Many cases of tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Try these self-help tips to restore your energy levels.
If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, which is an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep, you may have an underlying medical condition. Consult a GP for advice.
A good way to keep up your energy through the day is to eat regular meals and healthy snacks every 3 to 4 hours, rather than a large meal less often.
Read more about healthy eating.
You might feel that exercise is the last thing on your mind. But, in fact, regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, so you'll have more energy.
Even a single 15-minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.
Start with a small amount of exercise. Build it up gradually over weeks and months until you reach the recommended goal of 2 hours 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.
Read more about starting exercise.
Find out the physical activity guidelines for adults.
If your body is carrying excess weight, it can be exhausting. It also puts extra strain on your heart, which can make you tired. Lose weight and you'll feel much more energetic.
Apart from eating healthily, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to be more active and do more exercise.
Read more about how to lose weight.
Many people don't get the sleep they need to stay alert through the day.
The website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists has information on sleeping well.
Tips for sleeping well include:
Stress uses up a lot of energy. Try to introduce relaxing activities into your day. This could be:
Whatever relaxes you will improve your energy.
Read more about how to relieve stress.
There's some evidence that talking therapies such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) might help to fight fatigue, or tiredness caused by stress, anxiety or low mood.
See a GP for a referral for talking treatment on the NHS, or for advice on seeing a private therapist.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. It says the best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks over a 3-week period.
Caffeine is found in:
Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.
You may find that not consuming caffeine gives you headaches. If this happens, cut down more slowly on the amount of caffeine that you drink.
Although a couple of glasses of wine in the evening can help you fall asleep, you sleep less deeply after drinking alcohol. The next day you'll be tired, even if you sleep a full 8 hours.
Cut down on alcohol before bedtime. You'll get a better night's rest and have more energy.
The NHS recommends that men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, which is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.
Try to have several alcohol-free days each week.
Read more about how to cut down on alcohol.
Sometimes you feel tired simply because you're mildly dehydrated.
A glass of water will do the trick, especially after exercise.
Read about healthy drinks.
Written by Camille Peri
Nearly everyone has days when they feel sleepy. But for some people, excessive sleepiness actually gets in the way of daily work, childcare, and even leisure activities. This is known as hypersomnia, recurrent sleepiness that makes people want to nap repeatedly, even at work.
Not surprisingly, the problem of daytime sleepiness usually starts at night. Even missing just a few nights’ sleep, or not getting enough uninterrupted sleep, can slow you down and sour your mood.
Poor sleep habits are often the cause of daytime sleepiness. Before you go through any more groggy and crabby days, try these 12 ways to improve nighttime sleep and avoid daytime sleepiness.
That may sound obvious, but many of us succumb to shaving an hour or two off our sleep time in the morning or at night to do other things.
Most adults need seven to nine hours a night, and teenagers usually need a full nine hours. Block out eight or nine hours for sleep every night.
“Reserve your bed for sleep and sex,” says Avelino Verceles, MD, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the school’s sleep medicine fellowship. “You shouldn’t read, watch TV, play video games, or use laptop computers in bed.” Don’t do your bills or have heated discussions in bed either. They may leave you sleepless.
People who have problem sleepiness are often advised to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including on weekends. But randomly setting an ideal bedtime can lead to more frustration if you suffer from insomnia and already have trouble falling asleep, says Barry Krakow, MD, medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts and Sciences Ltd. in Albuquerque, N.M., and author of Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: 7 Keys to Sleeping Through the Night.
Instead, Krakow suggests starting out by setting a wake-up time only. “Stick by that for the first few weeks or even months to establish a rhythm,” he says. “That process of always getting up at the same time helps to anchor the circadian rhythm. And if you do that and have a bad night, you’ll also to be sleepier the next bedtime.”
Another approach to getting into a consistent schedule is to try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights. Then stick with the last bedtime. Gradually adjusting your schedule like this usually works better than suddenly trying to go to sleep an hour earlier.
