The real reasons you’re so tired
Angela Epstein, Published, August 1 2015 copyright The Times, London
Feeling tired all the time is a common complaint of modern life. According to the Royal
College of Psychiatrists, one in five people feels “unusually” tired, and one in ten suffers
from prolonged fatigue. As research is increasingly finding, it’s not just that we are
failing to get enough sleep — underlying health issues may be causing tiredness.
Perhaps you’re not drinking enough water
Last month, a survey of GPs revealed that one in five people who see a doctor because
they feel tired is actually dehydrated. And this lack of fluids may be the reason why you
feel constantly worn out. As we become dehydrated, blood volume is reduced so the
heart has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood around the body. As well as
feeling lethargic, you may actually feel quite weak.
The solution is obvious — just drink more. The European Food Safety Authority
recommends that women should drink about 1.6 litres of fluid (about eight tumbler-size
glasses) and men should drink about two litres (ten glasses) of fluid a day. This includes
tea, coffee, milk and fruit juice. You can also get water from fruit and vegetables, so opt
for fruit such as grapes and watermelon, which have a high fluid content.
It could be undiagnosed type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes develops when your body can’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t
respond to insulin as it should (insulin is a hormone that controls the amount of glucose
in your blood, and moves glucose from the blood into your cells, where it’s converted
into energy.) If you’re suffering with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, you’re likely to feel
tired even after a good night’s sleep, says Dr Stephen Lawrence, diabetes clinical lead
doctor for the Royal College of General Practitioners.
“Even if you wake up feeling fine, undiagnosed sufferers may find themselves feeling
chronically tired about half way through the day. This is because the body is inefficiently
metabolising energy stores as a result of the condition.”
Though there’s no cure, type 2 diabetes can be managed by eating a healthy, balanced
diet with regular meals and doing regular exercise to keep weight down (obesity is a
trigger for the condition). In some cases the drug Metformin is prescribed to help the
body use glucose effectively.
You might have a magnesium deficiency
“Magnesium is needed for the release of energy from food,” explains dietitian Helen
Bond, of the British Dietetic Association, and many people aren’t getting enough of it.
“So if you’re deficient you may feel sapped of energy and experience a general fatigue. It
may also interrupt sleep since it can cause leg cramps, which will also compound
tiredness.”
The recommended daily intake of the mineral for adults is 420mg for men and 320mg
for women.
“Good sources include whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts and meat,” adds Bond.
Eating a daily 90g serving of spinach, 30g of brazil nuts and 75g of wholegrain rice
should help you hit the target and avoid having to take supplements.
Managing stress levels will also help as adrenaline and cortisol, released in “fight or
flight” situations, deplete the body’s natural stores of magnesium.
Are you suffering from anaemia?
Anaemia happens when there are fewer red blood cells than normal in the blood or when
these cells contain an abnormally low amount of haemoglobin — the substance that
carries oxygen around the body.
There are various types of anaemia, including iron-deficient anaemia and vitamin B12deficient anaemia, explains Dr Mark Vanderpump, consultant endocrinologist at the
Royal Free Hospital, London. “Both forms prevent oxygen being carried around the body
which is why sufferers feel so tired all the time.”
Pregnancy, heavy periods or gastrointestinal bleeds, perhaps as a result of a stomach
ulcer, increase the risk of iron-deficient anaemia.The condition is usually diagnosed with
a blood test, which your GP can arrange, and then treated with supplements and
increasing iron in the diet (kale, spinach and sunflower seeds are good sources). Vitamin
B12 or folate-deficiency anaemia is usually treated with injections or tablets.
Women are more likely to suffer from adrenal fatigue
If you feel unhappy and irritable, as well as constantly exhausted, you could be suffering
from adrenal fatigue.
Affecting significantly more women than men, adrenal fatigue happens when the adrenal
glands — two walnut-sized glands that sit just above the kidneys — are overworked.
Under normal circumstances, they produce the hormone cortisol to regulate blood
pressure, the immune system and the body’s response to stress.
“However when they are out of balance, they can disrupt production of other hormones
such as adrenaline,” says naturopath Marek Doyle. “This can lead to problems such as
disturbed sleep and a constant feeling of exhaustion.”
Adrenal fatigue is regarded with scepticism by some doctors, which is why many
sufferers seek alternative practitioners to help alleviate symptoms.
Doyle suggests eating five small meals a day, with high-protein snacks, such as boiled
eggs, in between, to help stabilise blood sugar.
Regular exercise and making time to relax will also help.
Your thyroid isn’t working as it should
The thyroid, a bow tie-shaped gland in front of the windpipe, produces a variety of
hormones — most notably thyroxine — which regulate body temperature and the rate at
which we burn fuel.
“When you have little or no thyroid hormone, your metabolic processes slow down, the
body works less effectively, so you feel tired,” says Dr Vanderpump. “This tiredness can
range from a general fatigue to feelings of exhaustion.”
Other symptoms include dry skin, thinning hair, brittle nails, cold hands and feet and a
hoarse or croaky voice.
Diagnosis is made with a blood test and the condition is treated with a thyroxinereplacement medicine, to restore hormone levels.
Maybe your testosterone levels have fallen
Testosterone is the hormone that gives men their energy — so deficiency not only causes
them to feel tired but weak as well. Age is a risk factor (testosterone levels fall by about 1
per cent a year by the time a man is 30) but low testosterone can also be caused by
diabetes, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption.
Falling levels of the hormone can also lead to loss of muscle mass, so the sufferer feels
tired following any physical activity. “Other symptoms can include lack of libido, erectile
dysfunction and lack of facial [and body] hair”, adds Professor Chris Eden, consultant
urologist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Low testosterone is diagnosed with a
blood test and treated with hormone replacement therapy in the form of a skin gel or
patch.
Sleep apnoea could be affecting your rest
If you feel exhausted all day long, can’t concentrate and fall asleep whenever you sit still
— even when eating — then you may be suffering with sleep apnoea, a condition that
occurs while you are asleep. The muscles and soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse
during sleep, so the airways become blocked, for up to ten seconds or more. The sufferer
then starts breathing again, often with a “snort” or gasp . This can happen up to a
hundred times a night. “The condition can leave you exhausted as it interrupts deep,
slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, which is a time of healing and growth in the body,”
explains Russell Foster, professor of neuroscience at University of Oxford.
Losing weight and quitting smoking will help keep airway passages open. Sleeping on
your side, rather than your back, may also help