5 Reasons You're Exhausted and How To Fix It
Struggling to crawl out of bed in the morning? Have you been catching yourself mid-snooze in the office during work hours or struggling to resist the urge for that extra cup of coffee to help keep you awake?
You aren’t the only one experiencing this problem.
One of the most proactive silent killers you may find yourself in a constant battle with is a widely shared problem that affects more people daily than you could ever imagine.
Chronic fatigue is incredibly detrimental to your physical well-being and has a profound negative impact on your mental health. While some people ignore this and self-diagnose this as just being an issue of not getting enough sleep the night prior, there can be serious underlying issues at the root.
Finding the cause of this problem can be overwhelming as there are many factors to consider. However, your health should always be the main priority and there are many ways to help improve fatigue and fight off this never-ending war with extreme exhaustion.
Here are 5 possible ways your daily lifestyle can contribute to chronic fatigue and how you can implement new ways to combat these issues.
#1 - Sleep Deprivation
Poor sleep patterns and a constant cycle of not allowing your body an adequate amount of sleep per night are the main causes of physical and mental exhaustion.
Depriving your body of sleep can lead to many health implications such as:
- Irritability and mood swings
- Trouble focusing
- Headaches and body pain
- Daytime sleepiness
- Unusual behavior
- Decreased immune system support
- Cardiovascular health issues
It’s recommended that adults get at least 7-9 hours of sleep in order to sustain healthy functionality. If you’re not allowing yourself proper rest, you’re putting extreme stress on your body, which can have numerous negative impacts.
Insomnia is one of the most common issues with a disruption in sleep patterns and can cause numerous negative health effects.
Should you find yourself trying to go to bed at a decent time each night but lie awake in the dark for hours, chances are you’re struggling with insomnia.
While insomnia is more common than you may believe, there are many contributing factors as to why you may be experiencing this.
Increased stress will leave you tossing and turning all night as your brain is constantly active and your cortisol levels rise. Creating a relaxing environment or allowing yourself to mentally reset is critical to getting your sleep patterns back in control.
One effective way to help combat elevated cortisol levels is by taking supplements that contain adaptogenic properties/compounds. KSM-66® and Ashwagandha are great stand-alone ingredients to add to your daily supplement intake as it allows your body to relax and regulates any cortisol imbalance.
NuEthix Formulations created many options for stress relief and hormonal regulation, which you can see here. The NuEthix team is passionate about creating products that work, and their formulators stay up to date on all the current scientific research to bring unique, effective formulas that can help just about anyone going through daily stress.
#2 - Too Much Caffeine and Stimulants
Yes, it can be hard not to brew a cup of coffee in the morning as it becomes part of your daily routine/ritual. However, this isn’t to say you need to give up coffee forever or even stop drinking it in the mornings.
The problem is when one cup of coffee turns to two and then it slides into another coffee break mid-day or later in the early evening hours so you can power through the rest of your hectic schedule as you try to meet deadlines at work or need to go pick up the kids from school.
Consuming too much caffeine can cause you to develop a pattern of restlessness as you’re giving yourself a lasting energy boost that leads to sleep issues and the inability to sleep at night.
As your caffeine tolerance grows, you get trapped in a cycle that seemingly never ends. Due to the lack of sleep, you’ll find yourself taking in more caffeine to help keep you awake during the day and in excess amounts which, in turn, causes you to stay awake even longer into the night.
At this point, your central nervous system is on full overload masking the need for sleep as you get your temporary boost in activity levels while your body is practically begging for you to just give it the rest it needs to function properly.
Taking a break is key. Allow yourself to reset without the need for stimulants and caffeine so you can get back on track with your normal schedule. You may deal with headaches or body pain as your body starts to go without, but you’ll be thanking yourself later as you can finally catch some much-needed z’s.
#3 - Nutrient and Dietary Deficiency
More common than not, chronic fatigue can also be attributed to not getting in your daily vitamins and minerals.
The human body is reliant upon nutrients for energy production and oxygen delivery among others. Keeping nutrient levels at a normal amount is crucial for adequate and optimal health. Not allowing your body to take in specific nutrients can cause many issues but it is also the easiest to help treat.
For energy, fatigue, and cognition; the following nutrients have been linked with clinical evidence. [1]
- Niacin
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Pantothenic Acid (B5)
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Vitamin B6
- Folate
Iron deficiency is most likely to resonate with the average individual as the term ‘Anemia’ is heavily common among individuals. Fatigue, body temperature, and dizziness or regular bloody noses are commonly associated with iron deficiency. Raising your iron levels and taking in the proper amount can help restore any prolonged effects associated.
Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to side effects, including chronic fatigue, and reduced natural energy levels.
Symptoms of anemia can range anywhere from irregular heatbeat to excess fatigue and overall weakness.
Try talking to a medical professional to see how you can get tested for any deficiencies you might have so that you can properly restore any lowered levels of nutrients.
NuEthix Formulations also has a wide array of wellness products that include all your essential vitamins and minerals packed in at proper dosages for your benefit. Here are some of the products you can add to your daily arsenal.
#4 - Poor Diet Structure
Giving your body the proper fuel it needs to thrive is so crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
By developing a poor habit of eating bad, simply just not eating enough or too much – your body becomes greatly affected by this. A diet that doesn’t contain the proper healthy fats or carbohydrates and protein can attribute to the body using stored muscle and fat to feed itself essentially as a resource for energy.
If you’re eating things high in sugar such as candy or drowning your pancakes in heavily refined maple syrup daily, you’re causing a spike in insulin levels and blood sugar which can lead to not only more major diseases such as diabetes but also chronic fatigue as a result.
Understanding what the glycemic index is, adding in healthy fats such as Omega-3 Fish Oil (which can also treat many things such as inflammation, support cardiovascular health, and more), lowering your sugar intake, or simply just taking a finer look at the nutrition facts label on the back of your food can go a long way toward keeping your body on the positive health track.
I’m sure everyone has heard it by now but yes, cutting back on processed foods can help immensely as there is a greater risk for fatigue when you’re consuming a diet full of frozen foods and McDonald’s instead of balancing out your meals and getting in the proper micronutrients your body needs.
#5 - Not Drinking Enough Water
Seriously, water?
While it may be laughable to think not drinking enough water can cause sleep pattern issues, it’s quite serious.
Staying properly hydrated is essential to your overall energy levels. As you become dehydrated, your body starts to fight fatigue and you’ll find that exercise can be a huge obstacle for you when you aren’t drinking an adequate amount of water.
To tie back to the previous bullets, having a poor diet and abusing caffeine can lead to dehydration so if you’re not drinking enough in general and you’re adding in all these bad habits – you’re not going to be able to sustain optimal energy levels needed throughout the course of the day and evening hours.
It is an absolute must that you stay consistently hydrated if you want to help counteract the extreme exhaustion set in by poor choices. You can also try adding in flavor enhancers or a great stimulant-free BCAA, Essential Energy, which combines your essential amino acids plus branched-chain amino acids to help improve protein synthesis and muscle recovery. It also comes in a delectable Kiwi Cherry Limeade flavor to help you pound water down like it’s no one’s business.
The Take Home
While it may not be alarming to feel tired some days, it should be noted that long-lasting exhaustion is not something that is normal. It’s important to look at your lifestyle choices and determine if you’re contributing to chronic fatigue.
Underlying health issues that you may not be aware of could also be affecting this and you should seek attention from a doctor to make sure you find out the main cause.
Overall, it’s not particularly difficult to help treat common factors that are making you feel like you got hit by a train every morning. What’s important is that you identify potential causes and give your best effort to help combat these issues within your daily life.
