In today’s fast-paced world, it is critical to have enough energy to make it through the working day. However, many people are unaware of the behavioral and biological drains on their energy – as nutrition, daily exercise habits, and other ailments might be detracting from their ability to function properly in the workplace or have enough energy to stay socially active and mentally balanced. Though these problems might be small in scale, the drawbacks that they might have on your health can add up to much more severe problems.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Myth, or Reality?
In recent years, there has been a large increase in diagnoses of a complicated syndrome known as Chronic Fatigue, which has the characteristic symptom of extreme tiredness without apparent cause. Though it seems to present itself alongside other illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health maladies, chronic fatigue syndrome is certainly a diagnosis all its own.
However, some skeptics claim that ongoing tiredness is a symptom of behaviors and habits that drain energy, and must be caused by some unknown imbalance within the body. Doctors are still struggling to determine the best comprehensive method for testing for the illness, and have even faced obstacles in clinically defining just what the syndrome embodies and signifies. Whether we like it or not, however, as our generation faces a world that is getting faster and more instantaneous through new technologies, we must face the factors that – diagnosed or not – are leading to the energy drains that more and more patients now report.
Nutritional Issues: Energy-Draining Foods Beverages
The most common “treatments” for being tired are coffee and tea, but overconsumption of these beverages can also lead to extreme tiredness and sleeping issues. Soda is one of the biggest problems in our diet since the balance of sugars and caffeine within the beverage can cause a lot of damage within our bodies without providing any additional nutritional content. Diet sodas with asparatime are equally at fault: the sugar substitutes have been determined by researchers to ultimately drain your energy and counterbalance the effects of caffeine within the beverages. These chemicals can also slow down the processes within other organs and bodily systems, such as your endocrine and circulatory system – kidneys are shown to be 30% less effective as the result of drinking the small amount of two cans of soda each day. The only way to fix this issue is to eliminate soda from one’s diet: even drinking coffee is favorable in comparison to these caffeinated sodas, and those who are addicted to the bubbly effect of soda may choose sparkling water as a healthy alternative.
Another key issue is the timing and size of the meals that you eat every day – nutritionists report that their clients who eat three large meals each day often feel tired approximately one hour after each meal, which can severely affect work performance as the blood concentrates in the digestive system. One important method for lessening the drowsiness after eating is to spread the calories consumed throughout the day by eating five or six smaller, nutrition-packed meals. Though dessert is tempting, eating high amounts of sugar at bedtime can lead to mild insomnia, such that even if sleeping, the body does not fully rest as it properly should. If you have to satisfy your sweet tooth after dinner, try to finish your treat three hours before going to sleep so the sugars can properly be digested and your insulin levels are balanced.
Bodily Imbalances: Small Scale Problems that Can Bring Severe Fatigue
Many of the causes of tiredness are actually not severe problems, and can be treated with a simple vitamin increase or change in habits. For example, one common (yet seemingly counterintuitive) treatment for lethargy is simply increased daily exercise, with the aim being to increase activity to at least thirty minutes per day to increase metabolism levels and also increase dopamine levels in the brain. Iron deficiencies are also documented to have a relation to drowsiness symptoms – and under the supervision of a doctor, usually the ingestion of a daily vitamin pill with an iron boost can clear up the energy problems within a few weeks.
Some of the other causes, however, are much more complicated in nature and need to be diagnosed by a medical professional. For example, a loss of energy could be caused by a variety of sleep disorders which may have gone undetectable or undiagnosed for several years, leading to extreme symptoms over time. Narcolepsy is one such disorder which would need to be diagnosed by a sleep specialist, and probably tested through sleeping laboratory sessions. You might also need to have blood tests taken to determine if there are any deficiencies in the vitamins, minerals, or proteins necessary to maintain proper health. If you need to change health cover to deal with the problem, it is worth the effort. Many private health insurance companies offer coverage, if recommended by your primary care physician, to visit these specialists to determine if there is a severe underlying cause to your extreme drowsiness.