Happy Monday y’all it is beautiful today, really feels like fall. Speaking of fall, have you seen the Halloween Treat Giveaway going on this month? If not check it out, today’s post is the first post this month!
Since it is another manic Monday here I thought we could talk about energy and the lack there of. Did you know that fatigue is the most common complaint women bring to their doctor?
Not only do most women not get enough rest, being tired isn’t just annoying, sometimes it can be your body’s cry for help. Fatigue can eventually affect your health and we all know what dark circles can do for our complexion.
We are all to familiar with the bigger causes of fatigue – bills, new job or no job, kids, significant other, you get the idea. But here are some very common causes of fatigue that are not so well known:
- Shunning the sun. That’s right a lack of sunlight can cause fatigue. If the body is not exposed to natural sunlight it can go into sleep mode. Try to squeeze in a 10 minute walk outside at least once a day, especially when you are most tired- bright sunlight has a caffeine-like power to make you more alert.
- Couch potato syndrome. Sitting in one position for long periods of time can drain your energy – another example of the body’s natural response to “sleep time” – if it’s not moving it must be time for sleep. Staring at a screen makes it even worse, so move around ever once in a while.
- Irregular sleep cycle. Your body’s internal clock needs consistency. Sometimes a simple change in your sleeping pattern (i.e. the weekends) can have a hangover effect – causing you to feel foggy even though you have been awake for a while.
- Mild dehydration. Yup, that’s right, when you feel thirsty, you’ve already lost 3 percent of your body fluid which can make you feel tired or lethargic. If you just cannot gulp down the liquids all day, eat fruits and veggies high in water content.
- Bright lights at night. Mom was right, lights out to sleep Bright lights can reset your body’s internal clock and can also disrupt the body’s secretion of sleep-inducing melatonin.
- Slouching. Poor posture doesn’t just make you look exhausted, it creates the feeling as well. When our joints are not aligned properly, our whole body works a lot harder and that can make us feel tired and achy.
How do you keep your energy up? What’s your favorite fatigue-fighting remedy?
Tags: fatigue, sleeplessness, tired
What I do is just simply keep moving. Once I stop, I’m done, the fatigue sets in. blah
This is a good eye opening post. I think that the winter blues is due to the lack of sunlight and i try to still enjoy daylight hours outside even in the colder weather.
That is true, there are multiple scientific studies linking the shorter hours of sun in the winter to the higher rates of anxiety, stress and depression. Thanks for the comment
Vitamin D insufficiency is known to cause fatigue. You can solve this via 10 minutes of sunlight exposure a day or eating more vitamin d enriched foods. A supplement is a good idea during the winter months. I know I suffer from fatigue during the dark, dreary winter days—ugh. Headaches too
my problems are my sleeping habits. my shedule changes with work WEEKLY, I am doing my masters degree so I have classes that run late into the night and try to fit in reading text books and writting papers in between trying to fix what ever social life I once had. (I am lucky I don’t have kids yet) I need a way to get some “real” sleep in the middle of my craziness without having panic attacks. the once part od the blog that really helped me was the slouching, I know that is something I need to work on. we will just have to see.
You’re right Kimberly, I actually did a post a while back on the benefits of light sun exposure and the effect vitamin D has on our body as well as the mind.