Never dismiss chronic tiredness. It’s easy to put it down to long work hours and late-nights with Netflix or social media. But if you make changes in those areas and still feel physically and mentally exhausted, without energy or motivation, you need to rule out other possibilities.
Start with those related to lifestyle, which are straightforward to remedy:
1. Poor diet
Too much processed food, transfat, saturated fat and sugar, and not enough of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body requires, can leave you running on empty.
Take action
Eat healthy proteins (lean meat, skinless chicken, fish, legumes), whole grains, and lots of vegetables and fruits for antioxidants and fibre, says dietitian Candice Smith.
2. Not enough sleep
Most of us need seven or eight hours a night, but some can get by with five and wake feeling refreshed, which is what counts, says Michelle Baker, chairperson of the Allied Group for the South African Society for Sleep Health (SASSH).
Take action
To sleep better so you wake with energy, avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks, especially after 2pm, she advises. Cultivate a relaxing sleep ritual: warm bath, milky drink, and a soothing read or music, and keep your bedroom quiet, cool and dark (switch off screens!).
3. Lack of exercise
It’s ironic, but not working out can leave you tired.
Take action
“Exercise is the best way to overcome fatigue and give you energy and zest,” says Dr Leon van Niekerk, Associate Professor: Sport Psychology and HOD: Human Movement Sciences at the University of Fort Hare. “Exercise stimulates the excretion of feel-good hormones.” Just 30 minutes of any moderate exercise a day will boost your energy and mood.
4. Too much stress
Constantly raised levels of adrenalin and cortisone can leave you exhausted.
Take action
Control what stress you can by choosing to participate in fewer activities or to avoid certain people or situations, and explore yoga and meditation. Exercise is still one of the best de-stressors. “Have a period of downtime daily when you are just in the moment and not busy, even mentally, with work,” says Gauteng clinical psychologist Dr Colinda Linde. Walk the dog, unburden with friends, get a hobby and have something to look forward to each day.
But if none of these lifestyle changes help in a few weeks, and tiredness affects your ability to function, see your doctor for a check-up. ‘Chronic tiredness can sometimes signal an underlying medical or mental condition,’ says Umhlanga GP Deseré Ferreira. These include:
1. Depression
Don’t neglect this – it’s a serious medical illness that affects how you feel, think and act, and can be readily overcome.
Signs
Tiredness plus feeling low and hopeless, withdrawing socially, eating or sleeping too little or too much, and headaches.
Get help
Treatment can include cognitive behavioural or other therapy and possibly medication. New varieties have few side effects, says Linde. Contact the SA Depression and Anxiety Group.
2. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
This is a complicated and still controversial disorder marked by extreme fatigue.
Signs
Tiredness plus loss of concentration or memory, headaches, muscle and joint pain, frequent sore throat and tender lymph nodes. In 2017, researchers from Harvard University in the US discovered sufferers had raised levels of a variety of cytokines in their blood (substances secreted by certain cells of the immune system), establishing a scientific link between CFS and inflammation.
Get help
CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or “yuppie flu”, is still not well understood, so find a sympathetic doctor. Contact the ME/CFS Foundation South Africa.
3. Anaemia
With this you have too few red blood cells, or their oxygen-carrying capacity is too low to carry enough oxygen from your lungs to your cells. Anaemia can be caused by not getting enough dietary iron, blood loss (through heavy periods or an ulcer) or conditions such as kidney disease or diabetes.
Signs
Tiredness plus weakness, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, feeling cold even when it’s warm, difficulty sleeping, head and chest pain, irritability and inability to focus.
Get help
Your doctor will need to diagnose the underlying cause, which will determine treatment, says Ferreira. They may order a full blood count, iron study, kidney function test and a stool sample (to test for blood).
4. Diabetes
This sets in when you body’s automatic control of its main energy source, your blood glucose, goes wrong.
Signs
Tiredness plus constant thirst and a need to pee, hunger, weight loss, yeast infections, blurred vision and irritability.
Get help
You need to be taught to manage diabetes by tracking your glucose levels and controlling them through diet, exercise and sometimes insulin, says Ria Catsicas, a Johannesburg dietitian with a special interest in diabetes. Contact Diabetes SA.
5. Underactive thyroid
This occurs when the thyroid gland in your neck produces too few of the hormones that control your metabolism, slowing this down and lowering your energy levels.
Signs
Tiredness plus sore muscles, problems concentrating and thinking clearly, disturbed sleep, cold hands and feet, weight gain and depression.
Get help
Your doctor can diagnose underactive thyroid through a simple blood test, says Cape Town endocrinologist Dr Wayne May. They or an endocrinologist can then prescribe medications, and possibly suggest dietary changes. Contact the Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of SA.
6. Heart disease
South Africa has one of the highest incidences – 130 of us have a heart attack each day, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of SA (HSFSA).
Signs
Tiredness plus weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, swollen feet, and discomfort in the chest, jaw, arms and back.
Get help
Lifestyle changes such as healthy diet, exercise, anger management and quitting smoking are important, and your doctor may also prescribe medication, says HSFSA dietitian Megan Lee. Contact the HSFSA.
7. Sleep apnoea
When your airways become narrow, often through being overweight, it can cause snoring and stop you breathing several times a night, lowering your blood oxygen and breaking your sleep, though you may not know it. Alcohol and smoking make sleep apnoea worse.
Signs
Tiredness plus snoring.
Get help
Professional assistance is vital, says Ferreira, as sleep apnoea can affect your blood pressure, heart and brain function. You may be fitted with a gum guard or given a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) mask to sleep in. Your doctor or a sleep specialist will probably also advise you to lose weight, quit smoking and cut back on drinking.
Also read: The connection between sleep and your immune system
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
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