions of the same drug: semaglutide. We’ve covered whether Wegovy can make you tired and Rybelsus can make you tired here.
"Ozempic may cause fatigue as a side effect. Evidence from a handful of clinical trials suggests it’s not common and it should resolve in time as your body gets used to the drug," says Dr. Chester Wu. “If you’re feeling Ozempic fatigue, focus on eating a balanced diet, doing some gentle exercise, and catching up on any lost sleep Ozempic side effects cause with an afternoon nap or early night.”
Dr. Chester Wu is double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and provides sleep medicine services, medication management, and psychotherapy to adults at his private sleep medicine and psychiatry practice.
Yes, Ozempic can make you feel tired. According to the FDA, fatigue is a potential side effect of Ozempic, affecting more than 0.4% of people.
While 0.4% sounds like a small number, as Ozempic becomes increasingly popular, that 0.4% can end up being hundreds of thousands of people experiencing Ozempic fatigue.
This figure comes from clinical trials on diabetics, however, so it’s unclear how non-diabetics react to the drug. And this is just what we know from limited clinical trials. As popularity explodes, more people are reporting it online.
In fact, there are so few clinical trials on Ozempic fatigue and so many online accounts of it that studies — like this 2023 study — are using online reports to gather data on the side effects of Ozempic and similar drugs. In the 2023 example, sleep issues were mentioned most often by users.
More research is needed, but Ozempic fatigue could be due to:
It’s also possible that the more common culprits of tiredness (needing to catch up on sleep and having an irregular sleep schedule) are causing low energy. We’ll share how to fix these soon.
We’ve covered whether diabetes and weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound make you feel tired.
Heads-up: There’s a difference between tiredness, fatigue, and sleepiness. Tiredness is when you feel mentally or physically fatigued. Sleepiness is when you feel like you could fall asleep if you tried. Ozempic may cause both tiredness, as a side effect, and sleepiness, as it can cause sleep deprivation.
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It’s unclear how long Ozempic fatigue lasts. Ozempic tiredness may get better as you adjust to the medication, but more research is needed
There are no long-term studies on Ozempic, so we don’t know when Ozempic fatigue goes away.
Ozempic can lower your blood sugar levels within the first week of use, but it can take eight weeks or longer for the medication to reach its full effect. So you may feel fatigued in this time.
Ozempic can affect your sleep as it may cause:
This can make it harder to fall and stay asleep.
Ozempic may affect your sleep directly, but more research is needed. A clinical trial company called eHealthMe looked into sleep problems in those taking Ozempic. It states poor quality sleep was reported in those taking the drug, especially by “people who are female, 60+ old, have been taking the drug for 6 - 12 months.”
Ozempic may improve your sleep by helping you lose weight or manage type 2 diabetes. Both obesity and type 2 diabetes are linked to sleep disturbances and sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
We’ve covered Ozempic as a potential treatment for sleep apnea here.
The 2023 study we mentioned earlier found some Ozempic users reported improved insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
The diet and exercise changes that are encouraged when taking Ozempic can also help you sleep. Ozempic may also reduce food cravings, appetite, and preference for high-fat foods, so you eat better and smaller meals, which can improve your sleep.
Ozempic may even reduce your cravings for alcohol and cigarettes, and cutting down on these can also improve your sleep.
It’s unclear whether Ozempic can cause insomnia. A 2023 study found social media reports of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic causing insomnia, but it also found reports of improved insomnia.
This research also found users reporting better and worse anxiety and depression on Ozempic, both of which are linked to insomnia.
Common Ozempic side effects include:
Many of these — like abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting — can impact your sleep and energy.
Research from 2021 found most Ozempic side effects are mild or moderate and get better over time. It may take five weeks or longer for side effects to clear up once you stop taking the drug.
More serious possible side effects of Ozempic include:
These side effects happen in rare cases. Seek medical attention if you get serious side effects from Ozempic. Ozempic isn’t used to treat type 1 diabetes, and it's not clear if Ozempic is safe for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Get medical advice before taking these drugs.
One major problem with Ozempic research? Most of what we know about the drugs comes from studies linked to the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk. More research needs to be done.
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Here’s how to get more energy while taking Ozempic.
We all need a different amount of sleep and most of us don’t know how much we need, so you may be sleep deprived and not even know it. Catching up on sleep can boost your energy.
The first step to catching up on sleep is finding out how much sleep you need.
This can vary quite a bit from person to person. For example, among 1.95 million RISE users aged 24 and up, we found people needed five hours to 11 hours 30 minutes of sleep. Check RISE to see how much sleep you need.
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If you haven’t been getting enough sleep for you, you’ll have built up sleep debt. Sleep debt is how much sleep you owe your body. How much sleep you got last night has the most impact on your energy levels today, but lost sleep from the past several days can still affect how you feel.
You can lower your sleep debt by:
We’ve got more advice on catching up on sleep here.
RISE works out how much sleep debt you have each day.
Keeping a regular sleep schedule can help to keep your circadian rhythm, or body clock, in check. This can boost your energy levels and help you feel sleepy at bedtime and awake come morning.
You can keep a regular sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
You’ll find it easier to keep a regular sleep schedule by:
RISE predicts the timing of your circadian rhythm each day so you can see the best times for you to go to bed and wake up.
Sleep hygiene is the set of habits you can do to fall asleep more quickly, wake up less often, and get the most restorative sleep possible on Ozempic.
Here’s what to do:
RISE tells you the best time to do 20+ sleep hygiene habits each day to make them even more effective.
If Ozempic GI issues keep you up, try:
We’ve got tailored advice for common GI issues such as:
RISE’s audio guides walk you through relaxation and breathing exercises to reduce anxiety and help you drift off.
If you’ve been awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and do a relaxing activity in low lighting until you feel sleepy again. This will stop your brain from making a link between your bed and wakefulness.
We’ve covered more on how to sleep with anxiety here.
Your appetite and food cravings may change on Ozempic, but you should still strive to eat a balanced diet overall. This can boost your energy and improve your sleep.
Eat plenty of fruits, veggies, fiber-rich complex carbs, and protein. Research shows semaglutide can reduce muscle mass, so a high-protein diet can help stave this off.
We’ve covered more on foods that give you energy here.
You may not feel like exercising if you’re tired, but try to do some physical activity each day — even if it’s just a walk or some gentle yoga.
Exercise can boost your energy and help you fall asleep faster, wake up less often, and improve insomnia.
Avoid vigorous exercise within an hour of bedtime, though, as this can keep you up.
We’ve covered more on the best time to work out here.
Speak to a healthcare professional if you’re experiencing extreme fatigue on Ozempic.
They may tweak your medication or recommend taking Ozempic at a different time of day to see if that stops side effects from disrupting your sleep.
We’ve covered more ways to get more energy here.
Use RISE to lower your sleep debt, sync up with your circadian rhythm, and improve your sleep hygiene to get more energy while taking Ozempic.
Users say RISE’s habit reminders make a big difference:
“Just becoming more aware of when’s the best time to drink caffeine, eat dinner, and get sunlight according to my circadian rhythm has helped my sleep quality tremendously.” Read the review.
And it’s not just better nights — 80% of RISE users feel more energy within five days.
Learn more about Rise for sales teams.
RISE makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential
