Why Am I So Tired, and How Do I Beat Fatigue?

Feeling tired is a common complaint. For some, this fatigue is related to an underlying medical condition. For others, however, some simple lifestyle changes can often remedy fatigue. 

Why Am I So Tired?

Everyone becomes tired. However, it’s not normal to feel consistently tired even when waking up after a good night of sleep. Fatigue can stem from psychological factors like stress or depression, physiological problems like excessive exercise or poor sleep, and medical conditions like diabetes or anemia. 

Many medical issues lead to chronic fatigue, including:

• Cancer
• Sleep apnea
• Heart failure
• Autoimmune disorders
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Malnutrition

Patients who experience tiredness for six months or longer may have chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalopathy. However, another diagnosis may coincide with chronic fatigue syndrome, and patients with the condition often have sleep disturbances, chronic pain, or cognitive difficulties. 

Since many medical conditions cause fatigue, seeing a physician to rule out any medical concerns causing your exhaustion is essential.

How Do I Beat Fatigue?

Since the causes of fatigue vary widely, so do the treatments. For example, new parents are often fatigued because their babies need to eat every few hours. So, cutting back on caffeine won’t help them as much as it would help someone who can’t fall asleep at night. 

However, when your fatigue isn’t caused by a new baby or a medical condition, you can make standard lifestyle changes to sleep consistently and restoratively. These include:

• Bettering your sleep hygiene, or pre-sleep rituals
• Exercising regularly
• Reducing your caffeine intake, especially in the afternoon and evening
• Eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water
• Identifying and managing stressors
• Learning breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga to foster relaxation
• Avoiding alcohol, nicotine, and recreational drugs

Patients who continue to struggle with fatigue despite implementing these changes may benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy or other forms of therapy to identify and treat the challenges that keep them from getting proper rest. 

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