The 6 reasons why you feel tired... & how to fight them
Struggling to get through the week without feeling exhausted? TV doctor Xand Van Tulleken reveals the common causes of fatigue – and how to tackle them.
Many of us feel tired and overwhelmed by our busy lives as we fight to keep on top of work and family duties. But the real reason could be we fail to tune in to what our bodies are telling us, according to Dr Xand Van Tulleken, host of BBC’s Operation Ouch! and How To Lose Weight Well.
“If you’re saying you’re tired, there will be a reason and it’s very likely you can fix that reason,” he says. “It’s one of the few things in medicine where there’s a symptom that’s pretty crippling, but easily solvable.
“When you say to your GP you’re tired all the time, you sound to yourself like a malingerer! But your doctor won’t laugh at you – I never laughed at a patient. And if you exclude medical causes, you can deal with the social causes.”
The good news is, many of the conditions that cause fatigue can be fixed with diet, exercise and lifestyle changes...
Poor sleep
Quality is as important as quantity with sleep, yet many of us put no effort into creating the right environment. “Having a quiet, dark room to sleep in sounds blindingly obvious, but most people don’t do it,” says Dr Xand.
“It’s simple stuff like good curtains or an eye shade to combat light pollution, and earplugs if needed. Get a good pillow – we’re a nation of people who still have pillows our grans owned!
“A bedtime routine works for kids, so create your own – get to bed at the same time each night instead of bingeing on box sets.
“If you’re really struggling with poor sleep, try a ‘sleep diet’ for 10 days. Don’t drink anything after 10pm, don’t have caffeine or booze (a culprit for disturbed sleep) after 6pm, get a nice warm light, read a book and turn off devices.”
Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common condition where the tongue falls back as you drift off, obstructing the airway and interrupting sleep. It also causes loud snoring.
“You tend to get this if you’re overweight and while you might think you’re getting eight hours’ sleep, it actually adds up to a couple of hours because you wake up constantly” says Dr Xand.
“If you have a partner, get them to describe your snoring. If you’re snoring a lot and appear to stop breathing, that’s a red flag. It can be treated with a continuous pressure airway device – a mask that delivers air while you sleep to stop your airway closing – but ultimately it comes down to losing weight through diet and exercise.”
Iron deficiency anaemia
This is a common cause of tiredness and lack of energy, and often affects menstruating women with heavy periods. “It’s something that’s hard to fix with diet, especially if you’re not a meat eater, so really only a supplement will do the trick,” says Dr Xand. “Teenage girls are often at risk – they have gone through puberty so are menstruating and ar hanging out with friends more, payin attention to their diet, eating more take “Along with supplements, include iro food in your diet – dark green le fortified cereals, dried aprico meat. If you drink a glass of juice after a supplement, it’ll he body to absorb the iron.”
Underactive thyroid
This is where the thyroid gland produce enough hormones – well as tiredness can cause weig and skin and hair changes. “This typically affects women in the although anyone can be affected,” says D “If you’re exhausted, sluggish and strugg move, the thyroid is a reasonable place t
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