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Why am I tired all the time?

Feeling exhausted is so common that it has its own acronym, TATT, which stands for tired all the time.

Dr Rupal Shah, a GP in south London, says tiredness is one of the most common complaints she sees in her surgery. I

see loads and loads of patients who complain of feeling exhausted, een though they!re sleeping well. "ften it!s #een

going on for seeral months.$

%t any gien time, one in fie people feels unusually tired, and one in &' hae prolonged fatigue, according to the Royal

(ollege of Psychiatrists. )omen tend to feel tired more than men.

It!s unusual to find anything physically wrong. *ost of the time, fatigue is lin+ed with mood and the accumulation of lots

of little stresses in life,$ says Dr Shah.

Dr Shah says she routinely ta+es a #lood test from patients complaining of tiredness to rule out a medical cause, such

asanaemia or anunderactie thyroid gland.

here!s more chance of a medical reason for tiredness if there are other symptoms as well, such as heay periods,

weight loss, a change in #owel ha#its, hair loss, extreme thirst and so on.$

If you want to wor+ out how you #ecame tired in the first place, it can help to thin+ a#out-

parts of your life, such as wor+ and family, that might #e particularly tiring

any eents that may hae triggered your tiredness, for instance, a #ereaement or relationship #rea+up

how your lifestyle may #e ma+ing you tired.

Physical causes of tiredness

here are lots of health complaints that can ma+e you feel tired. /ot 0ust the wellrecognised ones li+e anaemia and

thyroid pro#lems, #ut also more surprising ailments, such as dia#etes and food intolerance.

Read more a#out the medical causes of tiredness.

1eing oerweight or underweight can cause tiredness. hat!s #ecause your #ody has to wor+ harder than normal to doeeryday actiities. If you!re underweight, you hae less muscle strength, and you may feel tired more 2uic+ly.

Pregnancy, especially in the first &3 wee+s, can also sap your energy.

Psychological causes of tiredness

Psychological tiredness is far more common than tiredness that4s caused #y a physical pro#lem.

"ne +ey reason is anxiety,which can cause insomnia and in turn lead to persistent fatigue. % surey #y the *ental

5ealth 6oundation found that nearly a third of the population are seerely sleepdepried, often #ecause of 0o# and

money worries. he 6oundation!s report,Sleep *atters, suggests a lin+ #etweeninsomnia and low energy leels.

he worries and strains of daily life can #e exhausting, een positie eents, such as moing house or getting married.

%nd emotional shoc+, such as #ad news, #ereaement or the #rea+up of a relationship, can ma+e you feel drained.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Thyroid-under-active/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/medical-causes-of-tiredness.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/MHF-Sleep-Report-2011.pdf?view=Standardhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Insomnia/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Thyroid-under-active/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/medical-causes-of-tiredness.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/MHF-Sleep-Report-2011.pdf?view=Standardhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Insomnia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

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*ental health pro#lems such asdepressionor anxiety can ma+e you feel more tired. hey can also preent you from

getting a proper night4s sleep.

If you thin+ your tiredness may #e rooted in low mood, try this shortaudioguide to dealing with your sleep pro#lems.

ifestyle causes of tiredness

iredness can often #e attri#uted to lifestyle factors, such as drin+ing too much alcohol, or haing a #ad diet. If you drin+

alcohol in the eening, it tends to wa+e you in the middle of the night. %nd if you drin+ a lot regularly, it can ma+e you

depressed and affect your sleep. I!m always surprised to find how often patients who complain of tiredness are drin+ing

far too much,$ says Dr Shah.

If you hae a distur#ed sleep pattern 7 for instance if you wor+ night shifts, sleep in the day or loo+ after young children

7 it can #e difficult to get a good night!s sleep, and you!ll feel tired during the day.

Read more a#out how to change your lifestyle to#oost your energy.

!ow to tac"le tiredness

It may #e common to feel tired all the time #ut it isn!t normal. If you!re worried, see your doctor for adice and

reassurance. )e can rule out anything serious,$ says Dr Shah. 8ust +nowing there!s nothing wrong can #e reassuring

in itself.$

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Depression/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Video/Pages/sleep-problems-podcast.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/self-help-energy-tips.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Depression/Pages/Introduction.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Video/Pages/sleep-problems-podcast.aspxhttp://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/self-help-energy-tips.aspx