It’s normal to be tired at the end of a long day. That’s your body’s way of telling you it’s time to rest. It’s not normal to be tired all day long, or day after day. That’s your body’s way of telling you that rest isn’t enough to fix what ails you. For millions of exhausted Americans, constant fatigue is a wake-up call.
Fatigue is common among people recovering from injury or surgery, or those who are battling chronic illnesses like cancer, heart or lung disease, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome (a medical disorder that causes extreme fatigue). It indicates that your body is working hard to heal an injury or illness, or to prevent further physical damage.
But millions of Americans live with bone-dragging fatigue and don’t have specific diagnoses or health conditions. Some doctors say that’s the body’s way of telling you it’s time to heal your life.
Causes of fatigue can be clustered into three categories: physical, psychological and lifestyle-related.
Physical Causes of Fatigue
Physical causes include the health conditions mentioned above and other conditions like anemia, thyroid and other endocrine disorders, obesity, malnutrition or undernourishment, diabetes, sleep apnea and the side effects of certain medications. These conditions can deplete your body’s energy reserves, and leave you feeling fatigued.
Psychological Causes
Psychological causes include depression, anxiety, insomnia, grief and chronic stress.
Lifestyle Factors
Lifestyle factors include cigarette smoking, alcohol use, substance abuse, poor diet, high stress levels and a sedentary lifestyle. All of these energy zappers force the body to work overtime or to work without the right fuel.
How Do You Beat Fatigue and Boost Energy?
Once medical conditions have been ruled out, start by examining your diet, habits and lifestyle. Do you:
- Eat and drink the right things, and avoid the stuff you know is no good for you?
- Keep yourself well hydrated?
- Get enough exercise?
- Go to bed at a reasonable hour?
- Actively work to reduce stress through meditation, tai chi or other methods?
- Do everything you should to support your body to be its healthiest?
If the answer to those questions is “Yeah…pretty much” but you’re still exhausted, it might be time to look even closer at the way you live.
The Deeper Reasons Behind Fatigue
Lissa Rankin, MD, author of Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, has seen many patients who complain of deep fatigue. She said that, on paper, these people looked like they were in great health. “They lived in a healthy part of the country,” Rankin said. “Many of them ate perfect vegetarian diets, worked out regularly, took vitamins and supplements, did yoga and meditated. They also saw the best medical doctors plus other healthcare providers. They had plenty of money and resources and still…they were exhausted. Fatigue was their biggest medical complaint.”
Rankin started asking her patients questions about their relationships, work lives, finances, sex lives and spiritual practices. In response, they talked about loneliness and isolation, unhappy marriages, jobs that made them anxious or bored, empty spiritual lives, lackluster sex lives and unbearable financial stresses. They revealed they’d lost their sense of purpose, or felt trapped and unable to change. At the same time, they knew what they needed to do to feel better — improve or leave their marriages, change jobs, move to a more affordable neighborhood, find new friends, new creative outlets and spiritual structures.
“When they’re supported to take a really good look, most patients know what things they need to change if they want to reach their full potential and feel their best,” explained Rankin. “It’s failing to recognize or change these factors that prevents the body from functioning at maximum capacity.”
Stress Is at the Root
It all has to do with stress. Under normal circumstances, the body heals itself, wards off diseases and generally tinkers with its own self-repair mechanisms until it functions like the well-oiled machine it’s designed to be.
When we live with chronic stress, the endocrine system pumps out heavy doses of Cortisol (aka, the stress hormone) and epinephrine, which are meant to help us survive in the event of an attack. That’s called “the stress response” and is a normal, healthy and necessary reaction. The opposite response is called the “relaxation response” where hormone levels go back to normal and the body recognizes it’s no longer in danger.
When people live with frequent or persistent stresses (like Rankin’s patients), they pile on the stress responses, but don’t have enough relaxation responses, which leaves their nerve endings and body tissues swimming in excess stress hormones. Over time, it prevents the body from healing itself and functioning efficiently, and leads to fatigue and illness. In short…stress is exhausting.
How to Get Your Energy Back
Does that mean you have to take extreme measures to get your energy back? Not necessarily. Sometimes, all you need is to:
- Take a break and a few deep breaths to break a stress cycle.
- Eat healthier and drink more water; consume less soda and alcohol.
- Get more rest: go to bed earlier and take a nap every once in a while.
- Get more exercise: take a daily walk, bike ride or swim and lift weights.
- Stretch to keep your body fit and able to use energy efficiently.
- Knock off the bad habits: smoking, excessive drinking and couch-sitting.
If these measures aren’t enough to beat your constant fatigue, then it’s time to have a good long talk with your doctor, partner, friends or therapist about the bigger changes you need to make to feel and live the way you’re supposed to.
