Are you always tired?
The top reasons
why you’re exhausted all the time, and how to get your energy back
Do you struggle to get out of bed, feel constantly
drained and rely on pick-me-ups such as protein bars, coffee and sugary treats
to get you through the day?
If so, you’re far from alone. Research by market
analysts Mintel reveal that one in three are permanently worn out because of
the pace of modern life. So much so that doctors have even created a handy
acronym — TATT (Tired All The Time) — that they jot down in their notes when a
patient complains of constant fatigue. Here, experts point to some of the
causes — and how to deal with them.
1 You’re not exercising enough
It might be the last thing you feel like, but
avoiding exercise because you’re tired makes you feel worse. In a University of
Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising
lightly three days a week for just 20 minutes reported feeling less fatigued
and more energised after six weeks. This is because regular exercise makes your
heart and lungs work more efficiently, delivering oxygen and vital nutrients
around the body. Reboot your
energy: Next time you’re tempted to flop on the sofa, force
yourself up for a brisk 10-minute walk — you’ll feel more alert for it.
2 You don’t sleep as well as you
think
Recent research shows many of us survive on so-called
‘junk sleep’ — the kind when we wake up frequently throughout the night. It
doesn’t replenish our energy levels as well as long stretches of continuous
sleep. Junk sleep can be caused by stress, but also by over-stimulating the
brain too close to bedtime. For example, by checking emails or using tablets
and smartphones that emit a blue light found to disrupt sleep by tricking the
brain into producing ‘wake-up’ hormones right when you need to wind down. Reboot your energy: To avoid junk
sleep, you need to develop good sleep hygiene — which means going to bed at a
set time, banning screens for an hour beforehand and developing a wind-down
routine that prepares your body for sleep, such as a warm bath, followed by a
milky drink and half-an-hour reading something easy-going.
3 Your coffee addiction is
sapping your energy
Although we think of caffeine as a pick-me-up, it
makes us feel more tired once the initial surge wears off. Dr Chidi Ngwaba,
director of The Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, explains: “This is because our brain
chemistry doesn’t like being interfered with by stimulants, so it releases
chemicals to dampen down the alert response.” Coffee is also a serious sleep
disrupter, with one study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine revealing
that drinking it even six hours prior to bedtime meant poorer quality
kip. Reboot your energy: Avoiding
caffeine will increase energy levels in the long run — but cut down gradually,
cup by cup, to avoid headaches and irritability.
4 You have an iron deficiency
Figures show that around a third of women are low in
iron often due to heavy periods. Some have low enough iron levels to be
anaemic. If you pull down your bottom eyelids and the inner rim looks pale
rather than pink, it’s an indicator. Reboot your energy: A blood test will pick up any iron
problems and you’ll be prescribed tablets to boost levels.
If iron levels are at the lower end of normal, but
not anaemic, Healthspan’s Head of Nutrition Rob Hobson says: “Include plenty of
iron-rich foods in your diet, such as lean meats, dark green vegetables, pulses
and dried fruits, and pair them with foods like citrus fruit high in vitamin
C.”
5 You’re missing out on vital
B-vitamins
Hobson explains: “We all have increasingly busy
lives, so it’s essential to provide the body with enough calories and vitamins
to get through the day. B vitamins are particularly vital as they’re required
by the body to convert the food you eat into energy.” Reboot your energy: “You can find
this group of vitamins in grains such as brown rice, barley and oats, as well
as lean proteins such as oily fish,” says Hobson.
6 You are dehydrated
Losing as little as two per cent of your body’s
normal water content can take its toll on your energy levels. And it’s
surprisingly easy to become dehydrated, especially as we tend to lose our
thirst reflex as we get older.
Working in an air-conditioned office, going for a
long walk or simply forgetting to drink regularly can quickly lead to depleted
fluid levels.
This causes blood pressure to drop and means not
enough blood gets to the brain or muscles. This can cause headaches, fatigue
and loss of concentration. Reboot
your energy: Try to drink every two hours. If you’re not peeing
regularly or your urine is very dark, it’s a sign you need to drink more.
“Water is best, but if you find it boring, add mint, basil, lemon or cucumber
to liven up the flavour,” suggests Hobson.
