11/09/2022
If you have felt like you are dragging lately, you may be wondering what is going on. Fatigue is a common symptom that can be caused by a whole host of factors, from medical conditions and stress to poor sleep, says Dr. Stephanie Tung, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an attending psychiatrist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The good news is that in many cases you can make changes that will help bring your energy back, but you need to get to the root of the problem in order to treat it.
Fatigue triggers
Part of the challenge when it comes to a general symptom like fatigue is that it's so commonplace and can be triggered by so many different things. This makes it hard to pinpoint what's causing the problem. However, there are a few main culprits that often cause fatigue in women, says Dr. Tung.
Hormonal changes. "Hormonal changes can also contribute to shifts in metabolism and sleep disturbances, which lead to fatigue," says Dr. Tung. A decline in female hormones, such as estrogen, during the menopause transition may induce hot flashes, which can lead to broken sleep. Hot flashes are brief episodes during which your body feels like it's overheating. They can last for a few seconds or minutes. During a hot flash, your skin may flush, and you may start to sweat. If these occur at night, they can make it hard to sleep soundly and leave you dragging the next day.
Problems associated with the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland located at the front of your neck that regulates your metabolism, may also cause fatigue, says Dr. Tung. When the thyroid gland is underactive and produces inadequate levels of thyroid hormone (a condition called hypothyroidism), it can make you feel tired, in addition to other symptoms. Women are more likely than men to have thyroid disease, and incidence rises with age. Almost 20% of women over age 65 have an underactive thyroid gland.
Your diet. If you are not eating a well-balanced diet, it may result in vitamin deficiencies that can sap your energy. Two of the most common are vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies, says Dr. Tung. Fatigue is also sometimes brought on by dehydration.
Poor sleep habits or sleep disorders. Perhaps the most obvious reason you might be feeling tired is that you are not getting adequate sleep. Sometimes this results from bad sleep habits. "Staying up late at night, too much screen time — those habits can definitely affect people's energy level," says Dr. Tung. People who have work schedules that require staying up all night may also have difficulty getting a consistent block of time to achieve restful, deep sleep. But inadequate sleep can also be caused by insomnia or poor sleep quality triggered by stress, or sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, tissues in your throat relax during sleep, periodically blocking your airway, causing breathing interruptions that disrupt sleep.