Are you
exhausted all the time despite how much sleep you get? While it’s perfectly
normal to experience periods of physical and mental fatigue on occasion, it
becomes problematic when tiredness persists without an obvious cause and interferes
with your ability to enjoy life.
What is
Fatigue?
Manifesting
itself as physical weariness and/or mental exhaustion, fatigue is generally
described as feelings of low energy and motivation, weakness in the body, and
an inability to concentrate. Although there is a distinction between muscle
fatigue (from vigorous exercise) and cognitive fatigue (from performing
mentally taxing tasks), normally these are quickly alleviated by rest.
Fatigue is
considered prolonged when feelings of exhaustion are pervasive – lasting a
month or more – and are not clearly a result of physical or mental activity.
Often, people who feel mentally tired feel physically tired too, and vice
versa.
According to
the Royal College of Psychiatrists, at any given time 20% of people feel
inexplicably tired and 10% suffer from prolonged fatigue. The causes of
persistent fatigue have been associated with lifestyle as well as emotional
distress, but it can also be a symptom of a more serious medical condition. If
feelings of fatigue endure for more than six consecutive months – a condition
called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – and you are also experiencing muscle pain,
sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches, short-term memory loss, painful
joints, and not refreshing sleep, it is time to see a health care practitioner.
1. Disrupted
Sleep Cycles
Yes, it’s
probably pretty self-evident that lack of sleep and tiredness go hand in hand.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends between seven and nine hours of sleep
per night for those aged 18 to 64 years old, but according to a 2013 Gallup
Poll, 40% of Americans are getting only six hours or less every night.
Trimming an
hour or two from your daily sleep cycle leads to a phenomenon called “sleep
debt” whereby lost sleep hours accumulate over time leading to fatigue in the
short-term and, as the sleep deficit mounts over many years, a greater risk for
stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes in the long-term.
Just one
week of sleep deprivation can change your genes. It can also cause brain deterioration,
resulting in permanent memory loss and cognitive deficiencies. And if that’s not frightening enough, lack of
sleep has been shown to bring about depression, induce weight gain, and can
even lead to a premature demise.
Getting a
good night’s sleep should really be a priority. Here are a few tips:
Respect the
circadian rhythm – Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, regardless
of whether you feel tired or not – even on the weekends.
Turn off
electronics – Blue light emitted from computers, TVs, phones, and other devices
disrupts melatonin production.
Shut out the
light – You’ll get much better sleep in a dark room so invest in heavy curtains
or a sleep mask.
Comfortable
bedding – If you wake up each morning with aches and pains, your mattress and
pillows could be preventing you from getting a restful sleep.
Don’t eat
before bedtime – Eat your last meal of the day at least two hours before
hitting the sheets.
Keep a
journal – If you have difficulty falling asleep because you can’t turn your
mind off, try writing down what’s bothering you.
Repay your
sleep debt – Catch up on lost zzz’s by adding a couple hours of bed rest each
night on the weekend if you missed out on five hours over the course of the
work week. For longer-term debts, it could take a few months of extra slumber
hours to return to a healthy sleep pattern.
Invest in a
Himalayan salt lamp – Allowing a Himalayan salt lamp to work its magic
throughout the day is a great way to improve sleep. You can turn it off when
you go to bed so you can still sleep in the dark. Read about the science of how
this helps here, and then you can buy a Himalayan salt lamp from here.
2. Skipping
Breakfast
It’s dubbed
the most important meal of the day and with good reason – eating breakfast
every day has been proven again and again to have significant benefits for the
body and the mind. Not eating breakfast, though, has been linked to high blood
pressure, weight gain, coronary heart disease, reduced cognitive performance,
and low mood. And yet, according to a study by The NPD Group, 31 million
Americans – or 10% of the population – are regular breakfast-skippers.