7 You’re overdosing on sugar
Nutritionist Linda Foster says: “What many people
don’t realise is that they can actually be made more tired by the very foods
that is supposed to give them energy. Sugary energy drinks and snack foods such
as biscuits, chocolate and crisps cause sharp spikes then dips in blood sugar
that can leave you flagging, irritable and desperate for a midafternoon
nap.” Reboot your energy:Swap
to low-sugar foods — and this includes avoiding white carbs such as bread and
pasta which quickly convert to sugar in the body. Foster says: “Instead choose
wholegrain carbs such as granary bread, wholemeal pasta and brown rice which
release energy more slowly. And eat them little and often to keep your blood
sugar stable.”
8 You’re skimping on protein
Surviving on fruit and salad might feel worthy, but
avoiding protein in the form of meat, dairy and nuts will leave you exhausted,
as it’s a vital energy giver. “It also takes more time for protein to be broken
down in the body, so the energy is released more slowly and it fills you up for
longer,” explains Foster. Reboot
your energy: Snack on protein to keep energy levels stable. Eating
a minimum of a palm-sized amount of protein with meals, and eating seeds and
nuts or nut butters can prevent tiredness. Good protein sources are meat, fish,
cheese, tofu, beans, lentils, yogurt, nuts and seeds.
9 You’re storing up stress
Naturopath Martin Budd, author of Why Am I So
Exhausted?, says: “While a little stress helps to keep us on our toes,
long-term stress — for example from work or relationship problems — can exhaust
the body, as well as being emotionally draining.” Reboot your energy: “It’s our response to stress that’s much
more damaging to our health than the stress itself,” says Dr Chidi.
“So by learning how to diffuse stressful situations,
we can reduce their impact.”
When stress strikes, instead of going frantic to fix
things, try to slow down and take a break instead. Call a friend, walk the dog
or do some yoga.
10 Your thyroid is sluggish
Having an underactive thyroid — which means it’s not
making enough of the hormone thyroxine — is a surprisingly common cause of
unexplained fatigue, especially in middle-aged women.
Other symptoms of a thyroid condition include
excessive thirst, weight gain and feeling cold. Reboot your energy: See your GP who can give you a blood
test. If an underactive thyroid is diagnosed, a simple once-a-day tablet can
correct the problem — and most people get their normal energy levels back soon
after starting treatment.
11 Log off
Dr Lipman, author of Revive: End Exhaustion
and Feel Great Again, believes people who over-use technology risk running
out of steam. “In today’s world, many of us literally can’t switch off,” he
says.
“We’re glued to our computers during the day, our
phones on the way to and from work, and our laptops in the evening. “Then
there’s TV. These are stimulants and they can disturb your quality of sleep.”
Dr Lipman advises all his clients to switch off their laptops, TVs and mobile
phones an hour — preferably two — before bed.
“Exposure to electromagnetic fields too close to
bedtime stops the sleep hormone melatonin from being secreted as you fall
asleep, which means you never reach the deep, restorative type of sleep we all
need,” he says.
“This type of sleep leaves you feeling fully
refreshed after seven or eight hours, plus it keeps your immune system strong.”
Dr Lipman suggests his patients wear an eye mask in bed: “Total darkness helps
you fall into a deep restorative sleep.”
12 Meditate for 12 minutes daily
Cut back on multitasking. Focus on doing one thing at
a time and give that all your attention. Meditation greatly improves your focus
and memory, and in studies, subjects’ memories improved by an average of 10-20
per cent, with some showing an improvement nearer 50 per cent.
13 Put plants around your home
Keep your windows open as often as possible — indoor
air is often far dirtier than air outside, swirling with dust mites, bacteria,
particles from cooking, cleaning, smoking, and pollutants brought in from
outdoors such as pollen and pesticides, all of which can reduce our ability to
perform mental tasks. Houseplants can be an effective way to purify the air in
your home.
Packs a punch: Bananas
offer instant and slow release energy
• Nosh a nana: Packed with natural sugars, and higher
in starch than most other fruit, bananas provide the perfect blend of instant
and slow-release energy.
• Try this quick acupressure pick-me-up: Pinch the
point between your thumb and forefinger, hold for two minutes then gradually
release. It’s thought to stimulate energy flow.
• Sniff yourself awake: Shake drops of aromatherapy
oils like rosemary, lemon or juniper on a tissue and inhale for a few seconds.
—Daily Mirror
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