Excessive tiredness can severely damage your quality of life. If you’re always tired, you should first realize that tiredness is a symptom.
The right way to deal with tiredness is to find out what is causing it, and then take the steps to eliminate the causes or change what needs to be changed…
Most chances are that you suffer from excessive tiredness because of one, or a combination of some of the following:
Health conditions
Anemia, Hyperthyroidism and heart problems are just a few examples of medical conditions that can cause tiredness.
Especially if beside tiredness you have other symptoms, such as headaches, loss of appetite or a blurry vision, I suggest that you consult your doctor as soon as possible.
(As a first step, you can use an online service to Ask a Doctor right now.)
Tiredness is also one of the most common side effects of many medications – especially sleeping pills and anti-depressants.
Mental / Emotional issues
Many people don’t realize the huge effect of ongoing negative emotions on their energy level and on their overall health and wellbeing. I’m talking about emotions like stress, depression, boredom and ‘burnout’, to name a few.
Negative emotions, as well as negative thinking, are also a common cause for unhealthy behaviors that help lower your energy level even further…
People who are constantly stressed out or depressed tend to take very little care of their body – they may smoke, drink alcohol and coffee, eat poorly and so on.
Sleep deprivation (and not just lack of sleep)
Good night’s sleep is a vital ingredient to your energy level. If you wake up tired and spend the day waiting for the first chance to take a nap, there’s a good chance that you’re simply not getting enough sleep.
If you don’t get enough sleep, there is only one way to compensate on it – getting more sleep.
If you think you sleep long enough, you may be tired because you’re getting low quality sleep. If this concept is new to you, listen carefully…
It’s not the quantity of your sleep that matters most. It’s the quality of it. If you get 8 hours of poor quality sleep every night, you’d probably be tired all the time.
Poor sleep can be caused by a variety of reasons, including health conditions (like Sleep Apnea), but in most cases it’s usually a matter of bad sleeping habits…
But what does it mean?
Having bad sleeping habits means that there are certain things that you do that damage your sleep. Things like the time you go to sleep and the time you wake up, what you eat, your activity level during the day and even the temperature in your bedroom.
(Read on how to get high quality sleep or even better - get your free Sleep Optimization Kit »)
Unhealthy lifestyle
Poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, smoking and other unhealthy habits lower your energy level directly, and also indirectly – by damaging the quality of your sleep.
These factors can affect each other. It’s an ongoing cycle of cause and effect that keeps robbing your energy…
Let’s take stress as an example:
Over time a high stress level lowers your energy level. If you choose to relieve your stress by drinking alcohol – you only cause yourself more harm. Alcohol lowers your energy level in several ways. It can also damage your sleep. What may happen next is that you’d feel tired and “have no choice” but to drink lots of coffee… and so on…
Let me show you how to break the cycle of tiredness…
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i have trouble breathing even when i’m sitting up and i get chest pains really easily i cannot sleep properly and when i do i wake up really early i also wake up loads during the night, and i seem to have quite a few of the symptoms of sleep apnea i think i might have it should i talk to a doctor about it?
i go to school (i’m still a teenager)
maybe its just stress? i’m dealing with abuse from my dad and ever since every day iv’e been waking up so tired i have no energy and cannot do anything, i cannot concentrate on my work at all and i’m just about to start my exams, do i sound like i have a sleeping disorder?
Rachael, it sounds like you have more than just a sleep disorder. Please seek professional help ASAP.
With that said and assuming you’re exaggerating your descriptions, take this anxiety quiz –>
I am very tired all the time. I feel exhausted all day and can not properly concentrate on things. Im 42 years old and have 2 boys 14 and 11. I work partime 3 days a week. I eat healthy. Drink plenty of water and have recently stopped eating dairy (cows) as I have been told I am intolerant to it. I am having calcium from other foods. Its getting me really down. When Im not tired I suffer from IBS. Any suggestions?
Corrine, who told you you are lactose intolerant? A doctor? I wonder if you actually have some other sensitivity, like gluten.
i m tired of being tired whole day…i m 25 yr old married…i feel tired whole the day i cannt even concentrate at my work in office and do not feel like talking to anyone at home.my body and head always ache.i get irritate so often.pls suggest i sleep for nearly 7hrs a day
Soniya, may I remind you that I’m not a doctor. With that said, how long have you been suffering form this constant tiredness? Also, after reading about the common causes to tiredness (above), do you have a guess of what could be causing your tiredness?
I think i get enough sleep! But i will wake up soo tired and then i will be tired the whole day and when it comes night time im wide awake and cant sleep and cant go to bed till late and get up at 8 or so and then im constantly yawning saying im tired and i have been stressed/depressed for awhile but idk if that has anything to do with it or not. I get dissy sometimes and blurry eyes and stomach aches and kinda where like my heart and stomach will hurt to breath…..Any ideas on what it is?!
Looks like this comment slipped through the cracks. I apologize.
Alyssa, your stress and depression have everything to do with your tiredness. What you’re describing sounds like anxiety attacks. I would go see a doctor.
Either way, you need to learn to relax. For example, you may want to start writing down your thoughts before sleep, do breathing and relaxation exercises, things like that. (That’s besides working out the causes of your emotional distress.)
