12 reasons you’re tired all the time – including eating too much or too little

Most people struggle with daytime sleepiness every once in awhile, but if its ongoing issue that begins to get in the way of daily life, then it its time to address it.

Many factors can contribute to the constant exhaustion, from not getting enough sleep to an underlying health issue, but in most cases it can be fixed easily with some lifestyle changes.

Constant tiredness is so common that the NHS has already made it into an acronym for TATT stands for “tired all the time.”

The first step to dealing with excessive tiredness is understanding why you’re experiencing it as this helps mark the difference between ordinary sleepiness and feeling tired all the time.

Here are 12 possible reasons you’re always tired with expert advice from Dr Ravina Bhanot, founder of Zonas Fertility, on ways to combat it.

Skipping meals or eating too much

If you have tendency to skip meals, then this could be a reason you’re so tired. Long gaps in meal times might mean that you’re not getting the right amount of calories to keep your energy up. It can also cause your blood sugar to drop.

It’s important not to skip meals as well as eat healthy energy-boosting snacks such as bananas, peanut butter, whole-grain crackers, protein bars, dried fruit, and nuts. between meals, especially when you start to feeling sluggish.

While skipping meals is bad for your energy levels, eating too much can be just as impactful.

The festive season can tempt us into indulging on food with high sugar and carbohydrate food, which Dr Bhanot warns “can result in a high energy state followed by a quick crash of tiredness after.”

She says: ”Instead of winter ‘carb-loading’ or ‘comfort eating’, aim to eat all things in moderation and maintain a healthy weight. Remember to balance your ‘carby’ meals of potatoes, pasta and rice with salads and vegetables.”

Vitamin deficiency

Being tired all the time can also be a sign of vitamin deficiency. This may include low levels of vitamin D, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, or potassium.

Just a routine blood test can help you identify the deficiency. Once identified, doctors could either recommend taking supplements or suggest increasing the intake of certain vitamin-rich foods to correct a deficiency naturally.

For instance eating clams, beef, and liver may reverse a B-12 deficiency while a vitamin D deficiency can be corrected with more exposure to sunlight, with Dr Bhanot adding that the recommended daily dose of vitamin D in adults is 600IU.

Lack of sleep

Most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. If you tend to stay up late, then you’re putting yourself at risk for sleep deprivation.

So start practicing better sleep habits to boost your energy starting with going to bed earlier.

Dr Bhanot suggests that we try to sleep at the same hour every day. She says: “Take time to relax to reduce stress which can contribute to your tiredness.

Avoid stimulating activities like exercise and watching TV before bed. Instead, Dr Bhanot points out: “Mindfulness, breathing exercises and yoga have been shown to be useful.”

If your sleep doesn’t improve with self-care, talk to your doctor. You may need a prescription sleep aid or a sleep study.

Too hot or cold in bed

Disturbed sleep during the night due to it being too hot or too cold can leave you feeling less refreshed in the morning.

Your body temperature naturally peaks in the evening and then drops when you are asleep, so it’s important to be aware of your temperature patterns and prepare accordingly.

Sedentary lifestyle

While physical activity can boost your energy levels, a sedentary lifestyle can leave you feeling exhausted and sleepy.

Activities like exercise helps release endorphins or the ‘happy hormone.’ Not only does it make you more energetic but it also addresses mental health issues like seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Dr Bhanot advises that we aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week to reduce early-evening fatigue, relieve stress and improve your sleep.

Being overweight

The more weight you carry, the harder your body works to complete everyday tasks like climbing stairs or cleaning, leaving you exhausted more easily.

It’s important that you come up with a plan to lose weight and improve your energy level. Don’t jump into rigorous exercise straight away as that’s likely to cause more harm than good. Start with light activity such as walking or swimming, and gradually move to intense workouts as your stamina improves.

Another thing that helps manage weight is eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while also cutting down on your intake of sugar, junk foods, and fatty foods.

Stress

Chronic stress can cause headaches, muscle tension, stomach problems, and fatigue. When you’re stressed, it causes an increase in cortisol and adrenaline which takes a toll on your body’s energy reserves leaving you feeling tired.

So, learning how to control stress is an important step in overcoming constant exhaustion. Physical activities that release your happy hormone as well as more passive activities like deep breathing and meditation which can also help you stay calm in stressful situations.

But remember to start slow and create realistic goals to introduce changes to your thought patterns.

Depression

When you feel depressed, lack of energy and tiredness can follow. The best course of action if you’re experience depression is to consult doctors.

Prescriptions and counselling may benefit, as recommended by the doctor. Dr Bhanot also points out that Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which people often experience during winter months produces more of the sleepy hormone called melatonin leaving your feeling low.

This can be treated with light exposure so try getting more sunlight.

Medication

Certain medicines, even if its prescribed can cause you feel tired all the time. So trace back to when you first started noticing daytime sleepiness. If you started any medication around that time, check the labels to see if fatigue is a common side effect.

If yes, then talk to your doctor. They might be able to prescribe another drug, or reduce your dosage.

Sleep disorders

Sleep disorders can sometimes be the underlying cause of tiredness. One of the most common disorders is sleep apnea, which is when your breathing pauses while you’re asleep. This is a serious condition where your brain and body don’t receive enough oxygen at night leading to daytime fatigue but also stroke or heart attack.

While the treatment for sleep apnea involves the use of a CPAP machine to keep the upper airway open while you’re asleep, most other disorders can be addressed with lifestyle modifications.

In case you don’t see any improvements to your energy levels after a few weeks, speak to your doctor and consider seeing a sleep specialist.

Underlying medical conditions

Conditions that can cause tiredness are anaemia, thyroid problems, menopause, diabetes, coeliac disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other infections.

Dr Bhanot says: ”If you have experienced tiredness for over 2-3 months and there is no obvious lifestyle reason for your tiredness, it may be worth speaking to your doctor about a blood test. “

Talking to your doctor is very important particularly with conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome which causes extreme fatigue since the cause for it is unknown.

There is also no test to confirm chronic fatigue so your doctor must rule out other health problems before making a diagnosis. Treatment involves learning how to live within your physical limitations or pacing yourself.

Moderate exercise also helps both with chronic fatigue and other conditions like fibromyalgia which affects the muscles and soft tissue.

High temperatures

Dr Bhanot gives a lesser known reason for constant exhaustion – cranking up the heating too high.

She says: “Cranking up the heating in winter can feel nice and cosy but may be contributing to you feeling like you haven’t slept enough,” adding that studies suggest the best temperature for a good night’s sleep is between 20-22C degrees.