If there is one symptom that people complain about more than any other it is fatigue. With our busy lives and general lack of sleep it is no surprise we suffer from fatigue. But sometimes fatigue can have a deeper cause…
An infection, a thyroid problem, a kidney disease, and even diabetes can cause fatigue. There are many causes of fatigue and it is important to remember that is can be a symptom to a much more dangerous disease. Regardless of the cause there are also numerous ways to help combat fatigue and general tiredness.
Ways to Fight Tiredness:
- Simply Sleep – Nothing can overcome tiredness like simply sleeping more. A daily nap, or setting a solid sleep schedule can do wonders for making you feel more alive during the day.
- Eat Better – Even with a good amount of sleep everyday sometimes you are still tired. Food plays a big role in your alertness during the day. Eating a lot of junk food and sugary snacks and drinks may give you a quick up, but they can bring you down even quicker. Eating green leafy vegetables have a lot of B vitamins that have been shown to increase energy levels. Eating a little more protein and fat earlier in the day will help keep your energy levels pretty steady over the day.
- Exercise – Sleep more, eat better, and exercise more seem to be the prescription for everything, but they truly do work. Exercise has a moderating effect on our energy levels. It helps flush out toxins through sweat and push a nourishing volume of blood to the far regions of our body. Better blood flow pretty much equals better energy levels.
- Practice breathing – Oxygen is what gives us life. It only takes a few minutes without oxygen for us to die. Like blood flow, breathing deeply helps us to gain better energy levels through increased oxygen uptake. At any point of the day remember to get a few good belly breathes. Focus on moving your abdomen to bring oxygen into your lungs, and push out as much air (carbon dioxide) as possible.
- Drink water – Increasing your energy is all about bringing good things into your body and pushing bad things out. Like blood and air, our bodies need water to perform those tasks. Good clean water is vital for life and most of us need to drink more water than we normally do. Go grab a drink of water anytime you think about it. Maybe even set the alarm on your phone to drink something at least every hour or two.
If all of the above doesn’t work it is probably a good idea to consult a doctor and have them test for some other possible problems. As I mentioned in the beginning fatigue can be caused by a lot of things, but doing the 5 things above will go a long way to improving your energy levels each and every day.
This is our 29th challenge in The Personal Health Challenge Series…