Fatigue
What is fatigue?
Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy. It can interfere with your usual daily activities. Fatigue can be a normal response to physical activity, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. But sometimes it can be a sign of a mental or physical condition. If you have been feeling tired for weeks, contact your health care provider. They can help you find out what's causing your fatigue and recommend ways to relieve it.
What causes fatigue?Fatigue itself is not a disease; it's a symptom. It can have many different causes, including pregnancy and various medical problems, treatments, and lifestyle habits such as:
- Medical problems:
- Chronic (long-lasting) diseases such as diabetes, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and heart, liver, kidney and thyroid diseases
- Untreated pain and diseases like fibromyalgia
- Anemia
- Infections
- Parkinson's disease
- Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders
- Recent stroke
- Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety
- Treatments:
- Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and bone marrow transplants
- Recovering from major surgery
- Taking certain medicines, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, and medicines for nausea and pain
- Lifestyle habits:
- Not getting enough sleep
- Staying up too late
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Substance use
- Having too much caffeine (which can keep you from getting a good night's sleep)
- Getting too little or too much exercise
Overwhelming fatigue is part of a disorder called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The fatigue caused by this disorder is different from a tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, the fatigue in ME/CFS lasts a long time, does not get better with rest, and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities.
What can I do to manage fatigue?If you've had fatigue that does not get better after several weeks, call your provider. They will ask questions about your sleep, daily activities, appetite, and exercise. They will likely do a physical exam and order lab tests. Once they decide on a diagnosis, they can tell you what treatments might help.
You can also make some lifestyle changes to feel less tired:
- Get regular physical activity
- Improve your sleep habits
- Stop smoking (if you smoke), since smoking is linked to many diseases that can cause fatigue
- Manage stress
- Eat a healthy diet and avoid alcohol
It also may be helpful for you to keep a fatigue diary. This can help you find patterns throughout the day, such as when you feel more tired and when you have more energy. It can also help you plan for activities that may give you more energy.
NIH: National Institute on Aging
Home Remedies for Fatigue
Frankincense essential oil calms, fights fatigue, and increases circulation. Used with a carrier oil, it helps heal eczema, psoriasis and dandruff, all alongside that lovely scent.IvanTurgenev | July 15th, 2018
Felter's Materia Medica on Fatigue
...creases particularly the reasoning faculties rather than the imaginative. It operates without after-fatigue and renders the person capable of great mental achievement and physical endurance. Workmen d...... exceedingly nervous. No harm, however, is done to any organ by coffee or by caffeine, and no after-fatigue or exhaustion follows, provided neither be given to the extent of interfering with the takin......us to caffeine or related alkaloids. The theine of tea is practically caffeine. All of them relieve fatigue, increase mental acuity, endurance and the capacity for exertion without being followed by f...1
The rhizome and roots of Caulophyllum thalictroides (Linné, Michaux (Nat. Ord. Berberidaceae). In rich woods in the eastern half of the United... / ...pular and so damaging as an oxytocic. It may be used to assist labor when delay is due to weakness, fatigue, or lack of uterine power, or when the tissues feel full, as if congested. The skillful use ... / ...of strength and rapid involution of the womb following labor. The dose of the syrup is from 2 fluidrachms to 1/2 fluidounce, 2 or 3 times a day.1
...ications.Defective innervation, with dizziness; impaired digestion; pain in back of the head, and fatigue; gastric pain; inordinate hunger and thirst; exhaustion during convalescence from long illne......stomed to chew the leaves with lime or some other alkaline substance, in order to endure hunger and fatigue, which it enables them to do with remarkable certainty. These uses of the plant led to its a...1
A dried paste, chiefly consisting of the crushed or pounded seeds of Paullinia Cupana, Kunth (Nat. Ord. Sapindaceae), yielding not less than 4 per... / ...aluable where the brain becomes exhausted or depressed through mental overwork, or when the body is fatigued or exhausted. It must be carefully used as it sometimes causes difficult urination. Neither... / ...oculi nerve, followed by headache, has been relieved by it. In headaches the doses of 20 to 30 drops of the specific medicine should be given.1