When you
struggle with fatigue, passing up breakfast is akin to running on empty – there
is no fuel in your system to keep your energy levels up. Glucose – the body’s
source of energy – is released slowly during the fasting of sleep to maintain
stable blood sugar levels overnight. Come morning, once glucose stored in
muscle tissues and the liver are depleted, energy is taken from fatty acids
instead which results in lower energy levels. The simple act of eating
breakfast replenishes your glucose stores, giving your body the boost it needs
to get through the day.
In addition
to overall physical energy, eating breakfast is a boon for mental health.
Evidence from a battery of studies have consistently shown that breakfast
improves brain function, memory, and academic performance, especially so in
children and adolescents. Eating a low-fat, high carb breakfast improves mood
and reduces mental fatigue.
Just not a
breakfast person? Try these tips to increase your morning food intake:
Start small
– Light, easy to digest foods in small portions (think yogurt, bananas, granola
bars) are good ways to begin introducing some sustenance to your morning
routine.
Break it up
– You don’t need to sit down to a towering plate of pancakes and eat it all in
one sitting. Try breaking up a large meal into smaller snacks and chow down
intermittently throughout the A.M. hours.
Get the most
bang for your buck – As mentioned above, high carb, low-fat breakfasts are
great mind boosters so try to eat fat-free yogurt, whole grains, fresh fruits
and vegetables, and egg whites.
Plan ahead –
Many don’t eat breakfast because there isn’t enough time in the morning, but
with a little preparation you can make some room for this meal. Pick out what
you’ll eat the night before or wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual – but be
sure to add in those extra minutes awake to your bedtime sleep.
Make it a
habit – It takes on average 66 days to make a new behavior a habit, so eating
breakfast should come naturally in about two months’ time.
3. Sugary
Diet
Dubbed the
new silent killer, the sweet stuff affects us on a much greater scale than
merely a larger waistline. You may already know that consuming excessive
amounts of sugar isn’t good for you, but the extent of the damage it wreaks is
really quite shocking. From cardiovascular disease, organ damage, hormone
imbalance, tooth decay, and obesity, a diet high in added sugars also plays an important
role in physical and mental exhaustion.
Reaching for
a sugary treat might help beat the mid-afternoon slump quickly, but sugar
actually decreases the activity of orexin cells – neurons responsible for
regulating alertness and hunger. An increase in orexin levels translates to
more physical activity while lower levels leads to lethargy. This process won’t
happen overnight, but a daily dose of sweets will steadily erode orexin levels
and leave you feeling sleepy and unmotivated.
Other
research on the impact sugars have on mental function is equally startling. One
study found that a diet high in fructose impairs cognitive abilities by slowing
the brain down, impeding learning, and stymieing memory. And the scary part:
these cognitive deficits can occur in as little as six weeks!
The American
Heart Association recommends limiting sugar intake to 100 calories per day for
women (six teaspoons) and 150 per day for men (nine teaspoons), but consider
that a single can of Coca-Cola contains nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar. And while
sugary drinks and treats are the more obvious places to expect added sugars,
many foods – like salad dressing, sauces, bread, and canned fruit – have lots
of hidden sugars.
It might not
be easy but quitting sugar could be one of the best things you can do to
improve your overall health. In lieu of the chocolate bar pick-me-up, try
eating healthy energy-boosting snacks that are high in protein, fiber,
antioxidants, omega-3s, and magnesium:
Almonds,
cashews, and other nuts
Fresh fruits
and vegetables
Beans and
lentils
Whole grains
Soy
4. Nutrient
Deficiencies
Causing
fatigue, weakness, and poor concentration, anemia is a condition that develops
when there isn’t enough red blood cells present in the blood to carry a
sufficient amount of oxygen to bodily tissues. There are more than 400 types of
anemia but the most common kinds are caused by iron and vitamin deficiencies.
Affecting about 3.5 million Americans, the early symptoms of anemia are subtle
but will worsen over time.
