Vitamin B deficiency, dehydration or a UTI… The real reasons you could be feeling tired
One in five of us are constantly tired and have no energy. So just where have our mojo gone - and how do we find it again?
YOU stumble in at midnight after a boozy catch-up with the girls, but have to get up for a 7am circuit class.
Exhausted, you promise yourself an early bedtime the next night but instead find yourself binge-watching Glow into the wee hours. It’s no wonder you’re totally spent.
But what about when you are tucked up at 10pm for the seventh night in a row only to find you’re still struggling to get out of bed the next morning?
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, one in five of us regularly feels unusually tired, and one in 10 is permanently exhausted.
In fact, feeling perpetually worn out is so common today, it has its own widely used acronym: TATT (Tired All The Time).
“Lots of patients complain of feeling exhausted, even though they’re sleeping well. Often it goes on for several months, but doctors struggle to find anything physically wrong,” says Dr Rupal Shah, a GP and spokesperson for NHS Choices.
And now more than half of women admit they avoid social engagements due to tiredness, nearly a third are too exhausted to see family or friends, and 66% view tiredness as their number-one health concern.*
So what’s causing our perkiness to plummet and just how do we get over the slump hump?
You’re vitamin B deficient
“B vitamins are needed to help generate energy within the mitochondria – the powerhouse of each cell. A lack of them can lead to excessive tiredness,” says GP Dr Clare Morrison.
And being stressed doesn’t help – it actually pilfers your vitamin B store.
“Stress hormones speed up metabolic processes, which use up greater amounts of B vitamins,” she explains.
Studies have also shown that women who take the contraceptive pill or who use aspirin or ibuprofen daily are more likely to suffer from depleted vitamin B stores, too.
Reboot You could take a complex such as Holland & Barrett Vitamin B-Complex and B12, £3.99 for 90. Better still, make sure your diet is rich in vitamin B. Good sources include pork, chicken, turkey, dark-green leafy vegetables, eggs and shellfish.
You have an undiagnosed medical condition
“Tiredness is one of the first symptoms for several conditions that are more common in women,” says Dr Kenny Livingstone, founder of ZoomDoc, a GP-to-door service.
“Anaemia – low iron levels – can make women feel very tired and sometimes dizzy when they stand up. If you pull down your lower eyelid and the pink rim looks very pale or you can’t see the blood running through it, that can indicate there’s a problem. Also, although we associate pain and burning with a urinary tract infection (UTI), many women feel very tired and lethargic before the pain starts.”
Lethargy can also be a symptom of depression, diabetes, glandular fever, chronic heart failure, cancer and pregnancy.
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Reboot Having a wee after sex and staying well hydrated can prevent UTIs. Eating red meat and cereal fortified with iron can help anaemia. And if you do need to take iron supplements, wash them down with orange juice to increase the absorption rate. If you experience heavy periods – another cause of tiredness that can lead to anaemia – the contraceptive pill or coil can lessen or stop them, explains Dr Livingstone. “But with or without other symptoms, if you’ve been tired for more than a month, see your GP and get checked out,” he advises.
You’re thirsty
One in 10 cases of tiredness reported to a GP can be attributed to dehydration, according to the Natural Hydration Council.
Without enough fluid, blood pressure drops – slowing delivery of oxygen to the brain, which leaves you feeling flat.
“Many of my patients only believe they’re dehydrated when they start to feel thirsty, yet other symptoms appear before this – fatigue and tiredness, headaches and poor concentration,” says GP Dr Roger Henderson.
Reboot Official NHS guidance suggests adults should drink six to eight 200ml glasses of water per day. A study by Pharmaton found almost 30% rely on coffee instead, believing it will perk us up. However, if consumed in large doses instead of water, it can dehydrate you further. Chewing gum can help, as it increases your heart rate, which increases blood flow to the brain making you feel more alert. Mint flavour stimulates nerve fibres, too – it’s like splashing your face with cold water.
You’re sitting down for too long
Research at the University of Georgia shows sedentary people who regularly felt tired saw their energy rise by 20% and tiredness decrease by 65% by doing 20 minutes of mild exercise three times a week.
“Not only does exercise improve the efficiency of your cardiovascular system, delivering more oxygen to cells, but it can also influence your heart-rate pattern,” says Justin Jones, head of physiology at Nuffield Health.
“This can increase levels of DHEA (an anti-ageing and vitality hormone), while lowering levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress and fatigue.”
Reboot Next time you’re tempted to flop on to the sofa, force yourself out for a brisk walk. And it might sound weird, but pinching the outer rim of your ears can also liven you up. It unites your acupressure meridians (energy pathways) and gets energy flowing.
You’re in the dark
Our sleep/wake (circadian) cycle is controlled by light and dark.
When it gets dark we produce melatonin, which helps us fall asleep, and we need at least 2,000 lux (a measurement of light) to keep us alert.
But even a well-lit office only provides 500 lux.
Reboot Not near a window? “Use a lightbox to boost energy and performance,” says Dr Victoria Revell, a circadian rhythm expert at Surrey University. Try the Lumie Vitamin L, £90, out September 8 (pre-order from ).
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Source: *Berocca
Feel like your body clock is out of sync? Follow these simple steps to get yourself back on track!