I can sleep for 11 hours a night and i still struggle to get out of bed and am then extremely tired all day. no matter how much sleep i have, im always tired and constantly yawning and ant wait to get back to bed. Im a very heavy sleeper and theres not much that can wake me up, so i know i do not have broken sleeps. I have always been like it since i was young. Im 27 now. I dread to think what i will be like when i have children
Rachel, the fact that you’re a “heavy sleeper” doesn’t mean that you sleep well and it doesn’t mean that you don’t have sleep apnea.
“I can sleep for 11 hours…” – only babies can sleep so long and not wake up tired… :) I bet that if you’d make real effort to wake up after 7-8 hours and boost your energy with exercise and a good breakfast, you will loose that feeling of tiredness quickly. Have you tried?
I am suffering from too much tiredness and weakness from past one week. Even my diet got reduced. When I feel hungry, I take food, but I feel like vomiting.
Could you suggest any reason for this?
Abhishek, I’m not a doctor (and I suggest that you go see one), but it sounds like you got a virus (or something like that…)
I have 8 hours sleep a night and sleep very heavily. I find it very difficult to get up in the morning and feel like I have had no sleep at all. If I sit still for a small period of time I start to nod off at any point during the day. I finish work around 5 and by 8 I’m struggling to find things to do to keep me awake and can’t force myself to stay awake anymore. I have 2 young children and wouldn’t trust myself to be able to care for them overnight alone. It’s beginning to affect my relationship with my partner. And need some advice as my doctor is not very helpful. Someone please help
Gavin, I apologize for the late reply. You told me your story, but not enough details for me to be able to help. If you had to guess what’s causing your tiredness, what would you say? Have you ruled out sleep apnea?
I am 21 years old and I am CONSTANTLY EXHAUSTED. I don’t know what to do anymore. I work 40+ hours a week & I sit at a computer all day. From 9-11 I am falling asleep and cannot keep my eyes open. Sometimes I am so tired and do not want to get caught at work asleep, I go to the bathroom and literally sleep there. I sometimes do not go to sleep until 11-12 but I do not wake up until 7am. I need to start getting up earlier because I am always late for work because it is so hard for me to get up in the morning. When I don’t work on the weekends I can sleep until 1-2pm and keep going on and off throughout the day. What is wrong with me? I take medications for pain but I am a chronic pain patient who relies on my medication to function. However, I never used to get these excessive tiredness symptoms the first year or so I was taking my medication so I don’t think that is the problem.
Can you please give me any advice I can use? I’m starting to feel depressed about being so tired all the time…
Dear Katie, are you sure you aren’t already depressed? Or at least unhappy? What do you mean you “can” sleep until noon on off days? Do you try to wake up earlier. It’s “OK” to setup an alarm, even if you don’t really have to get up. Katie, since I don’t know you I would have to take some wild guesses: You’re: 1. Lonely 2. Bored 3. Don’t get any workout. You sit 99% of the time 4. You either eat very little, because you have no appetite, or eat junk all day. Assuming I’m right with my guesses, you’d have to improve your social life, start a hobby or set some inspiring goals, improve your eating habits, drink more water and start exercising.
I’m 19 and I am always tired! I work 5 days a week and I go to school 3. I also take care of my two younger brothers just about everyday. I try to go running or the gym, but sometimes I feel so worn out I don’t feel as though I have the energy. I do get stressed out easily, usually due to school.. may that be the reason??
Stephanie, of course stress affects your energy level, but you should look at other things too. What you eat, how much and how well you sleep etc. Sounds like you’re pretty busy. You need to do whatever you can to have some time out/off. Some quiet time with yourself to relax and “collect your thoughts”. Hope this helps.
im am tired of being tired all the time, i am 23 years old, go to school from 6-10 in the evenings i come home eat, read and whatever until about 12 then i try to go to sleep but i can never ever fall asleep until about 3am im constantly tossing and turning until about 3, im tired and want to sleep but i just cant. then i end up sleeping until like 11 or 2 so when i wake up i feel yuckie, i feel as tho i could sleep more but i have to get up and i feel woozy, nauseated, have a headache, no energy what so ever and i dont want that i want to be able to go to fall asleep right away at 11 or 12 at night then get up in the morning and about 6 or 7 because i have so much that i need to get done but it never gets done. i dont eat healthy i love love love food im not fat im only like 110 but i eat more than all the men in my family and i eat every thing but veggies and i drink no water just a TONE of coke every day, i dont get out and walk or do anything active, i just leave the house when i need to go to the store of school or church but thats it and i so bad want all this to change but no matter how many times i set my alarm to go off at 6 or 7am i dont get up, i want to be able to get up and get out and walk or run, so what do you suggest that i do to stop all this tiredness and feeling sick when i wake up?
This is a very late reply. I usually respond quickly. I don’t know how I missed this comment. Anyway, for Amy and anyone reading…
“i eat more than all the men in my family and i eat every thing but veggies and i drink no water just a TONE of coke every day, i dont get out and walk or do anything active…”
The first thing I’d recommend is that you STOP drinking coke. If you must, have one or two glasses early in the day and that’s it. Start drinking lots of water. Increase your physical activity – stretch, walk, swim, ride…
When you find yourself not being able to fall asleep, get out of bed, read a book, have some water, have a snack or a glass of warm milk, just don’t keep tossing and turning for hours.
Read also:
How to Get High Quality Sleep
Why You Have Trouble Falling Asleep and How to Fall Asleep Quickly