Do you sleep enough hours but still feel dead tired when you wake up? Are you feeling your positive thought slip away as that exhausted feeling sets in for seemingly no reason? Are you having trouble doing everyday tasks? Do you feel fatigued even without doing much, sometimes to the point where you can’t bring yourself to do anything productive?
If you answered “yes” to those questions, there’s a chance that you’ve been participating in certain habits that are causing you to be always exhausted. But how is that possible? Can it be fixed? How can you be aware of them?
HERE ARE FIVE HABITS THAT WILL LEAVE YOU EXHAUSTED AND HOW TO STOP THEM.
1 – BAD EATING HABITS
What you eat determines how you fuel up for the day. If you eat poorly, you’ll feel poorly, too. Here are some terrible eating habits that you may be guilty of:
- SKIPPING BREAKFAST
Breakfast has always been called the most important meal of the day. There’s a good reason for that! This meal is the first one you’ll have when you wake up – it will provide you with the energy you need to tackle the day. If you don’t eat it, you don’t get that energy. Opt for breakfast items with whole grains, good fats, and lean proteins. Smoothies, wholewheat toast, and oatmeal are good examples.
- NEGLECTING IRON
A lack of iron is a widespread cause of sluggishness. You might feel weak or even irritable, and your concentration may slip a lot. Even if you don’t have anemia, not getting the minimum daily requirement of iron can contribute to feelings of tiredness. Mix iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods
- EATING JUNK
Eat junk, feel like junk. If you keep eating simple carbohydrates and sugars, especially from takeout shops and fast food outlets, you’re doing your blood sugar a disservice. When blood sugar spikes and drops suddenly and frequently, you experience fatigue and lightheadedness. Eating protein with carb-heavy meals can help the digestion process.
- ALLERGIES
Are you aware of all your food allergies? Though many food allergies can be pronounced and deadly, some still are just mild intolerances. But these “mild” allergies can still have negative effects on you. For example, they could be the reason behind your fatigue. Try eliminating foods one by one until you find one behind your tiredness.
- EATING TOO LITTLE
If you are often on restrictive diets, it’s no surprise that you’d feel tired. Insufficient fuel means your body has nothing to run on. Consider adding small, healthy snacks to your daily food plans, or recalculating your calories to make sure you’re getting enough of them.
2 – BAD DRINKING HABITS
So we’ve talked about bad eating habits – but how about bad drinking habits? Believe it or not, you can also drink in the wrong way. Here are some bad drinking habits that may leave you exhausted:
- RELYING ON CAFFEINE
A good cup of coffee every morning is a pretty standard part of many people’s days. And, for the most part, it’s not unhealthy and may even be good for you! But if you abuse caffeine and use it incorrectly, your sleep-wake cycle will suffer. Drinking caffeine as early as six hours before bed can cause its properties to ruin your ability to sleep, making you tired the next day.
- DRINKING WINE BEFORE BED
Yes, a glass of wine sounds like a nice, relaxing way to tie up the end of a night. And yes, it feels like the alcohol is helping you sleep. But while it makes you fall asleep faster, it worsens your overall sleep quality. The sedative effect it has messes up your ability to maintain sleep, so when you wake up, you won’t feel nearly as positive or rested.
- NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
Did you know that even 2% dehydration can dramatically affect your energy levels? You need to drink at least eight cups of water per day, to the point that your urine is very light in color. But many Americans only drink half that amount! If you’re a very physically active person, you’ll need even more water than that.
3 – BAD WORKING HABITS
What is your working environment like? The place you work is where you expend a lot of your energy, so if you engage in bad habits at work, your energy will not be used efficiently or productively. Here are some bad work habits to avoid:
- BEING AT A COMPUTER ALL DAY
Many people’s jobs involve them sitting down at a desk, in front of a computer, for hours. But this causes a lot of fatigue and can lead to a lack of energy. Every 90 minutes, you need to stop and take a short break, just to walk around, check your phone, or even just go to the bathroom. The human attention span only lasts 90 minutes!
- KEEPING IT MESSY
It’s okay to have a little clutter, but if your workspace is a bit too messy, it can reduce your concentration and even make it more difficult for your brain to process store, and use information. You don’t have to work in a perfectly organized area – just make sure it’s neat enough so as not to overwhelm you, and so you don’t spend an hour looking for something around it.
