Exhausted? Yeah! Isn't Everyone (part 2)

Ragged to Rejuvenated

As with mot health conditions, the first step to reversing relentless fatigue is recognizing it and recognizing that it’s bad for you. “Getting too little rest is like ingesting a toxin,” explains Robert J. Hedaya, M.D., founder of The National Center for Whole Psychiatry in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “There isn’t a single bodily function that isn’t affected. Your nervous system becomes disregulated. You can lode muscle mass. You lose sex drive.” “Chronic tiredness also affects your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds,” adds Lombardo. “When you’re sleep deprived, you’re more likely to gain weight. And research has found that driving while exhausted can be as hazardous s driving drunk. Think about it : Sleep deprivation is used to torture prisoners in captivity, and yet we do it to ourselves on a regular basis.”

Still not convinced it’s time to own up to your exhaustion features are also symptoms of depression,” says Olson. “A cardinal sign for both is the inability to experience feeling. I worry that some women are being diagnosed with depression when really they’re just worn out.”

Most of the signs of exhaustion are obvious: You’re likely well aware that shunning shut-eye can make you look and feel like a zombie. You’ll also obviously have less energy, and you might find yourself being bitchy or overemotional, says Lombardo. Exhaustion can lead to arguments with your partner and the inability to finish projects at work. In other words, it puts you way off your game.

It’s time to make chilling out a priority. “ Right now, we give ourselves medals for the number of hours we spend working and not sleeping,” says Lombardo. “Be proud of yourself for getting rest. Maybe that’s not something you’d brag about to your friends, but when you’re energized, everything changes.” Start by taking these easy steps:

Choose to snooze. Most adults should log seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Hit the sheets at around the same time each evening, says Sharkey. “If you vary your bedtime-even by 30 or 60 minutes- your circadian rhythms get out of whack and you’ll feel like you have jet lag every Monday morning,” she says.

Eat for energy. Kicking off the day with a meal that lacks nutritional value-ahem, that sugar-packed muffin and latte-puts a dent in your metabolism and sets you up for exhaustion later, says Hedaya. Make sure your breakfast includes around 20 grams of protein and some healthy fat, both of which help keep your energy up. Try some peanut butter or a handful of almonds stirred into low-fat yogurt.

Get your head out of the game. No, meditation is not a New Agey time waster. An a.m.om session can be highly relaxing and may straighten out taxing mental disarray. “Meditating in the morning can help clear your mind so that you can then do things faster and with more focus,” says Lipman. “You can actually end up with more time.” Aim for 20 minutes of quiet reflection before or after breakfast.

Be crafty. Remember that achievement high? You don’t need to log 18 hour days at work to find it. Outside hobbies and passions yield the same effect. “I call this creative compensation,” says Mandel. “It ends up being restorative, because you are accomplishing something that’s just for you.” Think about what’s appealing to you-cooking, writing, painting-and devote an hour or two to it each week. And try to surround yourself with pals who live more balanced lives and soak up their perspectives. Together, you can aim to ditch your exhaustion acceptance.

Five sneaky energy suckers

Your extreme fatigue might be coming from hidden sources. Nixing these spirit-depleting factors from your life will automatically help reboot your verve.

1. DEHYDRATION

It turns out that even moderate dehydration (which results in the loss of 3 percent of your body weight) can make you feel mentally sluggish and mess with your concentration, The next time you’re feeling foggy or lightheaded, don’t just assume you’re in serious need of some food. Try downing a glass or two of water.

2. CELL PHONES

Checking your cell before bed amps up brain activity, making it harder to doze off. Plus, any electronic gadget’s artificial blue light can suppress the sleep hormone melatonin. A 2011 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that 20 percent of people ages 19 to 29 are awakened by a call, text, or e-mail at least a few nights a week. Power it down well before bedtime.

3. MEDICATION

Many drugs have veiled energy-sapping side effects. Chief among them are ome classes of antidepressants and certain beta-blockers used to prevent migraines or treat high blood pressure. If you start a new med and feel more lethargic than usual, see your doctor for an alternative. (If there isn’t one, take your dose right before bed.)

4. OVERTRAINING

While working out zaps the stress hormone cortisol, prolonged sweat sessions-like, for example, regularly running for more than 30 minutes at a steady rate-can actually rev cortisol production, Interval training (bursts of intense activity) combined with strength training (free-weight and body-weight moves) helps keep cortisol in check.

5. LOW IRON