Ever asked yourself why you’re tired all the time? Maybe you haven’t really noticed it or tracked it, but do you wake up refreshed or groggy and reaching for caffeine? Here’s 5 sneaky reasons why you’re always tired.
Sneaky Reason #1: You’re Dehydrated
Yeah, you don’t wanna hear this, do you? One of the first questions I ask of people who say they’re tired is “how much water are you drinking?” Ermagawd, you should see the nasty looks that I get!
GAH! YOU ARE NOT DRINKING ENOUGH CLEAR, CLEAN WATER.
The folks at Health.com write about the many side effects of not drinking enough water including gaining weight, crankiness, muscle cramps and feeling tired all the time:
A mid-afternoon slump may have more to do with hydration than you think. “When you’re dehydrated your blood pressure drops, heart rate increases, blood flow to the brain slows – all of which can make you tired,” says Luga Podesta, MD, sports medicine specialist at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, Calif. A lack of water to muscles also makes physical tasks feel more difficult and tiring.
Nobody said you have to give up everything except water. How about substituting ONE GLASS of water for ONE SODA. It’s a start!
To be truly hydrated you need to divide your body weight by 2 and drink that many ounces of water DAILY.
Sneaky Reason #2: Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is when you don’t get enough oxygen while sleeping and your body “wakes” you up for a moment to basically get you to take a deep breath. WebMD.com explains it like this:
“The brain notices you’re not getting rid of your CO2, and it wakes up really briefly in an alarmed state,” says Lisa Shives, MD, director of the Sleep Medicine Center at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. You don’t even realize it, which makes it hard to figure out why you’re so sleepy during the day. “You don’t get into REM — the sleep that makes you feel best,” Shives says.
This is one of those times when you need to see a doctor about your fatigue. Your partner might be able to tell you if you’re not breathing properly especially if you snore.
Sneaky Reason #3: Yeast Infections
About the time I turned 50, I was an absolute hot mess and tired all the time. I was going into menopause, my adrenal system was burned out and I lived with a chronic yeast infection for over 35 years. (Sorry for the TMI!) I went to 5 – count ’em – 5 (!) doctors before I met a compounding pharmacist/nurse practitioner who told me that a yeast infection was suppressing my immune system and contributing to my adrenal burnout.
I was so angry that none of the doctors I saw talked to me about this. They simply gave me that nasty cream and sent me on my way. I wish I would have known about aromatherapy in my 20’s as my life would have been completely changed!
According to the website YeastInfection.org, fatigue is the number one symptom of yeast infections. Now, that’s not to say that being tired means you have a yeast infection, but it’s a sneaky symptom for sure. If you think this might be an issue for you, there’s information on home tests on their website to check for an overgrowth of candida albicans.
Tea Tree and Lavender essential oils are ideal for addressing the symptoms, but you really need to get to the root of the overgrowth. (It’s usually stress and sugar.) I’ve put a recipe in the Tea Tree blog post to make a simple and effective remedy.
Sneaky Reason #4: Leaky Gut
According to DrAxe.com, leaky gut is something you probably don’t notice.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a condition in which your digestive tract becomes damaged and small holes begin to develop in your gut lining. Small particles that normally can’t pass through your gut wall begin seeping through into your bloodstream. When someone has leaky gut syndrome, some of the things that can pass through the gut lining include proteins like gluten, bad bacteria and undigested foods particles.
I’ll give you three guesses as to what the very first symptom is: chronic fatigue. Fatigue isn’t something you really associate with your gut, but it sneaks up on you!
Here’s what Dr. Axe recommends for healing your leaky gut:
- The solution to healing leaky gut includes removing foods and factors that damage the gut (like gluten and sugar). Replace these with various healing foods such as fermented foods, bone broth, sprouted grains, seeds and nuts, healthy sources of protein, vegetables and lots of healthy fats.
- Also consider taking gut-healing supplements like probiotics, L-glutamine, pancreatic enzymes and quercetin.
- Make sure to fix any nutrient deficiencies by including plenty of whole foods in your diet that supply zinc, iron and B vitamins.
Junk food is your worst enemy! It’s full of chemicals, sugar and empty calories that do far more damage than good.
Sneaky Reason #5: You’re Not Saying NO
Time Magazine has an interesting article that explores sneaky reasons why you’re always tired. People-pleasing is a big reason and always comes at the expense of your health.
“People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it’s your kid’s coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don’t have to say yes. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic and author of Eat.Q.: Unlock the Weight-Loss Power of Emotional Intelligence. “Try it alone in your car,” she says. “Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.”
I’m not telling you to automatically say no in every situation, but it’s important to remember that you can’t give someone a drink from an empty cup. When you’re constantly saying “yes” to other’s demands, resentment and frustration build up which causes – you guessed it – fatigue and feeling tired all the time.
There are lots of ways to say no, protect your boundaries and still be polite!
Where do you see yourself in these sneaky reasons? Maybe you’re not completely worn out, but you don’t have as much energy as you once did and you haven’t connected the dots yet. It’s time to investigate – take a good hard look at your life and see where you’re leaking energy.
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Blessings,
Melissa
