Stress related fatigue
Stressed to the max and struggling to get out of bed in the morning? Fatigue is a common and important response to physical exertion, poor eating habits and a lack of sleep, but it can also be a response to emotional stress. Today we are expected to get more down in less time, which leads to persist pressure when we feel we are unable to cope with certain situations. Over time, this can leave us run down, and potentially even burnout. To ensure you don't suffer this fate, dietitian and exercise physiologist Caitlin Reid reveals the things to look out for.
While stress is an unavoidable part of life, too much of it can cause physical and emotional problems. Stress produces a flood of stress hormones including cortisol, adrenaline and epinephrine to be released into the bloodstream. These hormones increase out heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels, while at the same time inhibiting our immune response. This stress response is perfect for physical dangers such as running away from a fire, but the stress we face today stems more from psychological threats making it more pervasive, persistent and insidious.
Chronic and excessive stress breaks down our body’s defence mechanism and leaves us open and vulnerable to disease and illness. With chronic stress, you may experience colds and flus more often and if you let the high stress levels persist for a long period of time, you may find yourself with a serious illness such as glandular fever or chronic fatigue.
Fatigue can cause a huge range of physical, mental and emotional symptoms such as chronic sleepiness, headaches, impaired decision-making and judgement, appetite loss, poor concentration, delayed reaction time, low motivation and short-term memory loss.
As many situations can trigger fatigue, there is no individual treatment or known cure. Some people may benefit from improving their sleep quality by increasing the amount of sleep they get each night, limiting their caffeine intake and avoiding sleep tablets. Other people may benefit from making dietary changes such as eating irregular meals, ditching the fad diets, drinking plenty of water and getting adequate iron. Including daily exercise, learning to relax, dealing with workplace difficulties, and assessing your lifestyle can also have positive effects on reducing stress levels and any associated fatigue. It’s important to not however, that stress can also be a non-specific sign of a more serious medical condition. When enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment does not relieve your fatigue, you should see your local doctor.
Article contributed by Caitlin Reid
Health & the City
PO Box 992
Leichhardt NSW 2040
www.healthandthecity.com.au