Why Am I Always Tired?

Feeling tired on a regular basis is extremely common. In fact, about one-third of healthy teens, adults and older individuals report feeling sleepy or fatigued. Fatigue is a common symptom of several conditions and serious diseases, but in most cases it is caused by simple lifestyle factors.

Fortunately, these are most often easy things to fix. Here are some common reasons and solutions.

Consuming Too Many Refined Carbs

Carbs can be a quick source of energy. When you eat them, your body breaks them down into sugar, which can be used for fuel. However, eating too many refined carbs can actually cause you to feel tired throughout the day.

When sugar and processed carbs are consumed, they cause a rapid rise in your blood sugar. This signals your pancreas to produce a large amount of insulin to get the sugar out of your blood and into your cells. The subsequent drop in blood sugar can make you feel exhausted.

To keep your energy levels stable, replace sugar and refined carbs with whole foods that are rich in fibre, such as vegetables and legumes.

Living a Sedentary Lifestyle

Inactivity could be the root cause of your low energy. But many people say they're too tired to exercise.

To boost your energy levels, replace sedentary behaviors with active ones. For instance, stand rather than sit down whenever possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk instead of driving short distances.

Not Getting Enough High-Quality Sleep

Not getting enough sleep is one of the more obvious causes of fatigue. After a night of high-quality sleep, you typically wake up feeling refreshed, alert and energized.

Sleep should be restful and uninterrupted in order to allow your brain to go through all five stages of each sleep cycle. In addition to getting enough sleep, maintaining a regular sleep routine also seems to help prevent tiredness.

Being physically active during the day may help you get more restorative sleep at night. One study in older people found that exercising helped improve their sleep quality and reduce levels of fatigue. To improve the amount and quality of your sleep, go to bed at roughly the same time every night, relax before sleeping and get plenty of activity during the day.

Not Getting Enough Protein

Inadequate protein intake could be contributing to your fatigue. Consuming protein has been shown to boost your metabolic rate more than carbs or fat do.

In addition to aiding weight loss, this may also help prevent tiredness.

To keep your metabolism strong and prevent fatigue, aim to consume a high-quality protein source at every meal.

Inadequate Hydration

Staying well hydrated is important for maintaining good energy levels. The many biochemical reactions that take place in your body every day result in a loss of water that needs to be replaced.

Dehydration occurs when you don't drink enough liquid to replace the water lost in your urine, stools, sweat and breath.

The key is drinking enough to maintain good hydration levels. Common symptoms of dehydration include thirst, fatigue, dizziness, and headaches.

Excessive Stress

Chronic stress may have a profound effect on your energy levels and quality of life. Although some stress is normal, excessive levels of stress have been linked to fatigue in several studies.

While you may not be able to avoid stressful situations, developing strategies for managing your stress may help prevent you from feeling completely exhausted.

Exercising or even just taking a walk can be a great way to lower your stress levels. Another way is doing somethiong you enjoy like listening to music or engaging in an activity that you enjoy.