How to beat fatigue….
How to Beat Fatigue…
Causes of Fatigue
Fatigue, though all too common, has baffled the medical community for ages. One of the reasons is that there are many causes. One obvious cause is lack of sleep. For most people, the solution to sleep deprivation is simple: sleep more. Just like anything else, you must schedule time for this all important activity. If you desire to get the coveted eight hours per night, then you must make sure that you’re in bed about 8 _ hours before you need to get up. For others, quality is the problem when it comes to sleep, not quantity. Make sure that you don’t use any stimulants after about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. In addition, make sure to get your daily water requirement about two hours before bedtime. Waking up in the middle of a deep sleep to go to the bathroom can disturb the sleep pattern. If your mind tends to race when trying to go to sleep, try reading in bed to wind down. Try to read something that relaxes you though, not something that gets your mind racing. As an alternative, you could try some natural, over-the-counter sleep remedies like valerian, kava, or melatonin. With melatonin, make sure you can get a full eight hours of sleep before using it. Otherwise, you may have a hard time getting up in the morning. Try 3 mg about 30 minutes before bedtime on an empty stomach works very well for most. As for the herbs, valerian and kava, follow the label recommendations.
Among those who use thermogenic products that contain caffeine and especially ephedra, the most common cause of fatigue seems to be adrenal fatigue or adrenal burnout. In basic terms, the adrenal glands are responsible for making hormones that help our body respond to stress, whether physical, mental, or chemical. After long periods of stress from one of these sources, the adrenal glands can become fatigued and fail to respond as they should. That will leave you tired, lethargic, and often mildly depressed or sluggish. Taking thermogenic products causes the adrenal glands to work overtime. However, if used infrequently and responsibly, this is usually not a problem. Over time, though, it can wreak havoc on the adrenals leading to burnout.
To correct adrenal fatigue, begin by abstaining from the use of any stimulants like caffeine and ephedrine. Yes, I know, that’s hard to do when you’re tired, but you need to tough it out. In addition, I would supplement with a good quality adrenal extract to help get the adrenals going again. Here again, the use of these extracts is often shunned by modern medicine. However, it’s interesting to note that these extracts were the medical treatment of choice for this condition (hypoadrenia) until the 1950s when corticosteroids were synthesized. It’s weird that they worked then but don’t work now!? Adrenal extracts are invaluable in treating adrenal fatigue. Make sure you choose an extract from a reputable company. In addition, you could supplement with L-tyrosine to safely give you a mild energy boost while helping to alleviate adrenal fatigue. I find that 3,000 mg on an empty stomach works well. Lastly, you could also use Ginkgo Biloba extract for a mild mental boost and Coenzyme Q10 to facilitate energy production. Of course you should also have all of your basic vitamins and minerals covered by eating a variety of fresh foods (esp. fruits and vegetables), with a good quality multivitamin and mineral complex, or both.
Poor dietary habits are often to blame for fatigue.
A poor diet will decrease your energy levels. The specific cause is often refined carbohydrates that cause dramatic fluctuations in blood glucose (sugar). In addition, an excess amount of carbohydrates (even healthy ones) can do the same thing. Select complex carbohydrates that have a low glycemic and insulin index like All-Bran cereal, oatmeal, and lentils. In addition, eating moderate amounts of healthy fat will not only provide a slow-burning energy source, but they will also help your body metabolize carbohydrates more efficiently. Fish oil, flax oil, and olive oil are great sources. Another simple concept that many people neglect, is to eat small, frequent meals to avoid plummeting blood glucose levels. If your blood glucose is low, you will be tired – it’s that simple.
Ironically enough, overzealousness in the gym can lead to chronic fatigue.
Training hard day in and day out will, overtime, exhaust your body. We typically think of overtraining affecting the muscular system. However, the central nervous system (CNS) is actually just as, if not more, likely to suffer from the effects of overtraining. Of course, the endocrine system (including the aforementioned adrenals) can also be affected with excessive training. There are a few symptoms that you should look for to see if you could be overtraining. Lethargy is the primary subjective sign that will manifest with a lack of motivation to train along with overall fatigue. The two best objective measures of overtraining are decreased performance (strength) and an increased resting heart rate (RHR). To find your true resting RHR, take your pulse upon wakening. Generally, if someone is overtraining, their RHR will increase. If your RHR is consistently elevated by close to ten beats per minute or more, you may very well be overtraining. Of course you would have needed to establish a baseline measurement after a week or two off of training to have a point of reference.
To prevent overtraining, it’s important to periodize your workouts. It’s a good idea to have a low-intensity week or two of training every couple of months. Additionally, a total week off from the gym every three months or so is a good idea. In the long run, you’ll make much more progress this way.
Another cause of fatigue that should be ruled out is hypothyroid (low thyroid levels). Ask your doctor to run a comprehensive thyroid panel on you to eliminate the possibility of low thyroid levels. Otherwise, beating fatigue will be next to impossible until your thyroid levels are normalized.
The last cause of fatigue that we’re going to discuss is anemia. You probably thinking, “there’s no way I have anemia; that’s for frail, elderly people.” That’s not so, amigo. To begin with, there are various types of anemia. The kind that everyone thinks about is iron deficiency anemia, also called microcytic anemia because the red blood cells (RBC) are smaller than normal. Generally, this can be corrected with iron supplementation. Another type of anemia is megaloblastic macrocytic anemia. In this type, the RBC are larger than normal. This is usually caused by a deficiency of either vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) or B8 (folate). Supplementation will usually correct these, too. One could also have a normocytic anemia in which the RBC are of normal size but there simply aren’t enough of them. This is usually due to chronic bleeding which, as it sounds, is often a serious medical emergency.
