TIREDNESS!
Everyone feels tired after physical exertion or long periods of hard work. A good night’s sleep usually solves the problem, but sometimes tiredness to drag on for days, and can interfere with your daily activities. The most obvious cause is difficulty in sleeping, but you may also feel tired if you are stressed or a bit low, or if you’ve recently suffered an upset such as bereavement. An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise are common contributory factors. Viral illnesses such as glandular fever and flu can leave you tired for weeks afterwards. Sometimes, persistent tiredness is due to an underlying condition such as anaemia or a thyroid problem.
What you can do yourself
- Even when you’re very busy, get enough sleep each night. Overdoing things, then trying to catch up on your rest at the weekends, will throw out your sleep routine and leave you even more tired.
- Never miss breakfast. Includes fresh vegetables, fruits, cereals, and wholemeal bread, pasta, and rice in your diet. Cut down on fatty food such as cheese, eggs, and red meat, and on sugar and salt.
- Check that you are not overweight or too thin. If you need to lose or gain weight, do so gradually.
- Try to spend time each day in fresh air. Exercise regularly, particularly if you have a sedentary job.
- If you are sleepy during the the day or while driving, try a “power nap” (see PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES)
- If you have viral illness, such as glandular fever or flu, it may be several weeks before you’re back to normal. Take time off to recover and take things easy when you return to work or school.
- If stress is contributing to “burn out”, make more time for leisure activities. Try some deep breathing and muscle relaxation exercise (see PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES)
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES
Power napping If you find yourself noodling off during the day or you feel drowsy while driving, a brief nap may help you ot function better.
- An ideal nap last about 10-15 minutes, but even a 5-minute sleep will leave a brighter and sharper afterwards. Sleeping for more than 15 minutes helps, but you may feel groggy afterwards. More than 30 minutes may affect your ability to sleep at night.
- Take a daily nap at the same time each day so your body gets used to the routine. Use an alarm clock or watch if you are worried about sleeping for too long.
- Don’t nap late in the day or fall asleep in front of the TV in the evening, and don’t use naps to catch up on sleep if you are having difficulty sleeping.
Timed nap Set a watch or clock to wake you from your nap after about 15 minutes.