To treat and
prevent nutrient deficiency anemias, your diet should include:
Iron – Meat
and fish, beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, nuts, spinach, and nuts
Folate –
Citrus fruits, legumes, cereals, pastas, bananas, peas, and edamame
Vitamin B12
– Dairy, soy, meat, and eggs
Vitamin C –
Bell peppers, guava, papaya, broccoli, kiwi, oranges, and cantaloupe
5. Not
Enough Exercise
That you
should be working out when you’re already exhausted in order to boost your
energy levels is counterintuitive indeed. But it’s also true. Analyzing 70
studies that involved 6,807 sedentary participants who suffered from persistent
fatigue, researchers found that over 90% of the studies drew the same
conclusion: people who exercised regularly reported increased energy.
Delving
deeper into this finding, another study was conducted which involved 36
otherwise healthy young adults who were experiencing prolonged fatigue. After
six weeks of either low or moderate aerobic exercise three times per week, the
subjects consistently reported higher energy levels. Between the two groups,
those who completed low-intensity workouts reaped the greatest benefits for
reducing fatigue.
Here are
some low-impact ways to get up and get moving:
Walking –
There are lots of opportunities to take a few extra steps each day. Park your
car farther away from your destination, get off the bus a stop or two sooner,
take the stairs instead of the elevator, and get into the routine of an after
dinner stroll.
Yoga – Good
for the mind, body, and spirit, start by mastering these yoga poses.
Swimming –
There are plenty of great reasons to get in the pool, not the least of which is
that swimming is just plain fun!
Dancing –
Sometimes the best kind of exercise is the kind that doesn’t feel like it’s
exercise, so crank up the tunes and dance like nobody’s watching.
6.
Depression
It’s
completely natural to feel sadness as a response to life’s struggles, but if
feelings of listlessness, despair, or melancholy last for more than two weeks
you may be suffering from depression. Affecting one in 10 Americans, depression
can range from mild to severe and often includes symptoms of low energy, slowed
thinking, as well as sleeping too much or too little.
Fatigue and
depression are deeply intertwined with either state fuelling the other. One
study observed that people who are depressed are four times more likely to feel
fatigued, and people who suffer from fatigue are three times as likely to
become depressed.
Take this
depression self-help assessment to find out if you are experiencing some of the
signs of depression.
Depression
tends to make people feel overwhelmed by even the most routine of tasks, but
there are small steps you can take that will help you feel better:
Seek support
from people you trust – Depression can be isolating which usually makes the
symptoms worse. Family and friends can be powerful social supports who can talk
you through your feelings and let you know that you are not alone.
Try to get some
exercise – Physical activity releases endorphins that uplift mood. Even taking
a short 10 minute walk will help ease negative feelings and allow you to cope
in a healthy way.
Challenge
how you think – Depression is usually coupled with a one-sided, negative view
of the world. How you think is how you feel, so try to challenge your thinking
patterns to achieve a more balanced perspective.
Change your
diet – Added sugars and refined carbohydrates will sap your energy so try to
eat mood-boosting foods like citrus, bananas, spinach, brown rice, whole
grains, and poultry.
See a doctor
– If making healthy lifestyle changes doesn’t help curb your depression, it’s
time to see a professional. Here are some tips on how to choose the right
therapist.
7. Problems
with your Thyroid
Found in the
neck, the thyroid gland releases hormones that control how your body uses food
for energy. Hyperthyroidism (or an overactive thyroid) occurs when your thyroid
produces the hormone thyroxine in excess, while hypothyroidism (or an
under active thyroid) develops when it produces too little. Both conditions
share the symptoms of fatigue and muscle weakness.
Thyroid
disorders are very treatable and can be quickly diagnosed with a simple blood
test. It is recommended that anyone who is feeling prolonged fatigue and
weakness should see a physician to, at the very least, rule out a thyroid
issue. Although treatments span taking daily hormone supplements, anti-thyroid
medications, or surgery, take few minutes to read some tips on how to heal
thyroid problems naturally and discuss these options with your doctor.
8.