Regular mealtimes, not just regular sleep times, help regulate our circadian rhythms. Eating a healthy breakfast and lunch on time -- rather than grabbing a doughnut and coffee in the morning or a late sandwich on the run -- also prevents energy deficits during the day that will aggravate your sleepiness.
Plan to finish eating meals two to three hours before bedtime.
Regular exercise (30 minutes a day on most days) offers multiple benefits for sleep. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, generally makes it easier to fall asleep and sleep more soundly.
Exercise also gives you more daytime energy and keeps your thinking sharp. And if you exercise outside in daylight, you get still more benefits. Sleep experts recommend 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight a day because daylight helps regulate our sleep patterns.
“If you don’t think you can allow seven or eight hours for sleep, then you need to look at your schedule and make some adjustments,” says Verceles. “Move some activities from nighttime to early evening or from early to late morning.” Try to eliminate tasks that aren’t really important. Getting enough sleep at night will help you function better during your remaining activities.
If you go to bed when you’re just tired, you probably won’t be able to fall asleep, Krakow says. “Distinguish between the feeling of sleepiness and being tired. Get into bed when you’re sleepy -- eyes droopy, you’re drowsy, you feel like you’re nodding off. It’s a very different kind of feeling.”
Late afternoon napping can make daytime sleepiness worse if because it can interfere with nighttime sleep.
A relaxation routine before bedtime can help you separate from the day -- especially from activities that are over-stimulating or stressful, making it difficult to sleep. Try meditation, soaking in a hot bath, listening to soothing music, or reading a book. A cup of herbal tea or warm milk can also be soothing, but skip those if they cause you to wake at night to go to the bathroom.
People often think that alcohol helps sleep, but it actually robs you of deep sleep, which is essential for feeling well rested.
When the effects of alcohol wear off during the night, you’ll probably be wide awake again.
Daytime sleepiness can be caused by sleep disorders. If you are excessively sleepy consistently during the day even when you sleep well or if you fall asleep without warning during daily activities, you may have a sleep disorder such as narcolepsy or sleep apnea, a breathing problem that occurs during sleep. According to Krakow, undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders are probably the greatest cause of daytime fatigue and sleepiness.
Problem sleepiness can also be caused by certain illnesses and medications. And mental conditions such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety are very commonly linked to sleep problems.
A sleep specialist can design a treatment program for you that treats the underlying sleep disorder and helps you develop better sleep habits and attitudes though cognitive behavioral therapy. Sometimes it takes a combination of medication and behavioral therapy to eliminate daytime sleepiness, but it can be done.
Woke up, but as if you had not slept? If you wake up tired and even broken in the morning, you need to fix it urgently. We have collected 9 working tips that will help you become alert again and wake up full of energy.
Sports are the last thing you want to do when you feel tired. But research shows that the more physical activity you have, the more energy you have.
Even short workouts will make you more alert and self-confident. And they will improve the work of the heart, lungs and muscles - and improve well-being.
Devices from the pharmacy will help track the state of the body before and after training:
Any exercise is useful in the fight against fatigue, but yoga is especially useful.
There are also several studies on this subject - for example, scientists in the UK conducted an experiment: they gathered a group of volunteers, forced them to do yoga once a week (only once!). Six weeks later, they were interviewed: everyone noted that their thoughts became clearer, and their energy and self-confidence increased.
Dehydration robs you of energy and reduces physical performance - if you don't have enough water in your body, you will get tired even with the simplest housework. Dehydration also reduces alertness and concentration.
You can tell if you are drinking enough water by the color of your urine: if it is dark, you need to drink more.
Important: you need to drink exactly water, not juices, compotes or dairy products - everything except water is perceived by the body as food, and this does not save you from dehydration.
You can also buy water in pharmacies:
The logic is simple: you get more sleep, you get less tired.
Try to go to bed before midnight and put your gadgets away at least an hour before bedtime - so their bright light does not interfere with the production of melatonin, and you can fall asleep quickly.
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Fluctuations in blood sugar affect how awake you are throughout the day - the more fluctuations, the more tired you are. To stabilize your sugar levels, you need to increase the number of meals and reduce the amount of servings.
