Why am I always so tired???

[Shananigans]

Lately I have been so damn exhausted all of the time. In order to combat this I have been going to bed by 11:00 every night and waking up at 8. Even then I STILL press snooze until 8:15 or 8:30 and can barely drag my butt out of bed. I have been late for work more times than I can count in the past few months. Now, I'v never been a morning person, but I'v also never been someone who gets enough sleep. Now that I am getting 8-9.5 hours a night I'm still tired.

I have looked up all the possible sleep related diseases and am fairly sure I don't have any of them. I don't buy the theories of "getting too much sleep makes you more tired".

Heck, it's only 2:00 in the afternoon and I almost fell asleep during a meeting. Any suggestions???

[MissMillie]

1. Sleep study

Have your doctor refer you to a sleep lab for a sleep study.

It's possible that you are not getting enough deep (R.E.M.) sleep due to sleeping disorders.

I have 3 sleeping disorders (obstructive sleep apnea, sleep bruxism, and restless legs syndrome), and getting diagnosed and treatment has made all the difference.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Could be a symptom of diabetes.........

when did you last have blood tests?

[Shananigans]

20. Years ago...

probably at least 3 years ago...

[catzies]

3. Anemic? Had bloodwork done lately?

Fatigue is a very common indicator of anemia. If you're female, and if youre periods are heavy and/or long, you might be losing too much iron every month.

[laruemtt]

4. i was the same way - and still am sometimes -

until i got diagnosed with lyme disease. couldn't move myself up off the floor. make sure you get tested using a western blot, not elisa as that's too often inaccurate. always had a sore throat too. do you? good luck, and keep us posted.

[OKNancy]

5. I had that problem

and I suspected diabetes, although I had no other symptoms. I needed to lose weight anyway, so I went on a low carb diet.
(meat, fats, green veggies)and I feel fantastic.

It can't hurt so give it a try for two weeks and see if it doesn't help.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. mono?

thyroid? anaemia? depression? anxiety? low bp? need salt?

[Frederic Bastiat]

11. I had Mono once a couple years ago

I would feel tired just going up an escalator and i'm a very active person. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I mentioned it to the local pharmacist and lo and behold the GP confirmed it.

Mono can be a huge bummer.

[bratcatinok]

7. There's really too many reason to list

as to why you might be tired all of the time.

Depression
Anemia
Leukemia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Sleep Aepnea
Snoring
Bruxism
Leg Cramps
Restless Sleep
Bedroom too hot or too cold so you don't get a good nights sleep.
Bad Mattress
and others too numerous to mention

The best thing to do is go see your Doctor and tell him what your symptoms are. He/she can rule out anything physical and then you can look at other things that might be causing you to be tired.

You might also have allergies to sugar, white flour and refined foods. I know I used to have a problem with getting really sleepy after I'd eat a largish lunch. An overload of carbohydrates tend to make me sleepy too.

[jpgray]

8. Don't eat any junk food, and exercise your heart 30 mins a day

Drink lots of water, eat a big breakfast, and don't take too much caffeine at any time during the day.

It's hard to pin down what makes one tired, but not doing the above will make me quite tired. Based on my one experience of eating three Big Macs in a single sitting, with apologies to Kevin James, I felt like a bear that had been hit with a tranquilizer dart. :D

I never eat fast food now, and I always try to have a low sugar intake and have a big breakfast in the AM. It personally helps me to base my diet on healthy carbs, but just avoiding the junk is a good start for diet.

edit: And that's if you don't have some of the problems listed above

[CrownPrinceBandar]

13. exercise was the first thing I thought....

Take a walk, if you can. Yoga is really good too.

[johnnie]

9. Just asking...

Any depression? That can play havoc on your sleep. Not necessarily chemical..just standard depression.

[southpaw]

10. You might have Roasenne Barr syndrome

Isn't that the one that makes you lay around and watch t.v. all the time?

[Shananigans]

14. If only...I don't have cable, though...

and I work during M-Saturday 52 hours. No time for TV. Or Roseanne.

[Bossy Monkey]

22. Working 52 hours a week would do it

Girlfriend works full-time, takes a class two nights a week, and writes free-lance on the side (and has to put up with me) and has the same problem. Mostly this is stress-related. Try ANYTHING that's ever helped you relax (deep breathing, exercise, music, whatever). And give yourself a break whenever possible.

[Loonman]

12. Stop hitting snooze, for one

It doesn't help.

Turn on the light and get up.

[Shananigans]

15. Thanks for the useful advice...

It sucks that I don't have health insurance though. I can't afford to go to the dr. quite yet.

Maybe I'll have to just suck it up and wait. I just wonder if getting even MORE sleep will help or just stay the same...

[sangh0]

16. Have you considered

seeing a doctor?

[Shananigans]

18. considered, but can't quite afford right now...

hopefully I will have my permanant job sometime within the next month and can afford it then.

[radwriter0555]

25. You don't need a doctor. You need to get up and MOVE. Jump start

your metabolism, you've slowed down to ZERO.

Walk, jog, run, hike, join a gym, take the stairs. Get your body MOVING.

The body and mind at rest STAYS at rest.

The body and mind in motion stays ALIVE and active and sets its own clock.

[JVS]

17. depression?

[Shananigans]

19. Maybe, but doubtful...

I'v been a little depressed lately, but mostly just stressed out between moving, thinking about quitting my second job and possibly getting a new permanant full time job...

But I haven't been super depressed (except the occasional bad day)

[Susang]

21. Get your thyroid checked

Followed by your other hormone levels
Then your iron & B vitamin levels, including absorbtion rates.

I wish I had followed my own advice. By the time I had, my hypothyroidism had blossomed into full fledged chronic fatigue syndrome. It all started with a very bad virus that triggered an autoimmune attack . Doctors thought it was "all in my head" and "just depression".

Take fatigue very seriously and don't take any bullshit from your doctor. If you feel that something is wrong, make them keep testing until they find out what it is or find a doctor who takes you seriously. Good luck! :-)

[roguevalley]

23. Get your iron checked. Check yourself for depression. Exercise.

[rumguy]

24. carb allergy

Atkin's books have some interesting ideas on this. He says that many of us are carb allergic and yet we eat way, way to many carbs...pasta, junk food, breads, cerals, etc...even fruit. And the reaction makes you run out of energy early and often...

[Shananigans]

26. I have decided that I have some rare disease.

Maybe some weird cancer or something. I'm probably dying as we speak. I'll miss you, DU!