Tiredness / Fatigue

Why am I always tired?

The feeling of being tired is extremely hard to define since everybody has their own idea of what being tired means. Everybody experiences fatigue from time to time and the most common reason is usually lack of sleep.

With lifestyles becoming busier and more demanding, the number of people complaining of being persistently tired is increasing every year.

1 in 10 people suffer from constant tiredness, with women more likely to be affected than men.

Symptoms of Tiredness:

• Always feeling tired despite a full night’s sleep
• Feeling irritable
• Feeling physically drained and constantly tired
• Being unable to concentrate
• Taking a long time to complete simple tasks

If you find yourself asking “why am I always tired?” and feeling lethargic without an obvious cause you should visit your GP to rule out any underlying medical conditions. Factors that could be contributing include diet, vitamin deficiencies, anaemia, diabetes, sleep apnea, and thyroid problems.

Why are we often tired?

Health reasons why you could be so tired:

• Anaemia. Iron deficiency is one of the most common reasons for feeling overly lethargic, having a ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude or for aching muscles. Anaemia tends to affect 1 in 20 men and women and can be rectified by taking iron supplements. You should also go about including more iron-rich foods in your diet such as molluscs, liver, nuts and dark leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard.
• Diabetes. One of the main symptoms of prediabetes and diabetes is feeling very tired. The other key symptoms are feeling very thirsty, going to the toilet a lot due to the lack of control of sugar levels in your blood. If you think you might have diabetes or prediabetes and/or if you are experiencing persistent tiredness or extreme drops in energy levels, then it is important that you get tested.