Why am I so tired all the time? 5 Reasons + How to Fix it
No matter if you’re at the office, or working from home, it seems like a coffee in hand is part of regular attire these days. But in all honesty, if you didn’t have that coffee, you’d probably fall asleep mid-day, right?
You might be asking yourself ‘Why am I so tired all of the time?’
You don’t want to rely on caffeine every day, but you just can’t seem to figure out why you’re so tired all the time. So, coffee it is!
But what if I told you the top reasons why you’re exhausted all the dang time and how to fix it. This way, you can regain your energy and your life.
5 Common Reasons for Fatigue in Women
Mold Exposure
Adrenal Dysfunction
Poor Quality Sleep
Vitamin B Deficiency
Blood Sugar Rollercoasters
Mold Exposure & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A couple of years ago I found myself so tired all the time. I actually found out I had mold overgrowth and I went through an entire protocol to address it to finally regain my energy.
My mold overgrowth really affected my energy levels after eating any amount of sugar and I would basically want to fall asleep. I was that tired. This is definitely something to look out for since added sugar is in almost all packaged foods these days and sugar provides an environment in your gut where mold can thrive.
If you are dealing with chronic fatigue, it’s very likely that you could have mold overgrowth. In fact, one study showed that 93% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were positive for at least one mycotoxin (which are found in mold).
You may be thinking, “there's no way I’ve been exposed to mold!” But before you skip to the next possible reason for your fatigue, you might want to keep reading. Mold overgrowth is more common than you may think. This is because mold can hide in some pretty sneaky places.
You don’t have to visibly see it to be exposed to it. Mold could be hiding in your home, behind your walls, under your floor, and even in your food. Yes, you can get mold from foods like peanuts, coffee, and poorly stored ingredients (flour, rice, dates, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds).
If this mold is left unaddressed, the mycotoxins can cause dysfunction to your cells and body…even in low concentrations. Exposure to mold can impact your epigenetics, upregulating many of your inflammatory genes.
And if you read my previous blog, How to Reduce Inflammation in the Body with Functional Medicine, you know chronic inflammation could be the main contributor to why you're so tired all the time.
To investigate if you’re dealing with mold overgrowth in your body, there are functional lab tests we can utilize, along with other tests, to get the full picture of what’s occurring in your body on a cellular level.
Tips to overcome mold exposure to gain energy:
Store nuts and flours in your fridge
Address any wet basements or moist areas of your home
Get professional help if you need mold remediation in your home (you don’t want to expose yourself to more mold)
Get testing options with the help of a Functional Health Coach
2. Adrenal Dysfunction & Feeling Wired But Tired
If you’re feeling wired at night and are dragging during the day, adrenal fatigue could be the culprit. Typically, your cortisol levels are elevated in the morning, and then lowers by nightfall to allow your body to relax, and get a good night’s sleep.
However, with adrenal dysfunction, your cortisol levels could be exceptionally low or even have an inverse cortisol curve. This means, your waking cortisol levels are low (not what we want), and why you need 2 cups of joe before you can function.
Why does this occur? Well, when your adrenals have been overworked so much, it can use up all their necessary resources. This could be from overworking yourself, dealing with financial stress, or a non-stop lifestyle.
Your adrenal can no longer secrete enough cortisol that is needed for optimal function and why your body can’t keep up.
Tips to overcome adrenal fatigue:
Practice stress management techniques like yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises
Support your adrenals with vitamin C, B vitamins, and magnesium
Skip high-intensity exercise
Eat a whole-food, anti-inflammatory diet
Take adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha
Focus on healthy sleep habits
3. Poor Quality Sleep & Never Feeling Well Rested in the AM
You could be undiagnosed with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder where sleep is disrupted due to moments where you literally stop breathing. This could be why you’re feeling tired all day long.
Or maybe you’re a mouth breather. This could be problematic because deeper breaths through your nose stimulate your lower lung to transport more oxygen throughout your body and allow the body to enter deep sleep. If you're a mouth breather, it could impact your sleep state.
Tips to increase the quality of your sleep
If you're so tired all the time, it’s important that you actually practice good sleep hygiene habits and get help if you suspect you have sleep apnea. Give mouth taping a try to make your body inhale through your nose and follow healthy sleep habits. Sounds odd, but it works! Avoid screens 2 hours before bedtime, dim the lights in your home in the evening, read a book, or meditate before bed.
4. Deficient in B Vitamins & Low Energy Throughout the Day
If you’re thinking, “I sleep so much and still feel tired,” it might be because you aren’t getting enough B12. B Vitamins are needed for your adrenals, deep sleep, and are directly involve energy production. Almost every cell in your body uses vitamin B12, which converts protein and fats into energy.
Tips to Boost B Vitamins:
Consume more salmon, leafy greens, nutritional yeast, legumes, clean organ meats and oysters, and mussels. You may need to supplement with a high-quality B vitamin as well.
5. Blood Sugar Rollercoasters & Afternoon Energy Crashes
Keep an eye on your blood sugar levels, even if you don’t have diabetes. Eating sugar or even simple carbohydrates like “healthy” fruit juice, especially if it doesn't contain any fiber, protein, or fat, can spike your blood sugar.
This could then lead to energy crashes mid-day and even hormone disruption, food cravings, inflammation, adrenal fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Oh my!
If you have these same types of foods day after day, you will continue to go through this never-ending cycle of fatigue.
Tips to keep blood sugar balanced
Eat a well-balanced breakfast with clean protein and healthy fats
Cut out processed foods (watch out for your yogurts, granolas, and “healthy” cereals with added sugar)
Read ingredient lists for sneaky hidden sugars
Eat more whole grains, like quinoa, brown rice, and whole oats
Ready to find out why you’re so tired all the time?
If you’re ready to ditch your fatigue and get back to operating at your optimal, we’re ready to support you on your health journey. We specialize in finding the root cause of your illnesses and symptoms so you can show up as the best and healthiest version of yourself in this world.
Sign up for a discovery call to learn more about how one-to-one coaching or if you’re more of a group setting kinda person, Detox Your Life - a 6-week small group coaching program is for you.