Tiredness

Tiredness is not in itself a disease but can be a symptom of a disease or other kind of physical or mental imbalance. It is a condition in which a lack of energy and initiative is experienced (according to the degree of severity).
A very large amount of people complain about tiredness. The symptom is so common that it often requires a thorough investigation to find the cause. Tiredness has two aspects; a normal tiredness that naturally accompanies an eventful day and disappears after appropriate rest - and a sickly form of tiredness permanently following in the wake of both physical and mental disabilities, stress, and various imbalances.
Sustained stress in which all of the body's reserves are strained can lead to over-exertion and actual burnout resulting in exhaustion.
Tiredness because of physical strain
Under hard muscle work, more potassium streams out of the cells into the surrounding tissue than can be compensated by the cells. This increased extra cellular potassium causes nervous signals to be inhibited such that the muscle becomes less effective or completely ineffective. Lactic acid, a by-product of the cells’ energy production, is also produced. Under muscle work, lactic acid production increases as the oxygen supply to the cells becomes inadequate. It was earlier believed that lactic acid is the cause of muscle tiredness, but lately it has been discovered that the lactic acid actually protects the muscles from the paralysing effects of the high levels of potassium. Nonetheless, it still helps to rest, and the better your condition the more you can do before you get tired.
The process is complex, and muscle work also requires sufficient levels of calcium. Muscles are therefore supplied by calcium deposits.
Tiredness can be caused by such banal things as lack of sleep and lack of fluids. Our need for sleep varies individually; but many people, especially younger people, get too little sleep. The quality of the sleep we get can also be too poor. See "Sleeping disorders – Trouble sleeping".
Tiredness can be caused by something as trivial as a liquid deficiency. When the body does not get enough liquid, the blood gets too thick and the supply of oxygen and nutrition to the cells is decreased. This causes tiredness - and in severe cases grogginess.
Wrong food habits, bad digestion, and reduced absorption of nutrient solution might start a self-increasing process leading to a deficiency in vital nutrients in the form of vitamins, minerals, certain enzymes, and amino acids (proteins) that causes great tiredness.
A well-known example of nutrient deficiency causing tiredness is iron deficiency. Iron is used by the red blood cells to transport oxygen to the cells and remove carbon dioxide from them. The cells' mitochondria producing the cells' energy also depend on iron. Besides, it is possible to suffer from iron deficiency even though blood tests do not indicate it.
In practice, a deficit in any given nutrient will cause an energy loss to a larger or lesser extent.
Another aspect of ingestion is overeating at a good meal. In this situation, the digestion and absorption of nutrient solution sequester a large part of the metabolism and the blood in the body. For this reason, the familiar and uncontrollable desire for a little nap occurs while we digest our food.
If you have become downright overweight, it can also contribute to much tiredness dragging all those extra pounds around. People often eat too much protein; too much protein in the blood can give the same symptoms as iron deficiency and anaemia.
In case of lung diseases in which simple breathing is connected to exertion and in which the body does not get a sufficient amount of oxygen, the body will quickly tire.
Some hormonal diseases will result in a reduced production of thyroid hormones; in these cases tiredness is a characteristic symptom.
By a gradual reduction of the kidney funtion, the kidney's ability to regain and concentrate the urine is reduced. Waste products will be accumulated in the blood and you will experience an increasing tiredness.
Infections with microorganisms will sequester the body's immune apparatus and drain it of energy. This is known in e.g the flu, in AIDS patients, and in people infected with mononucleosis. Some people, unknowingly, have a fungal infection which makes them permanently tired. The most horrific example of tiredness caused by a microorganism, however, is an infection with the parasite Tryptonosoma transmitted via the tsetse fly causing sleeping sickness. This is a widespread disease in Africa.
Poisoning also causes tiredness. It might be a daily alcohol consumption. In small amounts alcohol has a pleasant, relaxing effect on the central nervous system. In larger doses, the alcohol is so relaxing that you get a tendency to fall asleep.
A daily medicinal consumption also can have a sluggish effect according to the type of medication and in which amount it has been given. Some kinds of sleeping medicine and sedatives are not totally excreted from the body in 24 hours and are therefore quickly accumulated when taken every day. Medication that inhibits the body's own production of the co-enzyme Q10 will also cause tiredness. An example of this is medication that reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood.
A large tobacco consumption does not contribute to the maintenance of the energy level either. This is caused by the tobacco smoke reducing the absorption of oxygen in the tissue and causing tiredness.
Other kinds of poisoning can originate from an accumulation of heavy metals or other environmental toxins in the body that can cause a sustained tiredness.
Sleep is good and necessary for us to be able to feel fresh and rested. Stress and psycologically and socially straining relationships can increase the need for sleep. This extra sleep will, however, not be refreshing but only increase the person's desire to sleep. People who normally sleep more than 8 hours a day will typically not feel very energetic when awake.
Some people suffer from the strain of shift work. Even though it looks like they get enough sleep, they are tired and out of energy in their spare time. These people do not get more ill than people with a steady day job, but the shift workers more often suffer from intestinal problems and nervous sufferings than day workers. Having to sleep during the day can reduce the quality of sleep just as the risk of being woken by noise is larger when sleeping in the daytime.
The brain's internal clock regulating the biological daily rhythm is syncronous with the rhythm of the day via the hormone melatonin produced in the pineal gland. This production of melatonin is regulated by the amounts of light received by the retina. This mechanism, however, cannot regulate the large and sudden variations in the sleeping pattern caused by shift work. It takes a couple of days for the body's inner clock to adjust. Until this happens, a lot of people feel tired and lack energy when awake. The phenomenon is for example known as jet lag when travelling from one time zone to another.
Unfinished projects, things that need to be done and have not yet been done, a bad marriage, a bad relationship, and an imbearable mother-in-law are all examples of situations causing stressful conditions and thereby an unhealthy kind of tiredness. A bad working environment; especially if filled with noise, has a tiring and sluggish effect.
Depressions of any kind also have tiredness as a characteristic symptom. Metaphorically, each of these situations relate to a bag of sand carried on your shoulders. The more psychologically and socially straining the situations are in which you are involved, the more sandbags you carry around and the more tired you are.