Do you feel tired all the time and are wondering why? You are not on your own. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 15% of women and more than 10% of men regularly feel very tired or exhausted.
This can affect the lives of other people, not just the tired person. For instance, research shows that around 6,000 fatal road traffic accidents happen every year in the US because of tired drivers. That’s with the other 44,000 that are injured in such crashes. Of course, lack of sleep can cause depression, anxiety, and weight gain, amongst other things for the person who can’t sleep too, That’s why it’s so important to find the root cause and work on getting better.
There will always be times when you have had a late night or worked longer than normal that will cause you to feel tires. Then you know the reason though. It’s that tiredness that you cannot connect to anything that is the problem. In those cases, you just need a little energy pick-me-up.
Get Enough Sleep
This might seem like a really obvious point to make, but it appears that 1 in 3 Americans consistently do not sleep long enough. If you are between 18 and 60 years of age you should be aiming for 7 to 8 hours sleep every night. This will help to keep you healthier physically and mentally. You will be more alert and cope with the everyday stresses of life much better.
Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine in the last hour before you go to bed, and get off the digital device at the same time. Your last hour should be peaceful and without any of these things and then you should fall asleep within 10 to 15 minutes.
Make your bedroom quite dark and at a comfortable temperature. Any light creeping in can disturb your sleep, and cooler temperatures are easier to sleep in than warmer ones.
Medical Conditions
There are quite a few medical conditions that will make you feel constantly tired. Anemia, diabetes, heart disease and underactive thyroid are just a few of the more common ones, and then, of course, there is lupus.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system becomes overactive and starts to fight normal healthy tissue and organs. The majority of sufferers are women between the ages of 15 and 45, and historically many of them died quite young from kidney failure. Treatments are better now though and 90% of lupus sufferers can expect to live a normal lifespan.
One of the first signs of lupus is constant tiredness and painful joints which will stiffen and swell. The affected person can get fevers, rashes, shortness of breath, chest pains, dry eye, memory loss, and confusion, among other things.
If you think there is any chance at all of you tiredness being caused by a medical condition, you need to see your physician get things checked out. There are medications, which you can read more about here, which will help. The sooner you get it treated, the better you will feel now and in the future.
Eat Healthily
You may be surprised by how much the food you consume affects your energy levels and tiredness. It is a common misconception that you need to eat lots of sugar for energy. It will give you a very short energy boost, but that wears off fast and makes you feel more tired. One of the worst things for sugar in the diets of many people in the US is the soda drinks such as Colas and Pepsis. These, and many process fruit drinks are heavily laden with sugar, and removing them from your diet will have a huge impact on your well being.
Drink water instead, and plenty of it. This will help to stop you dehydrating which is another cause of fatigue. Dehydration can also cause constipation, unclear thinking, mood swings, headaches and overheating in your body.
If you aim for half your plate to be filled with fruit or vegetables and make sure the rest contains at least some protein, your energy levels will improve, and so will your mental health.
Try to have low-fat or fat-free dairy to limit the number of calories you consume, and include whole grains in your diet.
Lack Of Exercise
This is a common problem for people whose job involves sitting at a desk all day, and they need to somehow get exercise into their lifestyle. But this can be the case for anyone. Although you may think the answer is to sit and rest, unless you have a medical condition, the opposite is true.
Take the pupper out! A twenty-minute walk will boost your energy. The U.S. Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines suggest that all adults should aim for 2 hours and 30 minutes of exercise each week. That might seem a lot. Just break it down to a few minutes each day to make it easier to cope with.
Stress and Anxiety
A small amount of stress may actually be good and make you perform better in situations such as job interviews. But it is only good if it is short lived.
If you are constantly worrying about finances, major life events, relationships, or any one of the endless list of things that can cause stress, it can cause physical and mental fatigue. Stress makes your body produce chemicals that are designed to prepare your body for an emergency. These do not get used up and over time will have an adverse effect on your health.
Try to avoid stressful situations. Learn to say no. It is a hard lesson. But you should never take on more than you can cope with. If there are people in your life that cause you to stress, try to steer clear of them as much as possible. Spend your time with people that are positive and helpful.
I am a huge advocate for documenting. Maybe keep a journal for a while so that you can identify the things that create stress in your life, and the things that help you calm down from them. Do not worry over things you can do nothing about. Don’t waste your time on the little things that will not matter in a month or so.
Feeling tired all the time is no fun. It can have a significant impact on your life. You need to find out what the cause is, and eliminate it, or get it treated so that you can get your life back to normal.
Start a Howl!