Dehydration
Tiredness,
irritability, and poor concentration are signs that you may not be getting
enough fluids. Each day, water in the body is lost through breathing, sweating,
urination, and bowel movements and needs to be replaced with liquids from food
and drink.
Ordinarily,
feeling thirsty is the body’s way of telling us it’s time to take a drink but
this is not always accurate. A better way to judge whether you are losing
fluids faster than you are taking them in is to look at your urine. If it is
light in color or clear, you are hydrated; if it is dark yellow, you are
probably dehydrated.
The amount
of fluids you should consume every day depends on how physically active you are
and whether you reside in hotter environments. The general rule of thumb,
according to the Institute of Medicine, is 2.7 liters for women and 3.7 liters
for men.
Here are
three ways to make sure you’re getting as much fluids as possible every day:
Eat it – If
you dislike the taste of flavorless water, you can replenish fluids by eating
foods with a high water content. These include cucumbers, watermelon,
strawberries, grapefruit, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, grapes, and zucchini.
Be
consistent – Drink a glass of water each day at the same time and place – when
you wake up in the morning and right before bed, for example. Give yourself
visual cues to remember to drink by leaving a cup by your nightstand or near
the coffeemaker in the morning.
Think outside
H₂O – Water has some amazing health benefits but there are other beverages that
might be a bit more appealing. Alternatives like coconut water, tea, vegetable
juice, lemon water, and skim milk are equally as hydrating as plain aqua.
9. Too Much
Caffeine
There are
gobs of excellent, healthful reasons to drink coffee each and every day, but if
your java habit exceeds four 8-ounce cups daily, all the positive gains in
health are flipped on the inverse. Research published in 2013 found that those
under the age of 55 who drank more than 28 cups of coffee per week had a 56%
increase in the risk of death from all causes.
Coffee, and
its other caffeine-laden cohorts, does initially act as a stimulant that can
help temporarily relieve drowsiness. When caffeine is overused, however, it
becomes a depressant. Called “caffeine abuse” by the medical community,
consuming too much of it leads to fatigue. Complicating matters further is the
fact that relying on caffeine to jolt us into wakefulness builds up a tolerance
to its effects. We often need more and more of it to pack the same punch that a
cup or two once did. And more caffeine will only exacerbate the feelings of
fatigue.
Depending on
something so much to get us through the day is never a good thing. To reduce caffeine
overload, try to eliminate as many sources of caffeine as you can. This doesn’t
necessarily mean going cold turkey but there are lots of places that caffeine
hides you wouldn’t expect.
10. Food
Intolerance
If you’ve
noticed that you feel sleepy ten to 30 minutes after eating certain foods, you
may have an undiagnosed food allergy or intolerance to a specific type of food.
There is a
marked difference between allergy and intolerance. Food allergies are an immune
response when the body fights off a particular food that it perceives as
harmful. The most common reactions involve swelling, difficulty breathing,
chest pain, eczema, and dizziness.
Food
intolerance, conversely, is a heightened sensitivity to a type of food.
Generally it is caused by a lack of digestive enzymes in the stomach which
prevent the food from being properly absorbed. Symptoms of food intolerance
include bloating, headaches, and heartburn. Although food allergies tend to be
more severe, both of these conditions have symptoms of stomach pain, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue in common.
If you
believe that a food intolerance might be contributing to your feelings of
fatigue, you can try an elimination diet to identify the offending foods.
Discuss this with your doctor first since eliminating core food groups carries
the risk of not receiving adequate nutrition. Elimination diets can be
challenging and inconvenient, but here are the basic steps:
Stop eating
all suspicious foods for three weeks, or until symptoms improve
Keep a food
diary to track your progress
Carefully
read the nutritional information labels so you don’t mistakenly consume
ingredients you are trying to avoid
When
symptoms improve, slowly reintroduce the food groups you were avoiding, one at
a time and slowly over time, and write down any changes you observe
If symptoms return after eating specific foods again, you
will have identified which foods are causing your issues and can avoid them
going forward
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