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.
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Fatigue is a feeling that you're chronically tired - mentally and physically.
It can be caused by a number of factors, including unhealthy lifestyle choices, workplace problems and stress.
There are many different ways you can boost your energy, but see your health practitioner first to make sure you don't have an underlying medical problem.
Food, which gives us energy, is broken down by the digestive system. Some elements, such as water, are absorbed through the stomach. The rest are absorbed through the small intestine.
The body's preferred energy source is glucose, from carbohydrates , but it can also use fatty acids (from fats) and amino acids (from proteins). Glucose is delivered to virtually every cell in the body by the bloodstream, and is then burned with oxygen to produce energy.
Hormones control every step in this process; for example, the pancreas makes the hormone insulin, which helps to control blood sugar levels.
If you want more energy, look at your diet and make sure you're following these basic guidelines:
Low calorie diets or diets that severely restrict carbohydrates don't contain enough energy for your body's needs. The typical crash diet also deprives the body of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and trace elements.A common cause of fatigue is not enough sleep, or poor quality sleep. Suggestions include:
Adults need about 8 hours per night.
Take steps to address your work problems. A good place to start is to talk with your human resources officer.Studies suggest that between 50 and 80% of fatigue cases are mainly due to psychological factors. Suggestions include:
Are you so preoccupied with commitments and pressures that you don't give yourself enough time for fun? Laughter is one of the best energy boosters around.Most people feel drowsy after lunch. This mid-afternoon drop in energy levels is linked to the brain's circadian rhythm and is 'hard wired' into the human body. Preventing this drop in energy may be impossible, but there are ways to reduce the slump, including:
**This information was adapted from the 'Go for your life' campaign with permission by the Victorian Government, Melbourne, Australia
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Last Updated: November 4, 2013
September 7Motivation
The right priorities and self-care will help you overcome a difficult life period.
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0Laurie Deschen
Founder of the website Tiny Buddha and co-founder of the Next Creator Up podcast.
I am very tired. I'm having a baby in six weeks, and my pregnancy is going through with complications. At the same time, I continue to work and participate in new projects.
It's hard: for every small victory of this difficult period, there was a moment when I felt destroyed. I recently realized what helps me overcome fatigue.
If you are also having a hard time, my tips may come in handy.
More than a year ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. She quit her job despite the risk of running out of money. She broke off relationships that were not suitable for her, despite the engagement. And she met cancer with her usual courage. Her feat is not that she was not afraid, but that she overcame a difficult period, despite all the fears.
My conditions are much more pleasant, and sometimes it seems that I really have no reason to be so worried. My experience is nothing compared to what my friend went through. I think I should just come to terms with my stress at the end of a hard day, silently endure any fatigue or discomfort. Just because I'm lucky.
But it's hard for me too. I'm still going through a difficult pregnancy, trying to get everything done, dealing with unpleasant physical symptoms and a lot of fears.
There will always be someone who had a harder time, but why blame yourself for it?
People find themselves in different situations and may equally need help and understanding.
Take note 💡
Seven years ago I had an operation to remove uterine fibroids. I knew that for a speedy recovery I should not strain, but the mess in the room haunted me. I'm a fan of order.
A day has passed since the operation. The seam after the incision in the lower abdomen has just begun to tighten. And then I see a casually thrown pair of shoes next to the door. I knew they weren't supposed to be there. I was in pain, but I tried to put these shoes in the closet. Mom said I was crazy and she was right.
Now I remember the shoe incident every time I feel exhausted and want to do something.
I ask myself: will it wait until morning? Or maybe I shouldn't do it at all? What if someone helps me? And, most importantly, will it really make my life better?
Crossing things out of your diary is not easy, especially if you, like me, are used to taking everything on yourself. But sometimes we just need to give up something in order to save strength and save ourselves from a nervous breakdown.
Maybe you used to be more active or productive (I definitely was). Or you were the person you could ask for help at any time of the day. Or a great conversationalist who could listen to a friend, even if it would take all night.
We worry not only that we will no longer be the same, but also that others will not like these changes. But we are inevitably confronted with new challenges and needs that will not go away if we simply ignore them.
I don't romanticize change. Not being able to do what you used to love is a total waste.
I don't go to yoga anymore because I don't have the time or energy. And I don’t do a bunch of other things that used to consist of my every day. But I was lucky: someday I will be able to do it again, even if not soon.
It's okay to worry about things you can't do. But in the end, we still have to accept reality and ask ourselves how to work with what we have. Otherwise, we will be very worried, and these experiences will not change anything.
Many of us make this mistake. We think we can do more: others do! If you feel bad, do not convince yourself that everything is in order. That way you won't be more productive. And to reproach yourself for a forced respite is also pointless.
If you are tired, you need a rest. And if it hurts, compassion. And nothing will change for the better until you get what you need.
We cannot quit everything and do what we want, especially if we have taken responsibility to others.
But we can definitely find some time to please ourselves.
Recently, I started to include these moments of rest in my schedule. If I can't afford an hour of naps, I will sleep for 15 minutes. If I don't have time to walk 10,000 steps, then at least walk around the block. If I don't have an hour to write about all my experiences in a diary, I will take the time to note three important problems and three ways to solve them.
We constantly compare ourselves to others and think that we must keep up with them, otherwise we will waste our lives. It is not true.
You don't have to be perfect to be happy. We do not have to be afraid of falling behind someone, because each of us goes our own way. And no matter what is happening in our lives right now, this is a valuable experience.
Many would agree that success is inextricably linked to overcoming challenges. I would never have thought that my decade-long struggle with depression and bulimia would be the reason for a change for the better.
