Maybe you’ve seen the viral TikTok videos about Ozempic and you’re curious to try the drug many are using to lose weight. Or maybe you take Ozempic for its intended purpose, to manage diabetes, or take the higher-dose version, Wegovy, for obesity, and you’re feeling sleepy as a result.
Either way, you may be wondering if semaglutide drugs can make you feel tired. Tiredness is listed as a rare side effect of Ozempic and a more common side effect of the higher-dose version, Wegovy. But we just don’t know enough yet to say for sure whether these drugs make you tired or why this may be. Ozempic and Wegovy are still relatively new, so more research needs to be done into the potential side effects.
Luckily, there are ways to battle tiredness, whether it's caused by Ozempic, Wegovy, or something else entirely.
Below, we’ll dive into what these drugs do, whether they can make you tired, and how you can use the RISE app to get more energy, whether you’re taking them or not.
Heads-up: More research needs to be done into Ozempic and Wegovy and their potential side effects. We’ve rounded up what we know so far, and we’ll update this article as more research comes out.
Another heads-up: Ozempic and Wegovy are two different versions of the same drug, semaglutide. Wegovy is simply a higher dose. So, while we mention Ozempic often, we’re really talking about semaglutide in both its forms.
Ozempic is one of the brand names for the drug semaglutide. It’s manufactured by Novo Nordisk and was originally designed as a diabetes medication. It’s a once-a-week subcutaneous (into the skin) injection you can self-inject into your stomach, thigh, or upper arm.
Ozempic comes in 0.5, 1, or 2-milligram doses, and you’ll probably be prescribed a lower dose that increases over time.
When weight loss appeared as a surprising side effect of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk created a higher-dose 2.4-milligram version called Wegovy for obesity.
Both Ozempic and Wegovy are FDA-approved for their intended purposes, but many people are turning to Ozempic for weight management as it's easier to get hold of. And many healthcare professionals are prescribing it off-label (when a drug is prescribed for something other than what it was designed for).
You may have seen the Ozempic adverts or the wild claims on TikTok, but here’s a quick rundown of what the drug does.
Ozempic can help those with diabetes manage their blood sugar, and it reduces their risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke if they have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It can also be taken alongside other diabetes meds like metformin.
Wegovy, the higher-dose version of the same drug, helps obese people lose significant amounts of weight.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. It’s part of a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 receptor agonists). This class includes drugs like liraglutide (Victoza and Saxenda) and dulaglutide (Trulicity).
GLP-1 receptor agonists stimulate insulin secretion when you eat, and this mechanism is often absent or lowered in those with type 2 diabetes. It helps to lower blood sugar and keep levels under control. It can also lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.
Semaglutide has been shown to promote weight loss by making you feel fuller sooner, reducing food cravings, and lowering your preference for high-fat foods.
Ozempic isn’t used to treat type 1 diabetes, and it's not clear if Ozempic or Wegovy are safe for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Get medical advice before taking these drugs.
It’s not clear if semaglutide drugs can help with medical conditions affected by weight yet, but certain GLP-1 receptor agonists, like liraglutide, look promising. For example, we dived into whether ozempic helps with sleep apnea here.
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Ozempic and Wegovy are still relatively new drugs, so we don’t know the full extent of the side effects, or the long-term effects of taking them
The most common side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy are:
Research from 2021 into semaglutide found most of these symptoms were mild or moderate, and got better over time without patients needing to stop the medication. But everyone reacts differently, and 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 semaglutide include:
These side effects happen in rare cases. Seek medical attention if you get serious side effects from Ozempic or Wegovy.
One major problem with Ozempic and Wegovy research? Most of what we know about the drugs comes from studies linked to the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk. So, more research needs to be done.
Tiredness may be a side effect of Ozempic, but it doesn’t seem to be common.
Fatigue is listed by the FDA as a potential side effect of Ozempic with it affecting more than 0.4% of people. This figure may come from clinical trials that looked at diabetics taking Ozempic, however, so it’s not clear how non-diabetics react to the drug.
There are a few more issues to consider here:
Tiredness is listed as a common side effect of Wegovy, however, which is simply a higher dose of the same drug. Fatigue affected 11% of people taking Wegovy in clinical trials.
It’s not clear how semaglutide can cause tiredness. One theory is that the drug can reduce your appetite, so you may start eating fewer calories and therefore your body has less fuel and will feel tired as a result.
It may also affect your sleep, which can tank your energy levels. 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.” The company helps the public run clinical trials, however, and data is sparse. Plus, there’s no set definition for sleep quality. So, yet again, more research needs to be done.
A 2023 review of studies on semaglutide listed “gastrointestinal adverse events” as the main side effects. These are reported by 5% or more of users. Adverse GI events, like diarrhea and stomach pain, can easily cut into your sleep, wracking up sleep debt and causing circadian misalignment — both of which can make you feel tired.
Heads-up: Sleep debt is the running total of how much sleep you owe your body. It’s measured against your sleep need, the genetically determined amount of sleep you need each night. The more sleep debt you have, the more tired you’re going to feel.
Another heads-up: Circadian misalignment is when you’re not living in sync with your circadian rhythm, your body’s roughly 24-hour biological clock. This can happen when you’re sleeping or eating at odd or irregular times.
Even if they don’t cut into your sleep, anxiety about GI issues can keep you up, and the mental drain of dealing with vomiting and diarrhea, for example, isn’t going to leave you feeling like your most energetic self.
