But tiredness or exhaustion that goes on for a long time is not normal. It can affect your ability to get on and enjoy your life. Unexplained tiredness is one of the most common reasons for people to see their GP.
Many cases of tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Try these self-help tips to restore your energy levels. If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, which is an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep, you may have an underlying medical condition.
Medical causes – unrelenting exhaustion may be a sign of an underlying illness, such as a thyroid disorder, heart disease or diabetes. Lifestyle-related causes – alcohol or drugs or lack of regular exercise can lead to feelings of fatigue. Workplace-related causes – workplace stress can lead to feelings of fatigue.
We all go through periods of low energy. Even a week of feeling more tired than usual is not uncommon. Yet most people can tell when their fatigue feels like something more serious. If that's the case, or your fatigue gets worse or lasts longer than a week or two, it's time to see your doctor.
If the fatigue is associated with chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heart rate, or sense of imminent passing out, these are urgent conditions that warrant immediate medical attention. These could be symptoms of a serious heart condition or major vascular insufficiency.
By the age of 80, cerebral blood flow is approximately 20% less than at age 30, which means that the heart has less capacity for physical exertion and may feel fatigued more easily. As a result, we feel a gradual decline in our energy and endurance levels.
What is emotional exhaustion? When stress begins to accumulate from negative or challenging events in life that just keep coming, you can find yourself in a state of feeling emotionally worn out and drained. This is called emotional exhaustion. For most people, emotional exhaustion tends to slowly build up over time.
The two most likely reasons you're always so tired no matter how much sleep you get are you've got high sleep debt or you're not living in sync with your circadian rhythm. You may also feel sleepy if you're ill, pregnant, or you've got a medical condition like anemia or diabetes.
If you or a loved one feel sleepy or fatigued, despite having 7-8 hours of sleep, it could indicate poor sleep quality or be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder. If you have questions or concerns about your sleep health, please speak with your primary care provider.
Reasons for fatigue in females include high sleep debt, being out of sync with your circadian rhythm, your menstrual cycle and period, pregnancy, menopause, hormonal contraceptives, poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and anxiety, medication side effects, and medical conditions like thyroid issues or anemia.
It could be due to poor sleep quality, lifestyle factors such as stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise or an underlying health condition. It is also possible that you may not be getting enough deep sleep or REM sleep, which can leave you feeling tired even after a full night's sleep.
There are three types of fatigue: transient, cumulative, and circadian: Transient fatigue is acute fatigue brought on by extreme sleep restriction or extended hours awake within 1 or 2 days.
If you aren't feeling rested when you wake up, despite getting to sleep at least 8 hours prior, then it might not be the quantity of your sleep that's the problem. It could be your sleep quality that needs some attention. The amount of sleep you get is important, but equally important is the quality of that sleep.
Not getting adequate sleep over a series of days causes sleep debt to progressively build day by day. For example: a person needing 8 hours of sleep but getting only 6 would build a sleep debt of 2 hours that day.
Waking up feeling slightly groggy or tired is just part of the human experience. It's called sleep inertia. Sleep inertia will feel worse, however, if you've got sleep debt, you're out of sync with your circadian rhythm, or you didn't do much exercise the day before.
Symptoms of stress-related exhaustion
While the main symptoms of fatigue are a general feeling of weariness or being tired or drowsy, stress-related fatigue is usually accompanied by other symptoms: Sore or aching muscles, or feeling of muscle weakness. Headache. Moodiness, irritability, or easily agitated.
Lack of energy is a typical symptom for most major diseases, like heart disease, many types of cancer, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, and anemia (too few red blood cells). Fatigue also is a common sign of depression and anxiety. And fatigue is a side effect of some medications.
Besides the psychological reasons that can lead to fatigue, Dr. Romm says there's a wide range of physiological reasons for fatigue, too. Experiencing digestive problems, being low in certain vitamins and nutrients (especially iron and protein), and hormonal imbalances can all lead to energy depletion, she says.
On the other hand, if you are in your late 20s, you would experience fatigue in the short bursts of activity. You may feel tired at sometimes and energetic at other times or vice versa. The major reason behind this is reduced antibodies against oxidative stress which results in reduced energy levels.