By Dr Attia Anwar
Feeling tired all day and devoid of energy can be a sign of many diseases. Most chronic systemic disorders start with the symptom of tiredness.
This list includes infections, cancer, depression, and so on. However, tiredness can occur without significant diseases, and it is a common symptom for which no cause can be found even after extensive investigations. It is essential to understand the biology of it. Lifestyle choices play an important role in feeling tired all the time. The food you eat is the main source of micro and macronutrients.
Correcting a nutritional deficiency or treating underlying medical conditions like sleep apnea can help you get rid of fatigue.
If you constantly indulge in food that has poor nutritional value, the result will be either a disease due to nutritional deficiency or a sense of weakness and fatigue. Sleep is another important factor in rejuvenating your body after work. If you have an erratic sleep pattern you will not feel fresh and will feel tired. For sleeping well, exercise and workouts have their own role. So what I can say is a disciplined healthy lifestyle is key to feeling energetic and not tired. In most cases, fatigue can be remedied by lifestyle and dietary modification. In the rest of the cases, correcting a nutritional deficiency or treating underlying medical conditions like sleep apnea can help you get rid of fatigue.
Feeling tired all the time is associated with some red flag signs like unintentional weight loss, vomiting, bleeding through some part of the body, swelling in a part of the body, or being pale. It shows some serious disorders in the body which can be some curable or manageable disease. Otherwise, if no red flag sign is present and your energy levels are constantly low. Your symptoms are neither increasing nor decreasing. Then, most probably, you do not have a major disease. Fatigue is also like an emotion that occurs when there is a conflict between your goals and behaviors. If we continue with the activities that we find unrewarding, we feel tired. We experience a fatigue continuum. We experience fatigue at the beginning of an act we do not like. We ignore it and try to increase our performance by resisting it and we constantly increase our effort to overcome it. This resistance and saying no to body signals can result in chronic fatigue or tiredness all the time. This fatigue is the result of the psychological strain of doing more. If you think you are resting enough and you still feel tired, you are not resting enough. One way to combat this and avoid converting it into a chronic condition is to stand up and move away. Try to do things that you like to do to recharge your mental battery. If you cannot take a break immediately, then schedule a recovery time so that you can come back with full energy the next day. Ultimately, try to do the things that you find interesting and that align with your goals and values.
Getting enough sleep is very important for our health and performance. Unfortunately, most of us are not getting enough sleep. During sleep, our body performs many important functions like repairing and regenerating cells. We feel fresh when we wake up after enough uninterrupted sleep. Adults should get at least seven hours of sleep at night for better health. Again, sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition are interrelated. You will get good sleep if you have proper nutrition and are physically active. Sleep is an important part of the rejuvenation of our body. When we have trouble sleeping and feel tired all the time, we should address all the factors, including stress and anxiety. Relaxation exercises, yoga, and meditation have their role and are good for sleep problems.
If we eat highly processed food, it will impair our energy levels
Nutritional deficiencies can lead to feelings of exhaustion for obvious reasons. The body does not have enough fuel to work properly. We should always count our calories. We should not overfeed ourselves. While counting calories, we should take care of micronutrients. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia. Vitamins are necessary for the proper functioning of the body. There is a role of Magnesium and zinc in the maintenance of our body functions. Again fresh food rich in fruits and vegetables along with good protein will lead to proper nourishment of our body, and chances of feeling weak or tired are less. We need nutrient-dense food to maintain energy and get nutrients to perform critical functions of our body. If we do not take in enough calories and protein, our body starts using body muscles and fat, which leads to fatigue or tiredness. In addition to that, if we eat highly processed food, it will impair our energy levels. They are rich in sugars but devoid of essential nutrients, leading to chronic high blood glucose levels and fatigue. Proper hydration, like an adequate amount of water, is also important to prevent fatigue.
Some amount of stress is normal and good for our health. Excessive, longstanding stress can lead to fatigue. We feel tired all the time because everything we want to do becomes difficult while coping with the stress. It leads to exhaustion. Moreover, chronic fatigue produces structural and functional changes in the brain that lead to inflammation. Inflammation is another cause of chronic fatigue. It will become a vicious cycle. Although caffeinated beverages boost your energy. Over-reliance on them makes you sleep disturbed. It will produce two effects which will result in fatigue. They give you a temporary feeling of high energy, and then a dip is necessary due to body exhaustion. Second, if your sleep is disturbed, your body is not rejuvenated properly and you will have fatigue in the long term. Excessive caffeine is not a solution to tiredness; rather, it is harmful and increases stress levels. Coffee and green tea are good in moderation for health. Energy drinks that are high in caffeine and sugar should be avoided as much as possible.
If we summarize, being tired all the time can be a sign of a serious disease. But if your tiredness persists for months or years at the same level then most probably it is an emotional reaction to doing things that you do not desire to do. Alternatively, it is the result of poor lifestyle choices like overwork, less sleep, bad diet, substance abuse, and lack of exercise.
The author, Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.
