Still feeling sluggish after your third cup of coffee? Your lifestyle may be the culprit. Here are the reasons you feel so tired and how to boost your energy
1 / 12
Why am I always tired?
Feeling tired all the time is becoming one of our most common ailments, and it can be the most frustrating as well. Even if you live a fairly sensible lifestyle and don’t have any serious health problems, you may still find yourself weighed down with constant fatigue.
“A lot of people confuse fatigue with sleepiness-it’s not the same thing,” says Doug Cook, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Sometimes a viral or bacterial trigger or other serious illness is the culprit. But fortunately, most of the time there are simple causes that can easily be fixed. “A lot of it is just lifestyle-related,” he says. “I think fatigue really is a symptom of the way society is: too busy, burning the candle at both ends.”
Here are some common reasons that you might be feeling a lack of a spring in your step and what you can do to feel more energized.
2 / 12
1. You don’t exercise
It may seem counterintuitive, but exercising produces all kinds of helpful biochemicals that ward off fatigue and help you feel upbeat the rest of the time. Think of it as positive feedback: the more energy you put in, the more you get out. Did you know that walking can count as exercise, too?