Why fatigue can be helpful

Fatigue is a really common symptom which people experience

There are some typical causes of fatigue and improving some fundamentals of living: sleep, food, thoughts, and movement, can really help remedy it.

How energy is made

Mitochondria are the energy factories of your body and every cell contains hundreds of thousands of them. There are numerous reasons for mitochondrial dysfunction, which include poor diet, stress, and toxins.

Your clever body!

Fatigue is your body’s (very clever) protective response. It is asking you to slow down, maybe stop, and reassess what is going on. To work out why you might be feeling fatigued, it is worth considering the following:

1. When do you first remember feeling unwell and having issues with your energy level?

2. What was happening both around you and to you, at that time?

3. How do you sleep?

4. What do you eat?

5. How aware are you about the way you think and feel and believe?

6. How do you move?

Key things that can affect how your body is working

Nutritional deficiencies, infections, increased pressure or trauma, toxins and allergies all impact how your body functions.

Once you have a list of potential things that have affected both your body and its energy, you can begin to understand why it’s producing a protective response, fatigue.

For example:

Stress at work → affects nutrition choices→ nutritional deficiencies→ affects how the mitochondria work → lack of energy → affects behaviour→ affects mood → increases stress.

how we sleep

Sleep is a really key area for many people. To understand your sleep patterns better, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you prioritise sleep?

2. What is your wind down routine at the end of the day?

3. When do you have your last meal and drink before bed? Sometimes blood sugars can be an issue through the night and can cause you to wake up.

Knowing about how you sleep can give you the information to help improve your sleep.

You can read more about sleep in our blog here

WHAT WE EAT

Nutrition is another major factor to consider when looking at causes for fatigue. Eating a colourful plate of food aids digestion and helps the body absorb the food. Energy is created from the food that we eat so food really is medicine. To help digestion, chewing is really key.

Did you know we should be chewing 15-30 times before swallowing?

What we think

Our thoughts have a huge impact on our health. Our perceptions and stress levels can cause our bodies to feel like they are being drained of energy. Becoming aware of the amount of energy we spend thinking and trying to figure things out can be the first step in addressing unnecessary energy outlay.

how we move

Finally, movement is also a vital factor when exploring the causes of fatigue. It’s a question of balance: when we are fatigued sometimes the best approach is to slow all the way down and listen to your body. Other times it’s about adding in some short bursts of energy. Through getting to understand your body better you will learn to know which response is needed.

Fatigue can tell us a lot about what is going on with our health and highlight some changes we might need to make. I've learned to listen to my body a lot more and recognise the signs of when I need to slow down and reset.

Health coaching can help you gain a new perspective on your habits and behaviours to shed light on where change might be need to regain your vitality.

We’d love to chat to you more about how we can help you.