Thursday, September 15, 2005

Exhaustion

Today I'd like to talk about my ever-increasing need to sleep. In my life, I've known several people who take sleeping to the Olympics level (Jeff C., Michelle A., and San all come to mind), but I have always been able to function properly on a few solid hours of sleep. However, when I graduated from college, all the theories of my invincibility disappeared. I NEED at least 8 hours of non-alcohol-induced sleep EVERY night if I want to pretend that I am a normal human being in the morning. And that's at a minimum.

However, lately, I've been feeling rather groggy all the time. When I wake up, I'm groggy. When I get to work, I'm groggy. When I have lunch (and I'm not reading Harry Potter), I'm groggy. I get home, and guess what? I'm groggy. In fact, for the past two weeks, I've been avoiding the gym like the plague so I can get in that extra hour of sleep.

Does anyone out there know of some way that I can increase my energy levels? I eat fairly healthy meals, drink about 18 cups of chammomile tea during the day to keep up my water intake (and to keep warm - the boss sure does love him some AC), drink a bottle of Gatorade when I'm at the gym and another one at lunch, eat a mid-morning snack to keep alive, and balance it all with a wonderfully home-cooked dinner.

Now, don't be rude and tell me I need to start working out more - I was exhausted AT THE GYM, for chrissakes! And please don't put me on any of those weird heart-attack-inducing supplements from GNC. Perhaps I should increase a certain vitamin in my diet? Perhaps there is a magic cure out there? Let me know and I'll love you forever...

What with my lower back and left knee aching because of the rain (dammit! that makes me feel old), I would love it if I could get back to the gym again and build up those muscles that will help me ease into my senior years with a purposeful stride - perhaps even a light jog.
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Timed-release B-complex supplements! No need to go to GNC (that place is such a scam!)....just pick up the generic ones at a drugstore or supermarket. They're also great at warding off hangovers. If you know you're going to be out drinking, just pop one an hour or two before your first drink. The only side effect I've ever encountered is fluorescent-yellow pee.

9/16/2005 10:15 AM
Anonymous said...

I am so empathising with you right now... I am constantly tired. (I *do* have an excuse tho, as you know :)

Here's my thought, which isn't a solution, but a possible cause: I find that tiredness can have a lot to do with ... I think I'd call it mental well-being. I find that during times when I've been happy with life and excited about what I'm doing with myself (as in, facing each new day with good feelings and expectations), I felt much more awake. When life is kind of a drag, and every morning I don't feel like facing another day of work/whatever, I tend to be tired all the time.

No easy solution for this, but maybe it is some of your cause?

9/18/2005 3:41 AM
Ryan said...

Yael - I actually read up about this before I posted originally. Fatigue is caused by a variety of things, one of which is depression. Some others are anemia, certain sleep disorders, allergies, and an underactive thyroid.

One of the sites I checked says this: "Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. However, it can also be a nonspecific sign of a more serious psychological or physical disorder. When fatigue is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment, it should be evaluated by your doctor."

I tend to think my exhaustion is just your run-of-the-mill blah-ness. I drive over an hour each way into work, and then sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (I guess you know how that feels). Then I come home and I have to help my mom with the dogs, and dinner, and, if I'm lucky, I find time to apply for more jobs or do my laundry. It is probably just the result of being busy, you know? Kind of like having a baby, only different. (smile)

In any case, the only medical journals I've been able to find that tell you how to boost your energy require you to pay money to even view them online. Blegh. Which explains my request of the three people who actually read my blog.

9/18/2005 7:32 AM
Anonymous said...

Well, I don't know much, but the Internet does!

I love webmd for anything medical, so here's a search I did for stuff on that site.

My selections out of that search: a nutrition point of view, an article with general tips, and a more medical article with a list of possible medical causes (like anemia).

Hope this helps, as a start... I have a feeling that, unfortunately, this isn't the kind of problem that has an easy pill-like solution... but I hope that it goes away one way or another!

9/18/2005 10:45 AM

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