A tired body is an unproductive body. If you constantly find yourself yawning, sluggish and drowsy throughout the day, it's time to inspect your lifestyle. Below, you will find seven reasons for your constant tiredness.
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1. You're low on water. Nourishing your body with water is crucial for its health. It doesn't matter if you have a desk job or if you are moving constantly, not enough liquid will decrease your blood volume which results in thicker blood. Thick blood is harder for your heart to pump out, which means that your muscles, cells and organs do not receive nutrients and oxygen fast enough to keep them energized.
2. You're anemic. Iron deficiency can cause lethargy. When you are anemic your body lacks sufficient healthy red blood cells that contains a component called hemoglobin. It is this hemoglobin that allows the red blood cells to carry oxygen. Increase the uptake of iron by eating foods like kidney beans, dark green vegetables, peanut butter, etc. To make sure that the iron is getting properly absorbed by your system, eat foods rich in Vitamin C simultaneously.
__3. __You skip breakfast. Breakfast is truly a very important meal of the day. It is important to break your fast of seven to eight hours of not eating with a healthy and nutritious meal. When you skip breakfast, you deprive your body of the fuel it needs to start the day. It lowers your metabolism, hinders your concentration levels, lowers your blood sugar and increases cravings. Skip your breakfast consistently and feelings of tiredness and lethargy will become commonplace.
4. You worry too much. There is a saying that goes, "90 percent of the things I worry about, never happen". While that's a good thing, the problem lies with the fact that worrying can literally eat your energy up. Constant anxiety that comes from continually worrying about the "what if's" can prove to be debilitating to your health. It can paralyze you emotionally. So when you find yourself having one of those dark moments, take a deep breath and think about how realistic the actual occurrence of that thought truly is.
5. You eat too much junk. Junk foods are cheap but is also filled with fat, sodium and sugar. It doesn't contain the healthy nutrients our body needs to feel energized. Most junk foods are high in sugar which can stress out your metabolism, and make you hungry in just a short while because it doesn't have enough protein or good fat to keep you feeling full for long.
6. You drink too much caffeine. With the first cup of coffee, you get an initial high. After that dies down you reach for another cup, setting the scene for a day of energy fluctuations. Caffeine forces your adrenal glands to secrete even when they are exhausted and don't have much to give. This causes tiredness, and even after consuming few cups of coffee, you still find yourself struggling to stay awake.
7. You drink alcohol before bed. When you drink too close to bed time, your body does not have too much time to process it. Drinking right before bed will send you straight to a deep sleep, which means that you skip out on the REM stage. When the alcohol gets fully absorbed, your body comes out of the deep sleep state and goes into the REM stage. This can cause you to wake up multiple times after just a few hours of going to sleep. This can make you feel exhausted the next day.
This post was originally published on July 24, 2014.
