![]() ![]() Spend the whole day wishing you could go back to bed. Hit the alarm snooze button a lot because you don’t wake feeling refreshed ![]() You can do both tests at home and take the results to your GP.īut even if you have normal scores, your tiredness is worth investigating if you:įeel too tired to exercise (this can be a vicious cycle because regular exercise can actually give you more energy – however, it can be risky for people with ME/CFS to exercise, so caution is required for these patients)įeel too tired to go out, see friends or do activities you once enjoyed Screening tools for a concerning level of tiredness include the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the STOP-BANG score. Shutterstock What does ‘interfering with life’ actually look like? Poor sleep is a very common cause of tiredness. The take-home message is this: if tiredness is interfering with your life, there are many possible causes and it’s worth speaking to a GP about it. Tiredness also accompanies many illnesses, but should not persist after recovery. Treatment for these can alleviate the tiredness too. There are other potential causes of tiredness – problems such as low iron, thyroid disease, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease and many more. It can begin with patients noticing a degree or type of tiredness different from their past experience, and can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a serious long-term illness that, among other symptoms, causes people to feel extreme fatigue – well beyond the range of “normal” tiredness. Unexplained tiredness may be the predominant symptom of depression, with other symptoms only coming to light with careful questioning. This is concerning, because such patients may fly under the radar and not realise this is actually depression. For example, they may feel irritable or frustrated, or struggle to concentrate. Apnoea can lead to serious long-term health problems, so it’s worth investigating.Īlcohol can also wreak havoc on a person’s sleep quality and they wake feeling unrefreshed.Īnother common cause of tiredness is depression – and don’t forget, someone can be depressed without feeling they have low mood. They could be suffering from sleep apnoea, where breathing stops and starts while a person is asleep. That’s a bit of a giveaway because it means their sleep quality is poor, even if the quantity seems enough. Often patients tell me “Oh, lack of sleep is not the cause, I sleep fine, possibly too much!” But on questioning they admit they don’t wake up feeling refreshed. Poor sleep is an obvious and very common cause of tiredness. Some common causes of persistent tiredness Shutterstockįatigue after COVID is way more than just feeling tired. If your level of tiredness is outside the range of normal for you, chat to a GP about it.
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