Do a lifestyle check!

Wed, March 14, 2012

Do a lifestyle check!

Do a lifestyle check!  If you suffer from chronic fatigue—that is, persistent fatigue that has lasted for six months or longer—then it’s worth looking at your lifestyle before rushing to the doctor. As suggested earlier, lack of sleep is often a cause, as are stress and overwork. In addition, the dietary habits that often go with stress and too much work can also contribute to fatigue. Habits such as skipping breakfast, grabbing a coffee and muffin mid-morning, eating lunch on the go, and filling up with high sugar and high carb snacks all put your body on a blood sugar yo-yo that will leave you listless and low on energy. 

And finally, the very thing many people do to combat fatigue—grabbing a shot of caffeine—might be the cause of your tiredness. Everyone knows that caffeine is a stimulant, but did you know that if you consume too much, it can result in fatigue? Adding more caffeine, like another coffee or cola, will simply exacerbate the problem.

So check your eating habits, hold the caffeine, and try to get to bed earlier. But if you are already doing all those things and still feel constantly tired, you should make an appointment with your doctor to check for an underlying cause. 

Do you often feel sluggish? Tired? Run down? It seems that more and more people experience fatigue on a regular basis, but rather than simply accepting it or ignoring it, it’s worth looking at the possible causes. Just like pain or discomfort, fatigue is a message from your body, a way of telling you something. However, unlike pain, which is generally located in one area of the body, fatigue is a much more general symptom and can have various causes.

But first, you need to consider the number one cause of fatigue—lack of sleep!

First, are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep is vital, serving numerous functions in the body and mind, including repairing damage to your body’s cells and improving concentration and memory. Chronic lack of sleep, on the other hand, increases the risk of developing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and infections. How much sleep you need varies among individuals, but most experts now consider between six and eight hours per night to be ideal. If, however, you are getting a good amount of sleep every night but still feel fatigued, other possibilities need to be examined.

Possible causes of fatigue include food allergies or deficiencies, or more serious medical problems.  The three top medical causes of fatigue are anemia, an underactive thyroid, and sleep apnea.

Possibility #1: Anemia

Anemia is medically defined as a reduction in the number of red blood cells.  This limits the ability of the blood to carry oxygen and other nutrients around the body, and has a big impact on energy levels.  We also use the term anemic to mean someone or something lacking vigor or energy; describing a poor or weak attempt as anemic.

What causes anemia? It is quite common in women who have prolonged or heavy periods—this monthly drain on the resources can lead to a chronic lack of iron. Other conditions that can give rise to anemia include: 
-Pregnancy 
-Bleeding from the stomach or intestines due to ulcers, polyps, or piles (hemorrhoids) 
-A lack of folic acid or vitamin B12 

Possibility #2: Underactive thyroid

The thyroid is a small gland that sits at the base of your neck and controls your metabolism-quite literally, the speed at which your body operates. If you often feel sluggish, run down, even a little depressed, the problem may be hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid. This frequently goes undiagnosed, but is a particular issue for post-menopausal women. The American Thyroid Foundation estimates that by age 60 approximately 17% of all women will have a thyroid disorder, yet most don’t know it.

Symptoms include several that are similar to Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss, confusion, slowness, paranoid depression), plus fatigue, low blood sugar, slow digestion of food, and constipation.

Diagnosis is easy.  Simple blood tests known as T3 and T4 will detect any abnormalities in the thyroid, and synthetic hormones can quickly bring you up to speed and help you feel better.

Possibility #3: Sleep apnea

Another common cause of chronic fatigue is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you momentarily stop breathing, or take very short breaths, during sleeping. These interruptions can occur with startling frequency—a mild case would involve five to 15 episodes per hour, while severe cases can involve more than 30 interruptions per hour!

Although sufferers don’t wake up, these interruptions disturb your sleep patterns, and may also reduce the body’s ability to repair itself and the brain’s ability to consolidate memories. These frequent interruptions to the oxygen supply also mean that the brain doesn’t get all the oxygen it needs to function well.  Other problems associated with sleep apnea include high blood pressure, hypertension, and stroke. Experts believe that sleep apnea is a contributing factor in thousands of cardiovascular deaths annually.

While there is a typical profile for sleep apnea—obese men over 50 are the most common sufferers—it can also occur in women and those who are not obese. Indeed, some children even suffer from sleep apnea. As a result, doctors often don’t look for it in fatigued women. Similarly, while loud snoring is a common symptom, non-snorers can also have this condition.

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