How it works. Sugar is found in almost every product. If we eat a hearty lunch, a lot of sugar enters the body at a time, its concentration rises sharply, and the body absorbs it for a long time. Dividing a heavy meal into at least two small meals will reduce your blood sugar spike and keep you awake for longer.
Supplement your diet with vitamins for energy:
Fish contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
They improve metabolism and increase alertness - and this helps to stay alert and alert throughout the day.
If there is not enough fish in your diet, supplement your diet with supplements:
Of course, you need to reduce not the weight itself, but the percentage of fat in the body - just more often one is inseparable from the other. Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have proven that even a small reduction in body fat improves mood and makes a person more alert.
To start losing weight, experts advise reducing portion sizes, eating a balanced diet, and exercising (or at least walking more often). If you work remotely and are afraid that you won’t be able to lose weight due to sedentary work at home, read this material - in it we told you how to start losing weight even remotely.
Help in losing weight can be found in pharmacies:
Are you an owl or a lark? The answer to this question will help you not to suffer from fatigue during the day. If you are a morning person and feel energized in the morning, plan all the important things for the first half of the day. If an owl - at the end of the day.
This biological clock, or circadian rhythm, is determined by genetics and brain structure, so changing it can be very difficult. It's much easier to just adapt to them
And if you have problems with activity and fatigue even when you expect a daily energy peak, help:
Important: constant fatigue is a common symptom of many diseases. These include, for example, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and anemia. If you have been feeling uncharacteristically tired for a long time, talk to your doctor.
Certain medications can also cause fatigue, such as blood pressure medications, antihistamines, diuretics, and other medications.
If you start taking something and feel that you are getting tired faster or more often, tell your doctor about it.
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How it works: B vitamins are like a soft pillow for the nervous system. If you live in a mode of lack of sleep and stress, vitamin B (especially B6) neutralizes hysterical states, relieves anxiety and stress, and improves thought processes. It will also have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, the fluctuations of which often accompany stress.
Tension of the nervous system leads to malfunction of many body functions.
Including problems with the skin, nails, hair. B vitamins are also called “beauty vitamins”: they are able to “remove” irritation and itching, a feeling of tight skin, and have a general rejuvenating effect.
How to take: in courses, as directed by a physician. It is better to start the course in advance if you know that work, emergency work and stress are coming soon.
How it works: no need to wince! Firstly, fish oil has long been made in capsules, which neutralizes its taste (for those who hate it since childhood). Secondly, fish oil is a unique, affordable, over-the-counter remedy that will turn you back from a bunch of nerves to a person.
Fish oil is obtained from cod, mackerel, herring. The “magic ingredient” in it is Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The body is not able to produce them on its own, but they are vital to it: for normal metabolic processes, the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, immunity and calmness of the nervous system.
In addition, fish oil is rich in zinc, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A and D. They are our protection against stress and disorders.
How to take: daily as a prophylactic (if there are no contraindications).
How it works: ask the applicants who crowd around the building of the university on the days of the entrance exams - every second will say that his mother gives him "glycine" for the brain and nerves.
Glycine increases mental performance, eliminates depressive disorders and irritability. The tablets also contain vitamins B1, B2, and B6.
How to take: during periods of stress, work deadlines as a supportive remedy.
How it works: in the indications for the use of "Novo-Passit" it is said that he is struggling with the "manager's syndrome" - constant mental stress, the inability to distract and relax.
As part of these funds - extracts of valerian, St. John's wort, lemon balm, hawthorn. Before pills were invented, people were forced to collect and dry these herbs themselves, and then brew them and drink them as a sedative. Modern medicine has simplified this process.
How it works: The active ingredient in this drug is the hormone melatonin, which regulates sleep and wake cycles. Stress “shatters” the nervous system and often leads to problems with falling asleep: you lie in bed for hours, sorting out tomorrow’s affairs in your head. Melatonin solves this problem. At the same time, it does not inhibit the production of the natural sleep hormone.
How to take: for sleep problems - long falling asleep, restless sleep with frequent awakenings.
