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What Are the Causes of Physical Fatigue?

Fatigue has many different effects on people including sleepiness, weakness and an overall feeling of illness or malaise. In fact, there are more than 2,800 causes for physical fatigue. (Reference 1)
When fatigue becomes chronic a doctor should be consulted.

  1. Infections

    • Infections including hepatitis, Herpes simplex and mononucleosis may result in fatigue. (Reference 2)

    Autoimmune Diseases

    • Fatigue is a common symptom in many autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

    Stress

    • Stress is a source of fatigue. Considering what the source of the stress might be and learning stress management techniques may resolve the issue. (Reference 3)

    Depression

    • Depression symptoms vary from person to person, but often fatigue can be a sign of the condition.

    Anemia

    • People experiencing chronic fatigue should consider getting tested for anemia, or low number of red blood cells. By itself anemia can cause fatigue, but anemia may be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as multiple myeloma.

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