Why am I so Tired?
This seems to be a common concern of many people. It’s often a reason people seek out wellbeing coaching for an answer and to find ways to help themselves. For exhaustion is not a pleasant experience.
Tiredness causes poor decisions, makes us cranky, stops us from looking after ourselves well and leads to feelings of guilt and even shame as we blame ourselves for not being good enough.
Is there anything we can do to stop being so tired and feel refreshed instead?
It seems obvious to ask but are you getting enough sleep and enough quality sleep? It’s surprising how many people don’t get enough for various reasons. Some reasons may well be out of your control, for example if you are a new parent, yet many are more in our power to do something about than we think.
Make a commitment to yourself over the next week and see what time you go to bed and what you do in the evening which could interfere with your sleep (eg drinking too much, eating heavy meals, watching TV too late). Note what time you wake up and also if you woke up during the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.
Other than a good night’s sleep, what else can you do to help feel less tired during the day?
Dehydration causes us to feel sluggish so make sure you drink enough water and stay hydrated through the day. It can be tempting to reach for caffeine and yet too much can interfere with our sleep.
Avoid eating lots of sugary foods when you feel tired. It’s (in my opinion) natural to want to reach for sugar as it gives us an instant boost and if we feel tired that is exactly what we want. Yet, an instant hit of sugar can lead to a crash and consequently make us feel worse.
I appreciate that if you feel tired the last thing you may wish to do is make food yet making balanced meals and eating whole foods regularly can give you a much needed boost and lead to an overall feeling of being refreshed. How about a challenge over the next week where instead of reaching for a chocolate bar you eat a piece of fruit instead and see if that helps. Here’s our simple Green Smoothie recipe for a quick healthy snack.
Getting fresh air and sunshine (which appears to be in short supply here in the UK!) can be hugely beneficial. Can you attempt to incorporate a short 15 minute walk into your day and make it a mindful walk where you let go of the worries and demands of your day and focus instead into what you can see and hear around you.
Finally, one of the biggest zappers of our energy is stress which is a whole separate topic! However, can you start to make a note of your stressors and ask: out of these what is in my control and what isn’t in my control?
For those stressors which are in your control, can you start to do small things to address them? And for those which are out of your control, make an attempt to stop worrying about them. A simple technique to help with this is coherent breathing where you breathe in for a count of 5 and breathe out for a count of 5. Do this as often as you need.
One last thing I will say is notice your language as it can often be our default way of speaking to say “I am tired”. So much so that I saw a meme recently which said “Being an adult is just talking about how tired we are all the time”.
I suggest you spend time talking up the times you feel more relaxed, energised, alert and see if the way you talk about the way you feel makes a difference.
Try those ideas above to see if it helps you feel less tired during the day.
Photo by Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash
.
