Constantly feeling tired can be a result of many different issues, but most of them are relatively easy to correct once you determine your issue. However, left unaddressed, being overly tired can have a devastating effect on your life. One in 25 drivers reported falling asleep at the wheel each month and each year over 70,000 car accidents are the result of a driver falling asleep or becoming drowsy. If you find that you feel tired frequently, then determining the underlying cause and correcting it will greatly improve your quality of life and your overall health.
Lack of Sleep
According to the American Academy of Sleep and the Sleep Research Society, adults between 18 and 60 require about 7 hours of sleep for optimal health. Getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night on a regular basis can result in fatigue, impaired performance, obesity, high blood pressure, depression, heart disease and a greater risk of strokes. If you are not getting the necessary sleep each night then try to maintain a more consistent sleep routine, ensure that your bedroom is quiet and dark, limit caffeine and avoid alcohol and tobacco before bed.
Proper Nutrition
Your diet can also be the cause of your excessive tiredness. Improving your diet will help to boost your energy level and your overall health. Following these guidelines can help you to begin improving your diet:
- Eat the proper amount of calories for your sex, age and weight
- Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables
- Make sure that whole grains are at least half of the grains that you consume each day
- Switch to low fat or fat free dairy products
- Eat a variety of proteins including lean poultry and meat, unsalted nuts and seeds and omega-3 rich seafood
- Cut down on sugar
- Never skip breakfast
- Eat at regular intervals
- Drink plenty of water
Proper Exercise
A sedentary lifestyle is likely to make you feel more tired than being active. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that all adults exercise at a moderate level for 2 hours and 30 minutes each week. In addition, muscle strengthening exercises should be included 2 or more days each week. The University of Georgia reported that after sitting quietly, a 20 minute period of exercise actually increased energy rather than depleting it.
High Stress Levels
Excessive or long term stress has been found to cause physical and emotional exhaustion and can lead to illnesses. Stress is a mechanism that causes your body to generate chemicals to prepare your body for an emergency, a fight or flight type of action. But in a long term situation the chemicals that would normally protect you, can damage your health and ultimately be used up. Learning tricks to manage your stress can be very beneficial to your long term health.
- Learn to say no
- Avoid stressful situations when possible
- Keep a stress journal to learn what your stress triggers are and how to avoid them
- Communicate your concerns rather than keeping emotions bottled up
- Accept things that you cannot change
- Learn to forgive
Determining what the cause of your excessive tiredness is and correcting it can have a huge impact on your energy level and your happiness. Investing the time to find the issue and address it will have a positive impact on your immediate life as well as a long term impact on your overall health.