Combating Fatigue With Five Simple Steps: Our Guide

Getting tired after working, studying, or exercising is normal. But when you always feel tired after waking up in the morning, when you always need an energy drink to keep you active in the afternoon, when you feel constantly tired and exhausted no matter what time of the day, chances are that there is something going wrong in your body.

When you keep experiencing fatigue with no apparent reason, there is a possibility that you may suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This is something that you cannot simply ignore. You have to investigate the reasons behind your constant fatigue as it may also mask an underlying illness such as anemia, which could be a great threat to your health.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) sets in when the feeling of tiredness occurs most of the time and has been persistently occurring for more than six months. It can last for many years.

There is no precise way to diagnose and tell if someone already has CFS. It also does not help that CFS itself is a symptom of other illnesses, making it difficult to ascertain.

What doctors are sure of is that the unholy union of the economic necessity pressuring people to get more things done and an unhealthy lifestyle characterized by lack of quality sleep, excessive stress, poor nutrition, and bad food choices has fueled a surge of those experiencing CFS. The surge in CFS patients has already reached epidemic proportions.

People with CFS are still unable to get rid of the feeling of tiredness, despite getting sufficient rest. Doing physical activities such as running or carrying weight may cause joint pains and muscle tenderness. Doing mentally intensive activities such as studying can also lead to headaches and lethargy for those with CFS.

Although doctors are not really sure what exactly causes this illness, they can help narrow down the possible causes. Since lifestyle choices are already known to aggravate fatigue, you can take these five steps to help mitigate the tiredness.

1. Get rid of the sugar

Although it can give a momentary boost, eating sugary and other carbohydrate-rich foods will eventually decrease our body’s level of orexin, a natural substance in our body that controls our appetite and our ability to remain awake. This is why children feel tired after eating lots of candy, even after the resulting sugar rush has buoyed them for several minutes. The same is true after we eat meals that are heavy in carbohydrates. If you are a sweet-tooth who can’t bear ditching sugar altogether, you have to come up with a plan to wean yourself off sugar by gradually substituting lower-sugar food to what you are eating. For example, instead of cream puffs, you may want to eat carrots or nuts.

2. Reduce or refrain from caffeine

The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant. Thus, plenty of people drink coffee to keep themselves awake. But if your body metabolizes caffeine inefficiently or if you drink coffee to habitually ward off sleep, too much coffee can lead to insomnia. This, in turn, aggravating tiredness. Caffeine can also dehydrate your body, contributing to the feeling of exhaustion. If you think you’re drinking too much coffee, lessen your consumption. You might also want to keep a journal noting down the time you drank coffee, the time you began to feel tiredness, and the feeling of tiredness itself.

3. Turn off your gadgets and have enough sleep

The light coming from gadgets such as laptops and smartphones disrupts our body’s biological clock by delaying the production and release of melatonin in our brain, the sleep hormone. As the consistent use of coffee to delay sleep adds to tiredness, so can the consistent disruption of our biological clock worsen fatigue. Therefore, make it a point to stop using your gadgets at least an hour before you sleep and keep them far away from your bedroom so that you will not be tempted to use them. Make it a point to have at least eight hours of sleep a day while training your body to follow its natural clock so that you sleep on time and wake up on time while feeling fully rested. Discipline and enough sleep can help do wonders to alleviate your fatigue.

4. Opt for shorter high-intensity exercises

Going to the gym to spend hours vigorously working out will just sap more of your energy. A better way to get the same benefits that hours of exercise can give in just 20 or so minutes is through high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Doing HIIT can also give you invigorating energy right after with less of the exhaustion that endless gym hours often result in.

5. Try meditation and mindfulness

A good 20-minute afternoon meditation session can serve as a healthy way to recharge. Likewise, you may ward off fatigue through a simple mindfulness exercise. Pause for a minute or two and focus only on your breathing. There are mindfulness apps that can assist you. You can also try doing yoga or deep breathing after work.

Combating fatigue takes time and effort

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