How can I feel more energetic?

[Poppadumpony]

Hi,
I wouldn’t say I suffer frim ‘fatigue’ per se, but having just one energetic day seems to put me entirely out of action the next day. It’s not that I couldn’t muster any energy if I had to, if something was happening on day 2, then I could do it. But that would just push my ‘zonked’ day over to the next day, and so on. Sometimes whole weekends are write-offs because I just cannot be bothered to do anything. I’m not tired I’m just lethargic. No kids, so bo problem staying in bed all day.

I didn’t used to be like this. I’m kind of afraid if it gets worse it’ll turn into actual chronic fatigue. Anyone got any tips for improving the situation?

Thanks

There are so many different factors that could contribute to this. I would be looking at diet and lifestyle as a starting point

As Pp there are many different factors.

If it is effecting your life to.the point you are having to adapt, I would take serious notice.

See your Gp to check there is not something underlying health wise. No 1 priority.

Address diet- unprocessed, nutrious foods, make sure you are hydrated. Worth taking multivitamins- esp vit d and iron.

Sleep- are you getting enough? Are you feeling refreshed after waking? Do you snore?

Stresses in life- is something emotionally using up your energy? If so address it.

Is this a recent thing is long standing?

I find forcing myself to go out for a walk or to do something outdoors actually makes me feel more energetic!

I’ve totally changed my diet recently too, and now have so much more energy and enjoy challenging myself to do a bit more each day.

Chat to your GP, I was very similar this year and put it down to having baby twins. Exhaustion was just something else, like a constant hangover. It turns out my thyroid became very under active post-birth and now we’ve found a good medication dose I feel a trillion times better.

I’m not saying you’ll be exactly the same but it’s absolutely worth a quick chat/blood test to see/rule anything out etc.

I would definitely visit your GP and ask for a blood test as a starting point- I’ve been feeling rubbish for months and thought my low energy was just down to general life (especially given the past few months!) but after a blood test found out my iron and vitamin D levels were really low. I’ve been taking supplements for about two weeks now and I can’t believe the difference - it’s made me realise how little energy I had before and how bad things really were!

If everything medical wise is ruled out I would try and get into a bit of an exercise routine. Different type of yoga are really energising, and cardio/strength training (whilst difficult to start when you’ve got no energy!) really boost your energy levels when you do them consistently.

Do you drink much tea/coffee/coke during the day? I’ve read a lot about how caffeine makes you more tired - your body crashes after a period, leaving you more tired than you were before drinking.

Do you sleep well? Are you getting enough deep REM sleep at night? Simple things like room temperature/light conditions can really impact how much REM sleep you get and this can lead to low energy levels during the day.

Lastly (sorry, this is turning into a bit of an essay!) mental health can be quite a big factor in energy levels. Not necessarily just depression but feeling uninspired and lacking purpose always affects my motivation and energy levels. Things I’ve done in the past to combat this are to set little projects for myself, stuff like DIY and reading non fiction books to try and wake my brain up a bit to learn about a topic, rather than just drifting through the day not really challenging myself much.

Sending you luck, I hope things improve soon- it’s absolutely rubbish having no energy so I really sympathise.

I get this too - it turned out to be early menapause. I'd been like it for a long time but didn't see a gp until I started to get bad hot flushes. With that said it could be any number of different things. You'd be completely reasonable to go and see a gp about it. Hopefully they can take some blood to check for all the usual suspects thyroid etc and anything else they think is necessary once they've taken a history from you - good luck!

Thanks, I will definitely take a trip to the GP.

You have to use energy to get energy. The more you do, the more energetic you get. Being sedentary slows down your metabolism. Moving helps to speed it up. Get plenty of fresh fruit, veges, protein and carbohydrates. Carbs are the fuel for the body.

I've had an underactive thyroid for over 20years. It's hideous, but the above still applies. The more I move, the more energetic I feel.

How many hours a night do you sleep? I actually find I feel best on 7 hours and anything over 8 hours makes me feel tired all day. Also get some blood tests done - my folate was low for ages which made me feel tired.

Do you snore?

Check your b12 and iron.