You might think it’s a Daylight Savings Time hangover or an insanely busy schedule, but the real reason you’re exhausted could be one of these health problems.
How much sleep do you need?
You feel like you’re always going to bed early, but when your alarm goes off, it’s hard to open your eyes and you’re in a fog all day. You may feel like no matter how much sleep you’re getting, you’re still tired. But how do you know how much sleep you need?
How much sleep you need varies by age. While newborns under three-months-old may need up to 19 hours of sleep and adults over 65 may need as little as five hours, most adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. While not getting enough sleep can hurt your health in these sneaky ways, oversleeping and constantly being tired can be a sign of a problem.
What’s best, according to Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, an internist who specializes in sleep, fibromyalgia, and pain, is to sleep the amount of time that leaves you feeling the best. “If you are needing more than 10 hours of sleep to feel restored, however, then that suggests that your sleep quality is poor and needs to be addressed,” he says.
If you’re getting enough sleep on a good schedule or are even oversleeping and still feel tired, it could be a sign of health problems.
You’re tired because…you’re oversleeping on weekends
You may think skimping on sleep during the week and oversleeping during the weekends will help you feel well-rested, but it’s actually hurting your sleep. This habit is called “social jetlag” which is brought on by shifts in your sleeping schedule during the week versus on the weekends. “Your body prefers routine, but still appreciates you making up the sleep, so it’s best to find a steady balance you can stick to,” adds Dr. Teitelbaum.
You’re tired because…you’re anemic
When you visit your doctor and complain of feeling tired all the time, the first things they’ll often check for is anemia or thyroid disorder because you can detect those with a blood test, says Amy Shah, MD. “When a patient says ‘I’m tired,’ it’s such a broad term and could be so many things, but if someone says ‘I’m tired and feeling a little more short of breath,’ or, ‘I’m having trouble exercising,’ that tends to be anemia.” Anemia is when your blood doesn’t carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body and the most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency. Anemics may also experience feeling cold, dizzy, irritable, or have headaches in addition to feeling tired. Try one of these 12 eating habits for more energy.
You’re tired because…you have a condition that causes chronic pain
People who suffer from conditions, such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, and anemia, often require sleep. “For fibromyalgia, the person is not able to go into deep restorative sleep because the sleep center (the hypothalamus) is not working,” explains Dr. Teitelbaum. “For rheumatoid arthritis, the pain often disrupts deep sleep, so it takes more sleep to get the same recharging of your battery.” In hypothyroidism and anemia, extra sleep over nine hours doesn’t really help.
You’re tired because…you have a thyroid problem
If you have a thyroid issue, like an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), in addition to feeling tired, you might also feel like your skin is really dry and you’re constipated a lot, along with the lack of energy, says Dr. Shah. Hypothyroidism is a condition that occurs when your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of certain important hormones. While women are more likely to have hypothyroidism, thyroid function tests can diagnose hypothyroidism easily and if you have an issue, your doctor may prescribe a synthetic thyroid hormone. Don’t miss these 25 natural energy boosters that just might change your life.
You’re tired because you…may have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes
Most people who have high blood sugar due to type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. “Insulin is the key that opens up our cellular energy furnaces called mitochondria and allows sugar to enter to be burned for fuel,” explains Dr. Teitelbaum. “Because this key is not working, sugar cannot get into the furnaces to be turned into energy, leaving people tired.”
You’re tired because…you have an infection
Doctors will often check for chronic infection as a cause of fatigue due to such infections as the Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis) or Lyme disease. Both of these medical issues can present with extreme fatigue. If you feel exhausted, make sure you never do these 10 things when you’re tired.
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