When you crawl into bed at night after a long day and can’t wait for your head to hit the pillow, you’re tired. If you wake up the next morning feeling just as unrested, you’re suffering from fatigue. And they’re distinctly definitely different, say the experts.
Jamie Crawford, a nurse practitioner at Steward Medical Group in Melbourne, says being tired is a variant in everyday life. “You’ve had a busy day and at night when you finally get to bed, you’re ready to sleep. Fatigue is completely different. No matter how much sleep or rest you’ve had, you can’t overcome it. There’s no amount of sleep that’s enough.”
According to Mayo Clinic, fatigue is a common symptom that most people feel during a short-term illness. It usually goes away when the illness is over … except sometimes it doesn’t, which leaves you with reduced energy, reduced ability to do things and reduced ability to focus. Ongoing fatigue affects quality of life and state of mind.
Crawford says that fatigue most often is a sign of some other condition, which may or may not be physical. “Besides fatigue, what else is bothering you?” she asks.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of depression, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Other causes include grief, sleep disorders, medications, other drugs or alcohol, overactive or underactive thyroid, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, chronic pain, anemia or iron deficiency.
The best place to start dealing with fatigue is with your primary care doctor, suggests Crawford. Get checked for undiagnosed illnesses, vitamin deficiencies or conditions like anemia or sleep apnea, “which is frequently found in people suffering from fatigue.”
Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition and one of its complications can include daytime fatigue. The repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make healthy, restorative sleep impossible, in turn making daytime drowsiness, fatigue and irritability likely.
Harvard Medical School reports that fatigue often is the most debilitating symptom of autoimmune disease. This fatigue differs from the tiredness most people feel after long periods of work or exercise or when they haven’t slept well. It’s a feeling of constant exhaustion that makes it hard to get through the day, let alone participate in activities you enjoy.
Harvard adds that it’s not entirely understood why autoimmune disease and fatigue go hand-in-hand, although inflammation, pain, poor sleep, inactivity, or depressed mood may all contribute.
Lifestyle factors that may contribute to fatigue include:
- Alcohol or drug use.
- Eating poorly.
- Medicines, such as those used to treat allergies or coughs.
- Not enough sleep.
- Too little physical activity.
- Too much physical activity.
In addition to feeling tired, people who are fatigued are more easily distracted, are less able to concentrate, tend to forget things more easily, take longer to solve problems, make more mistakes, have slower reaction times, and take more risks than they might otherwise. At the extreme, they might fall asleep while driving.
Although we tend to think of fatigue as an adult medical problem, children and teens can suffer from it, too. Kaiser Permanente says the cause can be too much or not enough activity, or it can come from stress, lack of sleep, boredom or poor diet. Viral infections can cause fatigue and, as with adults, emotional problems, especially depression, are often the culprit.
Since fatigue is usually a symptom of another problem, treatment depends on the cause.
For example, if your child has fatigue because of a health problem, treating the health problem also treats the fatigue. If depression or anxiety is the cause, treatment for those all-too-prevalent teenage conditions may help.
Follow-up care is a key part of a child’s treatment and safety. Make and go to all appointments and call your doctor if your child is not responding to treatment or having additional problems. Make sure your child gets regular exercise and plenty of rest. Be encouraging and supportive and help your child eat a healthy diet. Try to limit medicines that can cause fatigue.
Crawford says that the most important step anyone can take to prevent or overcome fatigue is to practice good sleep hygiene. Strong sleep hygiene means having both a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote consistent, uninterrupted sleep. Keep a stable sleep schedule, make your bedroom comfortable and free of disruptions, follow a relaxing pre-bed routine, and build healthy habits during the day that contribute to sound sleep at night.
Every sleeper can tailor their sleep hygiene practices to suit their needs. Sleep hygiene encompasses both environment and habits, and it can pave the way for higher-quality sleep and better overall health, according to Crawford.
Nurse practitioner Jamie Crawford, APRN, FNP-C, specializes in internal medicine for Steward Medical Group, which is operated by Steward Health Care. She received her BSN from Wright State University and her MSN from University of Cincinnati. Steward Medical Group is located at 240 N Wickham Road, Suite 300, Melbourne: 321-752-1588.
