Why Am I Always Tired? 7 Reasons Why You Might Be Feeling Fatigue
Ever found yourself wondering, “Why am I always tired?” Well, know that you’re not alone. It seems everybody is extra tired these days—and it’s more than just part of being a grown-up.
It’s easy to dismiss your tiredness as just “one of those things,” but there comes a point when it’s not so simple. When you’re feeling tired all the time, it might mean that your body is trying to tell you something. And while exhaustion doesn’t necessarily point to an underlying health condition, it is worth checking in with your doctor if fatigue is getting in the way of living life the way you’d like to.
Here, experts break down a few potential causes for your tiredness as well as how to combat fatigue.
1. You’re not getting enough sleep.
A lack of sleep is probably the most obvious (and most common) reason for why we feel exhausted. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, it’s recommended that adults sleep between seven and nine hours a night. And yet most adults aren’t getting enough quality sleep.
The solution? It’s simple: Get more sleep. Of course, this is easier said than done. First, it’s important to identify the cause that’s keeping you up—be it stress, too much screen time, or poor sleep hygiene—and then you can address it. If you’ve tried everything under the sun and still have trouble sleeping, it’s time to speak to an expert.
2. You’re lacking in energy.
This is different than feeling tired or sleepy. “Fatigue is when you’re seriously lacking energy,” says William Christopher Winter, MD, a sleep researcher and neurologist. “Normal” fatigue gets better when you rest. Think of it this way: Your arm gets fatigued after you do a bunch of bicep curls but feels better 10 minutes later.
In most cases, fatigue is your body telling you to slow down, and you should probably listen to it. But when fatigue regularly keeps you from doing the things you want to do, then it’s a problem, says Dr. Winter. “That doesn’t mean ‘I can’t run 38 miles because I get fatigued,’” he explains. “It’s more like ‘I have trouble getting up and down stairs’ or ‘a walk from the parking lot to my office exhausts me.’”
The solution? Get some rest. Take yourself away from your screens, away from any distractions, and simply rest up. If you consistently don’t feel reenergized after a nap or some quiet time, then it’s worth checking in with a doctor to see if there’s an underlying issue.
3. You have an underlying health condition.
When Dr. Winter sees patients who say they’re tired, he often tries to distinguish whether they’re sleepy or fatigued. “Sleepiness is pretty easy—it’s a defined group of problems,” he says. “But if they’re talking about fatigue, you could make a list a mile long of what could be causing it.” That list includes a deficiency in vitamins B12 or D, multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease, to name a few.
Other conditions that are associated with fatigue include anemia, thyroid issues, or even leukemia—all of which can make people feel incredibly rundown, says Yvonne Bohn, MD, an ob-gyn at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California.
The solution? If feeling exhausted comes out of nowhere or doesn’t get better with rest, that’s when you should see a doctor. Whether it’s an undiagnosed condition or the result of lifestyle factors that could use some tweaking, they may be able to help.
4. You’re seriously stressed.
Sure, many health conditions can lead to fatigue, but so can being super overwhelmed for months or going through a big life change that screws with your sleep and stress levels. “Under stress, we tend to produce more of the hormone cortisol,” says Sophie Bostock, retailer Bensons for Beds’ resident sleep expert. “Cortisol is very useful for fueling action, but before bed it increases our levels of arousal at a time when we need to relax.”
