When you feel tired, everything is a struggle. Simple tasks can feel enormous, and finding energy and motivation to get through the day can be such a challenge. You’re not lazy or struggling with willpower, chances are you just need to get to the root of your fatigue. Here are some of the possible causes.
Lack of Quality Sleep
The first, and most obvious cause for tiredness could be as simple as a lack of quality sleep. It’s important to maintain a good sleep regime where you go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day. Ideally you want to be sleeping for at least seven hours, and during that time being undisturbed. If there are things in your environment that you know you could change to secure better sleep then address these things first. If you’re constantly being woken up by pets clambering on you in the night for example, consider making your bedroom a pet-free zone at night. If your partner snores, some earplugs might help and some good quality blackout curtains to keep the room dark. If you have a fitness tracker that tracks your sleep, delve into the data and check out how many times you’re waking and what type of sleep you’re getting. Fitbits for example let you know approximately how much light, deep and REM sleep you’re getting so if something looks off you could do some research to find out why. All of the generic rules about less screens at night, not drinking alcohol in the evening, avoiding caffeine after 1pm and more are all worth doing as well. Even if you’re getting into bed at a reasonable hour, if certain things are affecting the quality of your sleep you’ll still get up feeling tired.
An Underlying Health Condition
Lots of underlying medical conditions can cause fatigue. Some will prevent you from sleeping well at night and affect your energy levels that way, others can result in vitamin deficiencies or immune problems which prevent the body working as well as it should. Feeling tired all the time can signal many underlying physical and mental health conditions, from diabetes to depression, from liver issues to even cancers. Don’t panic and self diagnose, but it’s something to speak to your GP about. The first port of call is usually bloodwork to narrow down what the issue is and where it could be coming from.
Unbalanced Hormones
Even if you don’t have any specific health conditions, your hormones can become unbalanced and cause all kinds of issues to your physical and mental health. Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers, and when they stop communicating properly, all kinds of issues can occur. From weight gain and excessive hunger to mood issues, skin problems and fatigue. Improving your overall health and lifestyle is usually enough to get your hormones communicating properly again, this includes losing excess weight and exercising. A healthy diet is important, as many hormonal signals are sent from the gut. Many people add probiotic supplements to their diet as a way to improve gut health, but if you do this it’s important to add prebiotics too. Since probiotics are a live bacteria, they need food to thrive and prebiotics (another word for plant fibres) are the food that they need. It’s worth reading more on the topic of prebiotic vs probiotic as it’s an incredibly interesting subject and can completely reshape your understanding of health and hormones.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-on-chair-while-leaning-on-laptop-3791136/
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