Drug interactions with semaglutide, when you take it with other medications, can cause hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. And this can cause drowsiness, restless sleep, shakiness, and feeling weak and tired.
On the other end of the scale, hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, can also cause drowsiness. It can be hard to control your blood glucose levels when you’re diabetic, especially if semaglutide side effects like nausea cause you to delay or skip a meal.
Drinking alcohol and doing more physical activity than usual can also cause low blood sugar (although less desire for alcohol is emerging as a surprising side effect of semaglutide), and exercising less than usual or overeating (although this may be hard to do on semaglutide) can cause high blood sugar.
Studies on Ozempic include people with diabetes, and the trials on Wegovy include those who are obese, so we don’t know much about how the drugs affect the general population — like those using it for weight loss when they’re not obese, for example.
There are also no long-term studies on semaglutide, so we don’t know if it causes fatigue when you take it for long periods of time.
It’s also possible that the more common culprits of tiredness (high sleep debt and circadian misalignment) are causing your fatigue, whether you’re taking semaglutide or not. We’ll get into how to fix these next.
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Whether you’re taking Ozempic to manage your diabetes, Wegovy to tackle obesity, or you’ve been prescribed either of them off-label to lose weight, here’s how you can boost your energy levels. These tips will also help increase your energy when you’re not taking semaglutide drugs, too.
As we explained above, the more sleep debt you have, the more tired you’re going to feel. And everything else — think mood, focus, mental and physical health — is going to take a hit, too.
The RISE app calculates your individual sleep need and works out how much sleep debt you have. We measure sleep debt over your last 14 nights and recommend you keep it below five hours to maximize your energy levels.
The good news about sleep debt is you can work to pay it back. You can do this by:
The RISE app can work out how much sleep debt you have and keep track of it as you pay it back.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to view their sleep debt.
Beyond sleep duration, you need to think about when you get this sleep. And meal timing is important to keep your body clock running smoothly, too.
When you’re living in sync with your circadian rhythm, you’ll have higher energy levels and you’ll be reducing your risk of a whole host of health issues.
Here’s how to get in sync:
Thinking about your circadian rhythm isn’t exactly intuitive. But the RISE app can help. It predicts your circadian rhythm each day based on factors like your inferred light exposure and last night’s sleep times. You can then see when your body naturally wants to wake up, wind down for bed, and go to sleep, so you can sync up your daily life to it.
RISE can also tell you when your peaks and dips in energy will be. These are part of your predictable energy fluctuations each day. For example, we all get a peak in energy in the morning and an afternoon slump (although this will feel more manageable with lower sleep debt and circadian alignment).
When you know when these peaks and dips are coming, you can schedule your day to match. Plan easier tasks — like admin, emails, or taking a break or a nap — for your afternoon slump, for example.
This can help you make the most of the energy you do have if you’re battling fatigue from Ozempic or Wegovy.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to see their circadian rhythm on the Energy screen.
Sleep hygiene is simple yet powerful. It’s the set of habits you can do daily to fall asleep more quickly, wake up less often during the night, and get the most restorative sleep possible.
Here’s what to do:
The RISE app can guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits each day and tell you the ideal time to do each one to make them more effective.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their 20+ in-app habit notifications.
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If GI issues from Ozempic or Wegovy are keeping you up, here’s what to try:
We’ve got tailored advice for some common GI issues such as:
And if these side effects are giving you anxiety, we’ve covered how to sleep with anxiety here.
Heads-up: Speak to your healthcare provider if you’re taking Ozempic or Wegovy and suffering from fatigue. They can suggest treatment options tailored to you, or they may lower the dose of other prescription drugs or supplements you’re taking. They may also suggest over-the-counter medications to help with GI side effects.
If you’re taking Ozempic or Wegovy, there’s a chance the drugs could be causing fatigue. But, more research needs to be done into the potential side effects to know for sure.
To help boost low energy levels, no matter what’s causing them, focus on paying down your sleep debt and getting in sync with your circadian rhythm. Maintaining excellent sleep hygiene can help make these two key energy boosters easier.
The RISE app can work out how much sleep debt you have and show you a prediction of your circadian rhythm each day. It can also tell you when to do 20+ sleep hygiene habits daily.
With the right amount of sleep, at the right times for you, you can enjoy more energy. And even if a semaglutide drug is causing fatigue, you’ll be making sure nothing else adds to this and be keeping your energy levels as high as possible.
Fatigue may be a side effect of Ozempic. It’s reported in more than 0.4% of people taking the drug, so it’s not common. It’s not clear why Ozempic may cause fatigue, but a reduced calorie intake may be to blame. Lower your sleep debt and get in sync with your circadian rhythm to boost your energy levels.
It’s not clear how long Ozempic fatigue lasts. It may last for a few weeks while your body gets used to the medication and while your dose is increasing. Fatigue may be caused by other factors, however, so how long it lasts can vary. Lower your sleep debt and get in sync with your circadian rhythm to boost your energy levels.
Remedies for Ozempic fatigue include lowering your sleep debt, getting in sync with your circadian rhythm, and improving your sleep hygiene to help you get the best sleep possible. Eating a healthy diet, managing any GI side effects, and keeping stress and anxiety low can also help improve sleep and fatigue.
The most common side effect of Ozempic is GI issues. These include nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, cramping, and acid reflux. These are usually mild or moderate and should go away on their own.
In most cases, Ozempic-related fatigue does go away after the initial adjustment period as the body gets accustomed to the medication.
RISE makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential
RISE makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential
