The alarm clock rings and you roll over, hit the snooze button and curl back up covering the blankets over your head thinking to yourself “it can’t be morning yet”.
It feels like each day you crawl out of bed cranky, tired, and waiting desperately for your first cup of java to be thrown into your hand at the drive thru window on your way to work.
You’re frustrated as you can’t understand why you feel like nodding off mid afternoon and struggle to find the motivation to even walk to your car after the work day is over.
Here are some reasons you may not have considered…
1. Anemia
You may be feeling tired as you are nearing menopause and you don’t have adequate red blood cells carrying oxygen to your tissues and organs. This can leave you feeling extremely run down. Try increasing your iron intake by ingesting iron-rich foods such as shellfish, lean meats, iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals. You can find out if you are anemic from a simple blood test at your Doctor’s office.
2. Under Active Thyroid
If your thyroid (small gland in your neck area) is sluggish your metabolism will slow down and you will feel tired and also likely experience weight gain. Hypothyroidism is 4-5 times more likely in women then in men and even more so over the age of 40. This can also be detected in your Doctor’s office by a blood test.
3. Depression
If you feel sad you will also likely feel tired. The two often go hand in hand. If you feel down for more than a couple of weeks see your Doctor. If your depression is addressed this will often take care of your fatigue.
4. Lack of Exercise
Exercise gives you energy! A walk may be better than a nap for fighting fatigue according to recent research. Did you ever regret that walk or fitness class you attended? It may have been challenging to get there but I bet you felt so much better afterwards!
5. Eating too Little
Find yourself waking up to a high carbohydrate processed breakfast like donuts, muffins or an egg mcmuffin? No wonder you’re tired. Your blood sugars spike and then crash allowing fatigue to creep in immediately leaving you sluggish. Eating a healthy breakfast will instantly help!!
My hope for you is that by choosing one or more of these strategies you will get yourself feeling more energetic to tackle your day with ease!
If you need help with number 5 and aren’t sure how to eat healthy, I can help! Go ahead and download my 7 Day Clean Eating Plan right here!
In Health and Happiness,
Kathryn
