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What Causes Tiredness & Sleepiness?

Tiredness affects most people at sometime throughout their lives. It can range from being moderately uncomfortable to completely debilitating. Tiredness, also known as fatigue, can happen for a number of different reasons, including physical, emotional and lifestyle causes. Tiredness usually goes away after a good sleep or some deep physical relaxation, but other times it can be more difficult to conquer.

  1. Stress

    • Stress is one of the leading causes of fatigue. When people are stressed, their brains are constantly active. Not only does stress tire you out throughout the day, anxiety also makes it difficult for you to fall asleep. If you are facing a huge problem, it's likely that your mind wants to stay awake until it has found an adequate solution. Although it may seem impossible, try to forget about your stress when you are trying to fall asleep; being tired just makes your problems seem more difficult.

    Insufficient Sleep

    • Many people do not get enough sleep throughout the night. The average human needs at least seven to nine hours of sleep every day. Some people believe that they can get minimal amounts of sleep throughout the week and make up for it on the weekend. This is untrue; every time you don't get enough sleep, you accumulate a sleep debt that carries on with you until you fulfill that sleep requirement.

    Medical Condition

    • Some people feel tired because of a medical condition. Tiredness could be the result of an overactive or underactive thyroid or even an asthmatic condition. Many times, these medical conditions can be present without your knowledge. Another medical condition that can cause fatigue is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is common in overweight individuals and is a condition that restricts the airways during sleep. This can result in waking multiple times throughout the night without knowing it.

    Physical Exhaustion

    • Fatigue is often the result of physical exertion. This is especially true if you live an inactive lifestyle. Unfortunately, if you live an inactive lifestyle, you may be tired from not exercising enough. This can lead to an unfortunate cyclical pattern: you're tired because you don't exercise, but exercising makes you even more tired. To break this cycle, you must overcome feeling out of energy to exercise enough to get fit.

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