So many of us are plagued not by viruses or disease, but fatigue.
The modern-day has no cure for it since we’re constantly exposed to exhausting stimuli and circumstances.
In an age where we’re all purposefully limited, it’s important we eliminate fatigue to ensure we can reach the future we desire and become our best selves.
No Social Exposure
Humans are social creatures.
I’m honestly surprised people don’t seem to understand why a lot of us are fatigued and tired nowadays. The answer is literally staring at us even at you right now.
It’s the digital age. We’re deprived of social interactions.
Connecting with people energizes you.
And no, social media doesn’t count. You’re here to improve yourself, so don’t try to cop out and find an “easier” way. If you’re here to improve, put the hard work in or else you can blame yourself for not being where you want to be a year from now.
You get to experience a natural flow of emotion which is healthy for our brains because we find satisfaction in connecting personally or emotionally.
The only reason why you’re scared to speak to people is that you don’t speak to people.
Texting does not count. There are no emotional cues behind it besides an emoji or “lol” slapped on the end. Besides, the only way you’ll get better at speaking to people is… speaking to people.
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Lack of Quality Sleep
You can sleep for the recommended 8 hours but if you’re constantly awakened by noise and heat, or end up falling asleep whilst your brain is stimulated then it’s no wonder you can sleep for say, 12 hours and still be tired.
How long does not matter, quality does.
You need to up-keep good sleep hygiene. Here is how:
- Wake up at the same time every day (including weekends).
- Keep your room cool and quiet.
- No electronics before attempting to sleep or in bed.
- Refrain from exercising an hour or two before bedtime.
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Be More Mindful of Your Liquid Consumption
Consuming certain liquids can substantially harm your sleep. Even water.
So, let’s start with our first culprit; caffeine.
Caffeine within 7 hours of you going to bed will make it incredibly difficult to sleep. Since it will affect your sleep, it’ll make you fatigued. Drinking too much dehydrates you too.
Alcohol, before you go to bed, diminishes your sleep quality. Whilst yes, it can help you get to sleep quickly, it disrupts your sleeping pattern. Your quality of sleep is also affected because it relaxes the throat muscles, leaving for snoring and mouth breathing. Alcohol is also known to cause sleep apnea which is the pausing of breath during sleep.
Water too close to bed can prompt you to awaken in the midst of your sleep to urinate. Frequent urination at that can also affect your sleep too. Since we know awakening at night disrupts your sleep cycle, it’s best to avoid drinking so close to bed.
Sugary drinks are the worst offenders because they substantially increase your blood sugar levels. Someone who drinks a lot of sugary juices and soda normally is dehydrated because it isn’t… well, a hydrating drink. They also cause frequent urination because you deliver your kidneys a massive load of sugar which ends up in the urination stream and your body needs to get rid of it. Sugary drinks also make us hyperactive, and because our sugar levels get spiked, the crash is only imminent and thus, creating fatigue.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Fix Your Poor Diet
A healthy diet is essential for a healthily functioning human being.
Not eating healthy deprives us of the necessary vitamins that enable us to function properly.
Processed food is laced with all kinds of sugars and preservatives and as previously mentioned, creates fatigue because of the spike in our blood sugar levels.
It’s simple to fix your poor diet, really. You just need discipline.
However, here are some foods I recommend to start fixing your bad diet:
- Lean Protein
- Mixed Vegetables
- Fatty acids from protein
- Seeds and Nuts
- Wholefoods (Generally, stick to base ingredients when possible)
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Stop Your Inactivity
You might be thinking to yourself that activity makes us tired. You’re right, but only half so.
The tiredness is temporary. However, the effects afterward and after prolonged exposure to activity which yes, includes exercise, combats fatigue.
For example, regular exercise increases your minimum energy levels.
You don’t need to buy a gym membership either. Just go on walks, that’s enough light exercise to boost your energy and help you sleep better.
Less muscle mass also equates to fewer mitochondria which are the very important energy producers in our cells. Physical activity strengthens muscles and allows our brain to get a healthy dosage of energizing stimuli.
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Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash
Reduce Your Stress
Stress leads to fatigue.
This is because Cortisol is produced, which is the stress chemical for lack of better words. It fires up our brain for all the wrong reasons and because stress nowadays is associated not with life and death situations, but with anxiety and overthinking, we become fatigued and sluggish.
All our energy nowadays gets sucked away by meaningless things. It’s important to decompress and become present as I always preach.
Here are some very powerful ways to minimize stress:
- Walking
- Nature
- Journaling
- Meditation
- Exercise
- Yoga
- Mindfulness
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Fatigue is something that comes as a symptom of modern-day addictions. You might not even realize that you have some kind of dependency on sugar, caffeine, and so forth.
Unfortunately, there is no pill nor a magic cure to mend fatigue. The only way to get through it is to address the methods causing it and face it head-on with relentless discipline and persistence.
Whilst of course I have given you the six ways to eliminate fatigue, you really need to do a combination of all six in order to help with that early tiredness.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
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Photo credit: Christian Erfurt on Unsplash