- WORKING WHILE ON HOLIDAY
Workaholics unite! Many people feel compelled to check their work email or do a little extra work when they’re supposed to be relaxing or are on vacation. Don’t do that! You need your breaks to be real truly, full breaks that have no work-related incidents at all. This time will save you from a terrible burnout later! When you’re back from your holiday, you’ll be refreshed and capable.
4 – YOU STRESS YOURSELF OUT
What if the number one cause of your exhaustion is, well, you? Sometimes, your emotional state could be your fault, a result of exposing yourself to stressors that may or may not be real. Here are a few of them that could be leaving you exhausted!
- YOU’RE VERY MUCH A PERFECTIONIST
Perfection simply isn’t possible, so if you constantly want to be perfect, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Even if you acknowledge that you aren’t perfect, you could still be setting your goals too high, or trying to wait for everything just magically to fall into place. This habit will cause disappointment, discouragement, a lack of positive thinking, and, of course, exhaustion.
- YOU CAN’T SAY “NO”
Are you a people-pleaser? Or perhaps a Yes-Man type person? Whatever the case, an inability to say “no” could stress you out. You’ll stretch yourself too thin and overcommit to countless different events, making more promises than you can keep track of. Learn to say no when you’re splitting in too many directions at once.
- YOU MAKE SMALL THINGS BIG
Whenever you hear something, you automatically assume the worst. When your friend says they want to talk to you, you fear they’re going to tell you they hate you. Perhaps your boss calls you in suddenly, and you’re terrified of being fired. When you consider taking a bus, you’re too scared of the possibility of missing it. Or when there’s heavy rain, you think there will be a flood. This catastrophizing is taxing on the brain and can exhaust you!
5 – IGNORING SYMPTOMS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS
Health problems are a drain on your body, and they can significantly worsen feelings of exhaustion. If your health isn’t in good shape, it makes complete sense that it would mess up your ability to rest. Your body would be suffering the entire time! Here are common health problems that are often ignored but cause exhaustion:
- SLEEP APNEA
You may think you’re sleeping enough, but if you have sleep apnea, you wouldn’t be. This disorder stops your breathing while you sleep, causing you to wake up for tiny amounts of time that you may not be aware of. This sleep disturbance and deprivation can take a toll on you.
- CHRONIC, INVISIBLE ILLNESS
If you have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, you’ll feel drained very often. Your main symptom for either will be exhaustion with no known reason, though many other symptoms may accompany it. Big lifestyle changes typically need to be made to aid in management for these incurable conditions.
- DEPRESSION
Depressive disorders aren’t just mood disorders that reduce your positive thinking. They make you tired, too. You can lose your appetite, have recurrent headaches, and feel constantly tired. If that’s accompanied by a dropped mood, you should speak to a professional.
- URINARY TRACT INFECTION
For the most part, UTIs can be very obvious. But sometimes, they’re more silent, and exhaustion may be the only symptom. When you’re used to that urgent need to urinate and the burning that accompanies it, you may not think that your fatigue is due to a UTI – but it could be!
- HYPOTHYROIDISM
The thyroid gland sits at the base of the neck and is responsible for managing metabolism. An underactive thyroid, which can be caused by a bad diet, lack of physical activity, or genetic predisposition, leads to a slow metabolic rate. This issue can cause weight gain and feelings of sluggishness.
- DIABETES
Diabetes involves unbalanced blood sugar levels, and even without diabetes, a poor balance of blood sugar can already cause weakness and exhaustion. As such, diabetes may lead to tiredness, and it’s one of the most common symptoms patients experience.
- HEART DISEASE
If you experience severe exhaustion during seemingly normal basic everyday tasks, it may be because your heart can’t keep up. Heart disease is very serious and requires a quick diagnosis and prompt treatment.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON SOME HABITS THAT WILL LEAVE YOU EXHAUSTED AND HOW TO STOP THEM
Bad habits can be difficult to break. But when they actively start to interfere with your everyday life, you need to do something about them. No one’s perfect, and we know that some flaws won’t ever really get perfectly fixed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to make them better!
You don’t deserve to feel constantly exhausted. If you’ve been feeling that way, take a look at your life and see what could be causing it. If you think it’s something more serious or can’t figure it out, don’t be afraid to reach out to a medical professional for assistance!