I could not imagine how my pain would determine the further trajectory of my life and how this dark stage would lead me to new ones - bright, filled and exciting.
Accept where you are and who you are now, even if it doesn't suit you. Only in this way can you achieve high goals in the future.
Read also 🧐
Spleen, apathy, depression - that's what many people call it.
Asthenic syndrome - doctors call it.
What is it? There is such a simple life hack: if symptoms of weakness and lethargy appear right in the morning, then you need to ask yourself when do you feel better in the morning or in the evening? If in the morning, then everything is ok. The second option If an asthenic condition has already arisen, then, of course, we will not achieve the desired effect by changing the diet alone. You definitely need vitamin supplements. Consultation with specialist is required for selection. 
If in the evening? For example, you went to bed on time, and it’s very difficult to get up in the morning, you have to persuade yourself for a long, long time, while there may be sleep disturbances, you get up as if you didn’t rest, you feel overwhelmed in the morning and this lasts for a long time, then, of course, you need to suspect depression . And here the help of a specialist may be required, very often this condition is a mask of some kind of chronic disease. 9 should work here0096 is not just a psychologist, but a good practitioner who can see the condition that is masked by depression. 
A hormonal examination will allow you to dot the “and” and make adjustments. The third option should include moments of depression and asthenia that occur after past illnesses. When the body struggled with something, it used up resources and is now exhausted. The end of winter-spring is a period when we often get sick, and the energy reserves in the body are replenished slowly, also because the products that we can find this season are depleted in vitamins and microelements that are necessary for energy processes.
Vitamins themselves are not a source of energy, but they activate numerous metabolic processes. Thanks to vitamins, food is properly digested and gives us strength.
The metabolism works exactly the way it is supposed to work. The activity of hormonal glands, the cardiovascular, nervous system is regulated, they are involved in hematopoiesis. Vitamins are involved in all body processes, so the deficiency of each affects the deterioration of well-being.
So, vitamins and microelements - activators of energy processes: C, B1, H (biotin), folic acid, vitamin D, Copper, Chromium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Iodine.
Let's see why and what vitamins we need. Why is it necessary in the spring, even if we eat right and include a lot of green and fresh foods in the diet. First of all, of course, vitamin C . He is responsible for immunity, for vitality, for a good mood. Increases the body's resistance to disease. Participates in the exchange of norepinephrine - this is the hormone of courage, thanks to which we kind of internally gather, mobilize, begin to think more clearly, make decisions faster and be effective.
Effectively deal with stress.
The second most important vitamin in this respect is vitamin B1 . It helps the regeneration of the nervous system, which affects the emotional state. Participates in the Kreps cycle, this is the main energy station in the body, so it is essential.
Vitamin B7 (Biotin, Vitamin H, Coenzyme R) controls the absorption of nutrients and their conversion into energy. Eliminates the feeling of eternal fatigue even with prolonged exertion, relieves sleep problems and, along with thiamine, determines the human ability to concentrate and mental work.
B9 (folic acid), like vitamin C, promotes the production of norepinephrine, protects against stress, awakens optimism and gives us energy. Including sexy!
Vitamin D orchestrates the blood flow. How well he copes with his task depends on whether the cells are fully supplied with oxygen and cleared of decay products in a timely manner, as well as how quickly we can restore our strength after rest.
No less than vitamins, we need minerals:
Copper , the presence of which in the body directly affects metabolism, is involved in the formation of norepinephrine and serotonin.
Iron together with vitamin D is responsible for delivering oxygen to cells.
Selenium strengthens the nervous system and performs many other functions.
Potassium , the lack of which results in muscle weakness and heart rhythm disturbances. In order to avoid potassium deficiency, first of all, it is worth giving up fast food, which contains monosodium glutamate and salts, which are potassium antagonists.
Iodine saves us from chronic fatigue, shattered immunity and mental decline.
Chromium affects the functioning of the brain and the activity of the nervous system.
Magnesium is the "main power engineer" of cells, participates in more than 300 biochemical reactions and metabolic processes and along the way provides us with healthy sleep.
Its deficiency is expressed in a feeling of permanent fatigue, lethargy and dizziness.
In addition, we want to say that iron and iodine deficiency also causes a state of apathy and lethargy. Their prescription is recommended by doctors because there are certain restrictions.
If you take vitamins, eat well and properly, but nevertheless you are still covered in spring. There is an even more advanced level, we can test the genetics of vitamin metabolism . This is a simple and quick test, it is cheaper than constantly testing vitamin levels. In genetics and metabolism of vitamins, there can be persistent vitamin-deficiency states, even despite taking medications. There may be features associated with the exchange of vitamins, genetic features in which a person needs higher adjustments than others. Vitamins are coenzymes of many metabolic processes. They are involved in the synthesis of substances-accelerators of metabolic processes.
Without them, they are not produced; without them, genomic material cannot be read. We have certain genes that encode all metabolic processes, the synthesis of regulatory proteins, enzymes that ensure the regulation of all metabolic processes. Information from genes may or may not be read due to the fact that there is a deficiency of certain vitamins in the body at the moment. Activation and synthesis of hormones may not occur due to the lack of certain vitamins, there is no reading of genomic material that encode information about the activity of hormones, for example. Therefore, vitamin deficiency is the first thing to be eliminated. This study opens the veil of chronic conditions: persistent anemia, persistent chronic fatigue syndromes, digestive disorders. Gives simple answers to what needs to be monitored, and correct only what is a stumbling block for each individual person. We would like our readers and patients to know that on a highly scientific level we can give a simple understanding of the processes, a simple answer to this question.
