Causes and Remedies For Tiredness

We’re all tired sometimes – whether you stayed up late to watch a favorite movie or show, had an occasion that ran late or just had to put in extra hours at work some days. Being tired on occasion is normal and isn’t something that you should worry about. Making sure to rest up the next days and get in the proper amount of sleep will usually deal with the issue and you will feel back to your normal self. But for some people, the tiredness just doesn’t leave and they can’t seem to figure out why they’re always tired and drowsy.

According to The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, more than 15 percent of women and 10 percent of men regularly feel tired and/or exhausted. This leads to an estimated 1 in 25 adult drivers that fall asleep at the wheel each month and 72,000 crashes and 44,000 injuries yearly from those drivers falling asleep. On top of that, there are an estimated 6,000 fatalities from those crashes each year.

So what is it that causes so many adults to feel tired and exhausted on a regular basis and not be able to function properly? While some may think that it is a simple answer of just not getting enough sleep, there are sometimes many more complicated reasons for why someone may be feeling tired. Not only are there many medical reasons for why someone may be feeling tired all the time but there are also lifestyle choices that might be the culprit for your tiredness.

Lifestyle Reasons For Being Tired

As much as some may not think about it, a lack of sleep is oftentimes the reason why people feel tired. We’re not talking about the off night here and there where you don’t sleep enough, either. Most people don’t realize that even as adults we need a minimum of 7 hours of sleep to keep healthy and for our bodies to have enough time to recharge and be re-energized the next day. Not getting enough sleep is also associated with an increased risk for other diseases, including obesity, high blood pressure, depression, heart disease and stroke, besides the fact of being tired and unable to function properly.

To make sure that you’re getting the recommended number of hours of sleep, go to bed and wake up at the same times, even on weekends. Avoid alcohol and tobacco before sleeping as it can lead to fractured sleep and less hours than you think being asleep. Also, limiting caffeine is a good bet as it can make you less likely to sleep and stay asleep. Make sure that your bedroom in conducive to sleeping which includes it being dark enough and at the proper temperature.

An unhealthy diet can also be a reason for fatigue. Eating foods that are don’t promote your body to create energy and be full of nutrients and vitamins will make you feel more tired and fatigued because your body isn’t creating energy. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, stick to whole foods, avoid processed foods when possible, limit sugary drinks and opt for water or healthy alternatives and eat at regular intervals. Whatever you see that makes your body feel the best, whether it be low-fat, low-carb, gluten-free or low in starches, stick to that diet plan to keep your body as healthy as possible.

Being inactive can also lead to feelings of fatigue and being tired. While it may seem contradictory, whenever you’re feeling tired one of the best remedies might actually be getting some exercise. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to feeling more tired than if you were out and doing tasks or getting exercise. Research by the University of Georgia found that those on a sedentary lifestyle actually had improvements in their fatigue levels whenever they started exercising. The study found that exercise bouts of 20 minutes helped to raise levels of energy more than sitting quietly and resting for the same amount of time.

Stress can also be a factor for fatigue and while a minimal amount of stress can actually boost the energy in our bodies for short periods of time, excessive stress for long periods of time is detrimental to our health. Whatever the reason may be for your long-term stress, learning to deal with it will help you to not only sleep better and feel less fatigued but also help prevent other health problems in the future. There are many ways to manage stress including keeping a stress diary, avoiding people that cause you stress, looking at the situation in a different way, learning to accept situations that can’t be changed, doing mediation or relaxation exercises and even learning to forgive and move on.

Medical Reasons For Being Tired

Some reasons for fatigue can also be due to already present health problems in the body. Some of those include anemia, underactive thyroid, diabetes, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, urinary tract infections, food intolerances, heart disease, glandular fever, pregnancy and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Most of these issues are easy to identify and can be quickly treated by a doctor. Anemia, for example, can be determined with a simple blood test and the treatment for it is relatively simple and easy, depending on the type of anemia that you have.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, food intolerances and diabetes can all be treated with diet alterations and should be relatively effective at helping deal with any fatigue. Thyroid problems are usually treated with hormones and anxiety and depression with pharmaceuticals – although there are plenty of natural treatments and sometimes depression can be a symptom of other health problems or hormone/vitamin imbalances too.  While some of the other causes of chronic fatigue, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, don’t currently have too many options and treatment is always difficult, there are always ways for patients and individuals to ease their symptoms.

Conclusion

Being tired can seem so normal that most don’t think about it when it happens. But long-term fatigue can be quite damaging to the body and cause other health problems. Fatigue can be caused by lifestyle or medical reasons. Lifestyle issues can be due to lack of enough sleep, diet problems, stress and an inactive life. Medical issues such as anemia, anxiety and depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, infections, heart disease and pregnancy can also be a reason for fatigue. Most medical issues can be treated relatively easily or with simple treatments and a few are harder to manage, such as chronic fatigue syndrome. Whatever the case, make sure to take note if you’re feeling strangely fatigued.

Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351366
https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/treatment/index.html