What Are The Most Common Causes Of Fatigue Today, And Why Am I So Tired?

What are the most common causes of fatigue today? First of all, let's find out the answer to this: What is fatigue?

Fatigue has been described as a state of exhaustion, tiredness, or lethargy. It can be either physical or mental, or a combination of both. It is not the same as drowsiness, which is a tendency to fall asleep, although you may be fatigued and drowsy at the same time. Can you relate to the young man below who is trying to fight fatigue with lots of coffee? Looks like a coffee crash to me!

Stay up to date with the latest news by signing up for our e-zine:

Fatigue is pretty common nowadays. Most of us have experienced it at some point in our life, and we can manage it, but for some of us, fatigue interferes with our normal quality of life. If this is true of us, we may need to find out what the common causes are, to see if we can get our health and vitality back!

Note: Please read our medical disclaimer here before proceeding.

When you can't keep up with your normal routine due to lack of energy, you are probably suffering from one or more of the most common causes of fatigue.

If you cannot keep up with your physical routine because you are too tired to carry it out, then you are likely suffering from physical fatigue.

If you are having trouble focusing your thoughts or staying awake, then you are likely dealing with emotional fatigue. Any combination of the above may be manifest as both physical and emotional fatigue.

If just reading about it is making you tired, read on! There is light at the end of this tunnel.

The most common causes of fatigue may be traced to our routine, or our habits in everyday life. So they may be a reflection of our lifestyle, or have emotional or medical aspects to them, or a combination of these factors.

The most common causes of fatigue may be classified as either Physical or Emotional. Within the physical category, we will also consider the sub-categories of physical illness or infection, and medications. So why are you so tired? See if you can figure out from the lists below:

---

Common Causes of Fatigue: Physical:

---

• Stress
• Depression
• Grief





• Extreme physical activity
• Athletic overtraining
• Lack of sleep- shift work, night work
• Sleep disturbances- insomnia, jetlag, sleep apnea
• Vitamin or Mineral deficiencies - Iron (anemia), B12, low Potassium or Magnesium
• Heat Poisoning or Heatstroke
• Food poisoning
• Blood loss
• Medical treatments, for example radiotherapy or chemotherapy for cancer
• Trauma
• Multitasking/overwork
• Too much caffeine
• Food allergies
• Processed/fast food diet


• Malnutrition


• Alcohol abuse
• Sedentary lifestyle/lack of exercise
• Obesity





• Pregnancy
• Surgical recovery


• Toxic/poison overload


• Adrenal fatigue
• Low glutathione levels
• Chronic physical pain
• Not eating enough- skipping meals
• Illness - infection or disease that you may be aware of, or is undiagnosed- this may be a common cause of fatigue.

---

Common Causes Of Fatigue: Physical Illness or Infection:

---

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Candida (yeast infection)
• Dehydration
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Emphysema
• Under-active thyroid
• Over-active thyroid
• Kidney failure


• Diabetes- high blood sugar


• Hypoglycemia- low blood sugar
• Mononucleosis
• Asthma
• Pneumonia
• Fibromyalgia
• Lupus
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• High blood pressure
• Urinary tract infection
• Medications - there are several medications that can contribute to the most common causes of fatigue.

---

Common Causes of Fatigue: Medications:

---

• Antihistamines
• Cold medications
• Prescription pain medicines
• Other prescription medications- check labels carefully and consult with your pharmacist or physician for possible side effects

The second category of the most common causes of fatigue are emotional.

---

Common Causes of Fatigue: Emotional:

---

• Stress/Anxiety
• Overstimulation
• Understimulation
• Information overload
• Boredom
• Depression
• Anhedonia- lack of desire or pleasure in life
• Fear
• Grief
• Overachieving
• Overcommitting
• Lack of sleep/sleep disturbances

---

These are some of the common causes of fatigue. They can be classified as physical and emotional causes. Some of these most common causes of fatigue may cause both physical and mental fatigue, such as the case with grief, depression, stress, and anxiety.

If you are suffering from some of these causes of fatigue, take heart. You are in good company. I along with several of my good friends have found ways to deal with fatigue and get our energy and vitality back.

Return to Top of Page.

Turn right here to go to Dealing with Fatigue to read some personal experiences of those that have dealt with it successfully. Learn what helps naturally.

Turn left here to learn what glutathione is, and how this could be affecting your energy levels.

Back up from Most Common Causes of Fatigue to Home Page.