Some conditions that cause fatigue include thyroid disorders, iron deficiency anemia, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, and COVID-19. Some other causes of fatigue may involve your diet, sleep, and levels of stress. Lifestyle changes can often improve feelings of fatigue in these situations.
Causes of fatigue include: Lifestyle habits: Poor diet, excessive alcohol, drug use, too much stress and a sedentary lifestyle can all contribute to fatigue. Jet lag commonly causes temporary fatigue (symptoms usually improve in a few days).
One possible reason for feeling tired, anxious, and weak is having low levels of iron, vitamin D, or B12. Many experts believe that a significant percentage of the U.S. population is deficient in vitamin D. Having low levels of vitamin D can cause muscle weakness and pain.
Call for an appointment with your doctor if your fatigue has persisted for two or more weeks despite making an effort to rest, reduce stress, choose a healthy diet and drink plenty of fluids.
Lack of physical or mental energy. Inability to stay awake or alert. Accidentally falling asleep, such as when driving or operating heavy machinery. Inability to maintain or complete an activity.
Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shiftwork, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication, and medical and psychiatric illnesses.
A lack of energy and motivation can be a sign of depression. Reach out to a mental health professional if you need help. They may be able to tell you if something else is causing your low mood.
For most people, feeling tired when you wake up is the result of sleep inertia, which is a natural feeling you experience as you transition between being asleep and awake. This feeling generally dissipates between 15 and 60 minutes after waking, but for some it can last longer.
Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can't perform its duties as well. You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.
1. Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is essential to the body's metabolic process. This vitamin maintains blood and nerve cells, makes DNA, supports brain function, and helps the body convert food into energy.
Vitamin B12
Along with the other B vitamins, vitamin B12 helps transform the food you eat into energy that your cells can use. It also keeps your body's nerves and blood cells healthy and helps prevent a type of anemia that can make you weak and tired ( 22 ).
But if you're always feeling tired, it can be more than just not getting enough sleep. Feeling tired can stem from more serious issues like sleep apnea, depression, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Family medicine specialist Jared Ankerman, MD, discusses the different reasons you might be feeling so tired.
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.
There are no medical tests to measure fatigue. But a good way to describe fatigue is on a scale of 1 to 10. Where 1 means you don't feel tired at all and 10 means the worst tiredness you can imagine. Some may use a questionnaire to help them work out how it's affecting you.
This sleep inertia, or transition from sleep to wake that comes with temporary grogginess, is part of the natural sleep-wake cycle. Sleep inertia typically lasts for 60-90 minutes. Natural light, exercise, coffee, and low sleep debt can help reduce its length and severity.
Most likely, you're still tired after eight hours of sleep because of these three factors: (1) you don't know your sleep need, (2) you're not taking into account your sleep efficiency, and (3) you carry sleep debt.
Testing for MTHFR. A simple swab or blood test can determine whether an individual has a mutation on either the C677T and/ or the A498C variants. This test can provide vital information into potential causes of fatigue which may be readily rectified should the MTHFR polymorphism be involved.
A lack of energy and motivation can be a sign of depression. Reach out to a mental health professional if you need help. They may be able to tell you if something else is causing your low mood.
For most people, feeling tired when you wake up is the result of sleep inertia, which is a natural feeling you experience as you transition between being asleep and awake. This feeling generally dissipates between 15 and 60 minutes after waking, but for some it can last longer.
Your body needs sugar, also known as glucose, for energy. When your blood sugar level drops, you can become dizzy, shaky, and tired. Low blood sugar is often a side effect of insulin and other drugs used to treat diabetes. These drugs lower blood sugar, but if the dose isn't right your blood sugar can drop too much.